Improved Management Would Give Much Higher Pig Production

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 94, Issue 6, 15 June 1957, Page 543

Improved Management Would Give Much Higher Pig Production

RECENT farm surveys show some of the reasons for the low national average of about 9 pigs slaughtered per breeding sow per year. They also indicate that the reasonable standards of production achieved by many farmers are within the reach of all producers. In this article E. D. Edwards, Technical Officer, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, suggests methods of improving production to attain better over-all results per sow.

MOST of the losses among pigs are due to faulty management. Even with the existing breeding stock and buildings much better returns are possible. The expenditure of hundreds of pounds on new stock and buildings at the outset to get better results is not what is being advocated here. In some cases such expenditure is the only alternative, but generally the increased returns from better management soon enable such capital requirements to be met easily enough, if spread over several years.

Arranging Farrowings to Fit Food Supply

Many of the problems at the piggery arise from inadequate care and management of the sow. Failure to breed, small litters, and weak litters are often due to bad feeding methods. Empty sows seriously interfere with a plan which will enable the dairy byproduct to be used to best advantage.

Another common situation is where a plan is followed but the sows farrow too late, in say late July and again in January. This usually means that many of the autumn litters are kept over winter on short rations and then almost “drowned” in surplus milk in spring. The spring litters may also be on short rations until the pigs that have been carried over winter have been fattened.

Two cases from a recent survey illustrate the points made above: On one farm pigs from a litter born in late February were sold as heavy porkers in November; on another farm baconers had been getting 12 gallons of skimmed milk each every day, though they required no more than 6 gallons.

Disease is often associated with overfeeding of wintered pigs. Digestive upsets caused by sudden changes in diet or excessive amounts of liquids soon lower resistance to infection. The risk of introducing disease is one bad feature of the unwise policy of buying in pigs to fatten rather than breeding them on the farm. Losses in wintered pigs are sometimes as high as 80 per cent. These losses may not occur every year and are soon forgotten, but

if a tally were kept of them over several seasons, the result would show clearly how serious was this wastage. Farrowing Plan The practice of holding pigs in store condition must be avoided if possible. A farrowing plan which is likely to give best results is as follows: Aim at having the first sows farrowing about 6 weeks before the cows start calving. If, for example, the farm carries 40 cows averaging 3001 b. of butterfat and the herd begins calving early in July, 5 sows could be run, i assuming that one would be culled after her spring litter. Two sows should farrow in the first fortnight of May and their litters should go off as porkers. One sow should farrow in the latter part of June, her progeny being sold as baconers. The last two sows should farrow during the second week in July, one litter being sold as porkers and the other as baconers. The aim should be to get two litters during the year from each sow and be

able to sell both litters, the second as porkers, before winter. This will involve mating after weaning at 8 weeks, or even at 6 weeks if the litter is doing well and it is desired to advance a mating. Such a plan will necessitate the feeding of supplements, particularly meals, during the litter’s early stages.

Where suitable facilities are available early weaning of spring litters at about 10 days of age (described in Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 389, “Early Weaning of Pigs”, available free from any office of the Department) is advocated, principally because it enables the sows to be remated for the second litter a month earlier than is possible under normal weaning. Better use is then made of the food available and no second-litter pigs should have to be carried over winter.

Feeding Supplements _ . x, xx, Farmers often claim that they cann°t aff° r d to feed meal at its present P rice Of course there must be a limit in feeding purchased meals, and this y lll , no t Permit very much to be bought for pigs which are kept in cold, draughty houses, are exposed to disease, and have insufficient trough A considerable amount of meal C an be wasted through lack of care in tt it into tr h and in fißi £ ree p troughs too full. However, records kept by a number of farmers in recent years show that where pigs are reasonably well managed meal can be used profitably at about J ton per sow per year.

The best value is obtained for meals when they are fed to pigs in their early stages of growth. A meal having a high protein content should be fed in a creep trough (protected from the weather and the sow) to suckers from 2 to 3 weeks of age. For early weaned pigs special sow milk replacement pellets and meal are available. Normally suckled pigs which have settled down to creep food suffer no great check when the sow is removed from them. From that stage they will also do quite well on meals of lower protein content, such as grain meals. During the first 8 weeks the litter should have access to good leafy pasture and clean soil. With creep feeding a good strain of pigs will average 401 b. liveweight at the end of this period. The weight of a pig at 16 weeks is normally 2| times its weight at 8 weeks, which emphasises the importance of proper treatment before weaning. Meal feeding can be tapered off and cease when pigs reach porker weights.' Some farmers continue feeding a very small amount right through to baconer weights, as they are convinced it pays. In autumn quite heavy meal feeding,

say lib. per pig per day for a time, may be desirable to get pigs to porker weights on a rapidly dwindling milk supply. If a crop like fodder beet is available, it can be fed as an additional supplement. The use of meal at a fairly heavy rate to bring porkers up to weight in autumn may be considered, as an example, in relation to a line of pigs averaging 451 b. carcass weight. If these are put over the hooks on the underweight schedule, they may gross only about £2 ss. each. If the pigs are held and fed meal for one month at an average of lib. per head daily until they have a carcass weight of 651 b., they would return £5 gross each. This will be achieved at a cost for meal of not more than 10s. per pig. Surely this method must appeal more than the alternatives of selling underweight carcasses or overwintering. Sow Management . The following are a few of the most neglected features in sow management: — Sows should not be mated until they are 8 months old. Even then they must weigh nearly 2501 b. liveweight, though

they should not be overfat at mating. The small, weedy sows which are so often seen are partly the result of allowing all breeding stock to run together and partly of trying to correct a farrowing plan that has failed by mating a gilt early to bridge the gap. This approach only perpetuates the problem. The aim in feeding the sow should be to see that she improves in condition after mating and again before farrowing. Plenty of exercise on good pasture is desirable during pregnancy, and if necessary, milk or meal should be fed to keep her in firm condition. The condition of the sow during pregnancy influences her ability to milk well after farrowing, at which time also her condition and the size of the litter should determine the amount of food she is given. As a guide in this respect she should be fed 4 food units for her maintenance plus j food unit for each pig suckled. Sows which farrow 10 to 12 good pigs consistently are to be preferred to those farrowing larger litters. A target of 3001 b. of pig meat a litter at weaning twice a year is not beyond the reach of producers.

Reducing Losses y -lazto i a , . A farm survey in 1949 revealed tnai 27 per cent, of all pigs born were lost before weaning. Pigs that were born dead or died at birth accounted tor 15 per cent. Better feeding of the sow before farrowing must be of value in reducing this latter figure, though the matter still poses a problem for research workers. Overlying by the sow accounts for over 8 per cent, of deaths and is by far the largest cause of loss of piglets born with a chance of survival. This aspect has received much attention in recent years. As a means of reducing such losses the round farrowing house or a house converted on the principle of the round house design has much to commend it. The infra-red heat lamp, which is essential in a round farrowing house, is also desirable in houses of more orthodox design for a few days after farrowing. If these safeguards cannot be provided immediately, farmers would still

benefit by making the farrowing house or at least a portion of it as cosy as possible. Open-fronted houses could be boarded up, leaving only access for the sow and provision for a shutter. All holes that cause draughts could be covered. Timber or hardboard or similar lining under the rafters would improve the insulation of the house. A kennel in one corner of the house might be a solution. This work need not involve much time or expense, yet it may save the lives of one or two pigs in each litter. Losses from disease both before and after weaning may be reduced, first by good feeding and hygiene and secondly by calling in the local veterinarian for advice. Better Use of Food Food wastage due to inefficient food utilisation is also a factor in the low return per sow in New Zealand. Poor housing conditions, bad feeding methods, and infections are all responsible, though actual deaths may be few and infrequent.

Because in New Zealand skimmed milk or . whey is virtually costless, farmers are not greatly concerned about using them efficiently. In the United Kingdom and some other European countries the food-conver-sion efficiency figure of litters is watched very carefully, as on it may depend whether a profit or loss is shown. shown. T t . new « or ,iiv accented that pigs ?? trnnnmirnllv "in wpß w 1 1! fetten whprp there is no treat variation in temperature. A ternperature of 65 s degrees F. is suggested as a sua ble level and, incidentally, this is the most comfortable temperature for men to work un der. During the past 2 years more than 20 farmers have kept records of meals and crops used during the season. The quantity of skimmed milk or whey fed has been calculated and an estimate made of how efficiently all the food used by both breeding and fattening stock is converted into pig meat.

PIG MANAGEMENT . . . A considerable difference between farms is apparent; farms showing the most economical use of food had wellinsulated houses and control over ventilation, though it is possible that these farmers are better managers and have better stock.' However, the results indicate how valuable good housing is. Many existing fattening houses could be improved considerably at little expense in the ways suggested earlier for farrowing houses. What Improvement Can be Expected? The first reaction perhaps from farmers to what has been suggested in this article is that it means more work for them and consequently is of no interest to them. Farmers who do well with pigs expect to spend nearly an hour each day

at the piggery with an 8-sow herd. It would be safe to say that many others with similar-sized units require much more time and reap. about half the reward. The improvement obtained by one farmer who kept records of production for 2 years is illuminating. By more careful feeding and cleaning methods in the second year he doubled his net return. A little less meal was purchased and it was used less wastefully than in the previous year. In the first year 45 per cent, of the pigs were sold as stores and 55 per cent, as porkers. In the second year 92 per cent, were sold as porkers and 8 per cent, as baconers, an increase in total pig meat produced of more than 30001 b. This was achieved on a 10-sow farm with 75 cows at a cost of 10 minutes’ extra work each day. Only 10.7 pigs per sow were sold during that second year, but this farmer can and will do better.

The average sales for the year for 15 skimmed milk farms were 12.7 pigs per sow, giving a net return of 8.6 d. per pound of butterfat. Two of these farmers sold nearly 17 fat pigs per sow. Two whey piggeries averaged 10.6 pigs per sow and 3.7 d. per pound butterfat. These figures indicate the scope for improvement on the vast majority of farms, because the national average is only 9 pigs for slaughter per sow. It is hoped that by making the farmer aware of the potential value of his pigs more interest will be shown in this sideline. Only then will an effort be made to develop pig keeping into a really profitable business by planning a layout which will enable the essential tasks to be performed easily and quickly and by organising the work to make efficient use of the stock and foodstuffs available.