What to feed pigs?
What to feed pigs? What factors influence the healthy and rapid weight gain of pigs?
What to feed pregnant sows with?
Nutrition of lactating sows
What to feed piglets?
What to feed pigs? About the feeding of pigs
What to feed pigs? What factors influence the healthy and rapid weight gain of pigs?
If we breed pigs and their sale is our main source of income, then our priority is to ensure that they quickly reach the weight desired for slaughter. Nutritionists, however, sound the alarm: let’s eat meat from organic farms, because only this is healthy. And they’re probably right. So how to ensure that our pig farm grows healthy and at the same time brings the desired satisfaction and profit? What to feed pigs? Few of us know that the most important factors affecting the rapid weight gain of fatteners are:
- genetics
- diet,
- well-selected feeds from good feed producers.
We must also be aware that we should feed young piglets differently than sows, gilts or fatteners. So let’s review the nutrition of these groups.
What to feed pregnant sows with?
Let’s start by explaining the nomenclature. A sow, or a sow, is a mature female pig. We are not accustomed to eating pork either in the form of a slaughtered sow or in the form of a boar – a male pig. They perform a breeding function in breeding. So what should you feed a sow to keep it healthy and strong? Her diet depends on the reproductive stage she is in. If we have a pregnant sow, for example, our priority is to meet her increased demand for nutrients. If we want the sow to produce as many piglets as possible during the year, our task is to remember that we provide food not only to her, but also to the fetuses of piglets developing in her womb. At the beginning of pregnancy, a sow’s diet looks a bit different than it did just before farrowing.
Producers of feed for pigs prepared specially dedicated feed for pregnant sows: rich and valuable. They contain, above all: appropriate minerals that are easy to absorb through the intestines of animals, the so-called monogastric animals, which undoubtedly include pigs. Another important component of feed for this group of animals is an additive that strengthens bones and hooves. Manufacturers also add exogenous (i.e. those that the animal is unable to synthesize on its own), amino acids and natural ingredients that are designed to strengthen the immune system. It is also important to supply the feed with ingredients that ensure the correct pH value in the urine. In this way, we will minimize the risk of inflammation of the urinary tract in sows and the good development of embryos.
Nutrition of lactating sows
For lactating sows, feed manufacturers offer mixtures that contain ingredients that have a good effect on milk production. Concentrates containing about 70% fiber have a good effect on sow reproduction. They also fight the mastitis and uterus inflammation syndrome. In addition, these concentrates prevent constipation. In addition, we should give sows stabilizers of bacterial microflora of the digestive system and sulfur components that improve milk yield. Let’s not avoid the supply of natural herbs that have a positive effect on the nerves and stress of the animal related to childbirth and the perinatal period. Herbs also reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death to which pigs are often exposed.
What to feed piglets?
Please, it’s a newborn pig. From the first days of life, he needs mixtures containing immunoglobulins. These are the components of immune antibodies. In addition, producers of piglet formula add probiotics and glucose to them. In addition, a special milk can be used during sucking, containing easily digestible milk proteins with a bit of soy protein concentrate. If we additionally provide them with a supply of vitamins and minerals, then we will enable the piglets to develop even without sow’s milk. After weaning from the mother, we can give piglets the so-called weaning primers. They are characterized by high protein content and confectionery production waste. Sodium butyrate, which is a component of this type of feed, improves its taste. Piglets that are entering the rearing period can be given feed stimulating weight gain along with ingredients that care for the joint and bone system.
What to feed pigs? About the feeding of pigs
Fattening pigs are pigs intended for slaughter. Of course, before that happens, we have to fatten them up. Every pork producer probably wants pigs to grow relatively fast in relation to the feed used.
In order for them to gain weight, you should give them the starter (up to 40 kg of weight). The feed in question consists of about 14% of soybean, wheat and barley meal, 4% supplementation with valuable nutrients, as well as acidifiers and oil.
Grower feed is given to fatteners weighing over 40 kg to 90 kg. It consists of: ground cereal grains, about 14% of soybean meal and about 2% of admixtures. When it comes to cereals in this type of feed, there is the most ground barley and wheat. Thereafter, the amount of wheat is gradually reduced to triticale middlings.
Finisher is a mixture, also consisting mainly of grain middlings, mainly triticale and barley, and about 12% soybean middlings and a slight addition of other admixtures. The share of barley in this mixture is about 20%, while triticale is as much as 60%.
