Early Weaning of Pigs

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 99, Issue 5, 16 November 1959, Page 453

Early Weaning of Pigs

Farmer’s Success with Modified System of

NEW ZEALAND farmers have the reputation of rapidly applying I N findings which are capable of improving their efficiency, particularly in so far as this can be measured in output per man hour. The failure of many farmers to attempt anything earlier than six- or sevenweek weaning of piglets, even though the principles of early weaning have been widely known and publicised for four or five years now, therefore requires some examination. Are the claims made by the enthusiasts illusory? Are there aspects of management which have not been appreciated by those who have tried out what was advocated and been disappointed with the results? In this article A. Longwill, Advisory Officer (Pig Husbandry), Department of Agriculture, Wellington, suggests answers to these questions and details the methods of a farmer who has adapted his pig management to the early weaning method and is successfully practising his modified system.

WITH the proviso that early weaned pigs must grow as fast and economically as pigs reared in the normal way, the following advantages should accrue to the farmer who adapts his management properly: 0 Less feed required by each sow and a greater proportion of it in the form of grass or crop, our cheapest foods. 0 Improved overall efficiency in food use (and therefore better returns for pigs per pound of butterfat) by reduction of the. amount of double conversion of food through the sow. O Better conformity between the requirements of the pig herd and the fluctuating food supply. 0 Early farrowing of summer litters, which will help to remove the need to carry store pigs over winter. Aims To get the full results theoretically possible the following aims must be achieved:

1. An increase of 10 to 20 per cent in the sow herd; farrowings arranged in pairs at dates beginning (for winter litters) at least 10 weeks (with whey) to two months (with skim milk) ahead of the median calving date for the herd.

2. Housing with special provision whereby the pigs can keep themselves warm from an early age. 3. Provision of carefully compounded, special starter feed. (This is more expensive than most supplements.) Take special precautions to minimise waste (for example, food taken by birds). 4. Maintenance of the breeding cycle so that litters are obtained when required to fit into the production plan and numbers born and weaned do not deteriorate. 5. Maintenance of a higher standard of management and more attention to detail than is so often given to pigs on New Zealand farms. (The early weaning system advocated in this article does not, however, increase the labour required.) SUCCESSFUL SYSTEM On the farm of Messrs Searle Bros., Monovale, Cambridge, Mr Frank Searle, who is in charge of the pigs, has experimented with early weaning for some three or four years. He has, with special early weaning starter foods now available, been able to

develop a system which should be within the scope of many New Zealand pig producers.

Initially, Mr Searle went to a great deal of trouble with housing and artificial heat to endeavour to follow research station and overseas practice of weaning at seven to 10 days old. He found this impracticable under his conditions so tried leaving the pigs longer on the sowuntil they started feeding independently. Early weaning meal is offered in the creep trough from the time piglets are 10 days old. With the use of heat lamps weaning at three weeks proved successful, but as a result of further experience Mr Searle has adopted four weeks’ weaning as standard practice. No heat lamps are used, but the newly weaned pigs are housed in a covered kennel in which they can keep themselves warm. Piggery Accommodation

The piggery consists of six units ' of the Waikato dual-purpose house which includes a covered creep area between the sleeping floor and feeding race with : feeding yard to the side. The main feed trough, placed at rightangles to the feed race, runs the full depth of the yard, covering the sleeping floor and creep. Units are arranged back-to-back and face-to-face. The creep area can be shut off by the closing of a door the bottom of which is 10 in. above floor-level. The rest of the. piggery comprises grass runs with open-fronted movable shelters typical of the Waikato layouts of 20 years ago. Grazing is well controlled, however, and grass in the pig runs has been kept in good condition. Dry sows run ■ out in good grass paddocks and sleep in open-fronted wooden huts. L . > - Self-feeders are used in the creeps to provide the special creep meal or pellets ad lib. Small movable water troughs are regularly cleaned and filled with clean water, which is also always available.

Farrowing Management On this farm cows calve from the end of June and half the herd has calved by about 20 July. The aim has been to have sows farrow in pairs, starting about the last week in April. As a result of experience to date, Mr Searle is going to advance farrow-

ings a , further fortnight. ■. The table below sets out the . farrowing, plan envisaged, farrowings being spaced in pairs at fortnightly intervals. That this regularity, is unlikely, in practice is realised, but . unless it . is attempted on a planned ; basis nothing remotely ■resembling this result will be achieved.

FARROWING PLAN FOR SOWS MATED IN PAIRS ... Winter litters Summer litters (sold in spring and summer) (sold in autumn) Sow Mating Farrowing Weaning Mating Farrowing Weaning J’ 2 •• 22 Dec. 15 April 13 May 20 May 11 Sept. . 9 Oct. 3, 4 . . 5 Jan. 29 April 27 May 3 June 25 Sept. 22 Oct. n, b .. 19 Jan. 13 May 10 June 17 June 9 Oct. 6 Nov. o’ ° n ■■ J Feb. 27 May 24 June 1 July 22 Oct. 20 Nov. ?’ 19 •• eb ' io June 8 July 15 July . 6 Nov. 4 Dec.. .. 1? •• J ar - 24 June 22 July 29 July 20 Nov. 18 Dec. I- " in *Jar. 3 July 5 Au S- 12 Aug. 4 Dec. . 1 Jan. la, 16 .. 30 Mar. 22 July 19 Aug. 26 Aug. . 18 Dec. 15. Jan.

It is undesirable in New Zealand to go ahead continuously mating after early weaning, as this would mean farrowings in a period unsuitable for getting the most economical use of the fluctuating food supply. It is necessary, therefore, to hold back sows from service for about 10 weeks after weaning the summer litter. This introduces one of the problems associated with the practice of early weaning. Some sows fail to conceive readily after this spell or, if they do, may have litters of few pigs. The reason for this is not clear. The trouble has not occurred with early weaned sows at Ruakura, possibly because management of these sows is carefully directed:

(a) They. are held in firm condition but. overfattening is rigorously „ avoided. ■ . • (b) A record is kept of heat periods and sows are flushed for a week or two by feeding about, four gallons of milk or its equivalent plus grass, depending on her condition, after the last heat period before the one at which she is to be mated. These aspects of sow management are important in the securing of satisfactory winter litters, the importance of which to : the overall efficiency of the pig unit ; should not require emphasis. : They do, however, entail a degree of careful sow management which has not in the past been considered practicable by many dairy farmers. ; Service and farrowing dates are seldom recorded, but this is essential in the more careful sow management required. Shed sheets to enable this to be done easily are available from the Department of Agriculture. The essential thing, however, is to have the management pattern clearly laid down and put the plan into operation, carefully following through and quickly introducing remedial measures for any breakdown. Reports from overseas support the view that problems of irregular breeding and small litters associated with early weaning, practice are chiefly, attributable to management.

Two-lifter System Where for any reason a farmer is unable to give the required attention to sow management to secure continuing good results, a system of working entirely with young sows, taking only two litters from them before disposing of them as choppers, may be considered. The most promising gilts from the winter litters would be kept for breeding, being mated to farrow when approximately 12 months old. Flexibility is desirable to allow for the best of the sows to be carried over for a second, or even third, season. If more gilts are mated than will be required, there will be a ready sale at remunerative prices for the surplus houses with covered creep. Feeding Method In Mr Searle’s piggery the winter litters are farrowed in the dualpurpose houses, which permit full control over sows and litters. Some summer litters are farrowed in the open-run houses and when a week or so old are brought into the control houses with covered creeps. The pigs are encouraged into the creep at as early an age as possible. With the palatable special early weaning starter foods now available little difficulty is experienced in getting the litter started in the creep from 10 days old. For the first few days a little of the meal is put in the trough of a self-feeder and replenished as it is cleaned up; then the meal is put in the self-feeder and is always available to the litter. After a week or so No. 1 pellets are gradually introduced and a progressive changeover made so that when the time for weaning (4 weeks) arrives the litter will have been on pellets only for a day or two.

Weaning Management Mr Searle has been using the side creep of the house for the purpose for which it was originally designed, but he wants a small kennel into which he can concentrate enough pigs for them to maintain a comfortable warmth. Therefore, on weaning, he switches, the sleeping floor to this creep area (some 5 ft x 3 ft), covers it with a well insulated lid,

and hangs a sack over the entrance to keep the heat in. In this kennel he concentrates two litters totalling 16 to 20 pigs. They thrive without artificial heat when bedded on 2 or 3 in. of wood shavings. These are held in position by concrete blocks placed on. their sides and moved to provide an expanding sleeping floor as required by the pigs. This handy method is also followed for providing an expanding sleeping floor when the pigs outgrow the creep area and are returned at about 5 weeks to the main sleeping floor of the house. After pigs have been a week or so here any that are backward are returned to . the kennel, kept longer on pellets, and given an antibiotic supplement. Feeding after Weaning No. 1 pellets are continuously available in the self-feeder for the first few days after weaning. These, with clean water, provide all the feed. After three or four days a home-mixed meal comprising three parts of barley meal (finely ground) and one part of buttermilk powder (and perhaps 10 per cent of meat meal) is introduced as a slop mixed with a little milk and fed in a separate small trough. The ration is increased gradually and made more sloppy with additional milk. When the pigs are taking this readily the No. 1 pellets are withdrawn and the slop gradually increased until when pigs are eight weeks old the feed ration per pig is as follows): Morning feed: | lb meal and | gallon skim milk (slop) Midday: gallon of skim milk Evening.: J lb of meal and i gallon of skim milk (slop) . This is the first stage at which any skim milk is given as a drink. It has

been found that in this way scours have been minimised. Cleanliness, which is so essential in this system of management, is more readily achieved with this type of feeding. Meal is gradually increased to a maximum of 1| lb per pig daily. From that stage onward the milk portion only of the ration is increased. The greatest importance is placed on avoidance of overfeeding. The quantity given at each feed is so adjusted that 95 per cent of it is cleaned up quickly. More liberal feeding has been found to result in scours. However, they can be quickly eliminated by reducing the milk fed and administering a proprietary aureomycin preparation. The results obtained by this feeding, method have been very satisfactory, and the fact that the growth rate is maintained to the finishing stages is indicated by output. About 20,000 lb of pigmeat was (produced during the past season, when 129 cows were milked. This represents 155 lb of pigmeat (equivalent to two porkers) per cow. . Economics of System Questions which will occur naturally to every practical farmer are: “How much has been spent on meals to achieve this production?” : “Does it really pay?” ’ Though it is not' primarily the amount of meal used but how efficiently it is used which governs profit, the results for the piggery discussed would indicate that meal feeding had been kept within, economic limits. Meals represented about 15 per cent of the total food supply and cost £320 in the past season. When this amount is deducted from gross returns it still leaves a farm return of over £9 per cow from the skim milk. Essentials to; Success n~| Interest and determination to im- '— plement the plan thoroughly are more ■ important than any superabundance of labour. 0 Leaving the litter on the sow until 28 days old. nn Providing, a warm bed in a ' —' correctly sized coop or kennel which the pigs can keep warm without artificial heat. CH Ad lib. feeding to 8 weeks, using L— the appropriate special feeds in the early stages. |~s~j Cleanliness. Ln Treating otherwise as in ordinary I —' rearing practice; allowing run-out on pasture when conditions are suitable from as early an age as possible.

Premium for Baconers A special, quality-premium schedule for baconers is to be offered for a trial period during 1959-60. The schedule, which will operate from I November, has resulted from negotiations between producers’ representatives and the trade. The Department of Agriculture recommends all producers of quality pigs to market their baconers under the new schedule.