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Feeding Pigs
Getting it just right
Linda McDonald Brown looks at getting the balance between fat and meat just right...
Feeding a pig correctly so that it has just the right amount of back fat, when it comes to taking it to the abattoir, isn’ t the easiest thing in the world to achieve. You could be lucky and achieve a very commendable quarter to half inch back fat first time, but more often than not its trial and error and developing an eye as to the condition of the pig.
To ensure your pig stays healthy, it must receive the correct balance of vitamins, protein and fibre. The easiest way and most popular way of feeding your pigs is to buy compound pig food from an agricultural merchant.
In the wild, pigs will eat little and often, neither gorging nor leaving their stomach empty for too long. Feeding in this way is not possible when your pigs are confined and the most usual method is to feed twice a day morning and night. Some owners feed once a day, but unless they are on decent grass, this is not ideal as it is leaving the pigs too long without
food. Pigs such as the Kune Kune can actually do quite well on grass alone during the summer months providing it is of decent quality and there is enough of it.
If possible, you should start feeding piglets ad-lib from three weeks old. A small hopper filled full of food and left in the creep area will enable the piglets to eat little and often. Creep food should be the best you can buy and should be sweet smelling and free from dust.
Compound food comes in different types and for all stages of a pig’ s life, although I personally move my piglets from creep onto sow and weaner pellets at about 6 weeks old, and keep them on this until they go to the abattoir at 6 months old.
“ A healthy pig must recieve the correct balance of vitamins, protein and fibre.”
The different types of compound food available are as follows:
Creep Food Tiny pellets, usually given from three weeks onwards ad-lib. High in protein, at least 18 % to 25 %.
Grower Larger than creep food but smaller than sow nuts. Still very high in protein. Mix with the creep food, gradually increasing the amount ratio daily until you are feeding all growers. Start feeding this about 2 weeks before weaning, so the piglets are settled with it before they have the stress of weaning. Grower food can be fed right up to the finishing stage; although some finishing units feed specialised finisher pellets.
Sow and Weaners Nuts Ideal for the in-pig and a sow feeding piglets.
Ordinary Pig Nuts Large nuts, usually fed to dry sows and boars. Suitable for feeding loose on the ground if dry enough.