Pig Farming For Beginners

Pig Farming For Beginners

What Are The Merits And Demerits Of Raising Pigs?

So why would one want to raise pigs in their farm? There may be various reasons, here we have listed the common benefits to raising your very own pigs.

- Pig products

Each pig provides for numerous products and on-farm processing can provide for a wide range of products. The main commodity of pig production is pork. Pork represents high value animal protein and is the most consumed meat in the world.

As a result of the great variability between pig breeds, carcasses have differing characteristics ranging from high lean meat percentages (as desired in many Western societies) to high intramuscular fat and back fat contents (as often appreciated in more traditional societies).

Slaughtered pork that is not destined for immediate marketing, processing and consumption requires a functioning cold chain to avert product spoilage.

Also Read: What is the fastest way to fatten up a pig?

Besides traditional meat cuts found locally, many other pig products find their way into the food chain. These include pig fat, brain, feet, ears, blood and organs (for example, liver and stomach).

Commonly other pig by-products are used for many and various purposes. For example, intestines for sausage casings, bone collagen is used in the food processing and cosmetic industry, hairs are used for brushes, etc.

Pork processing can lead to a great variety of products meeting the demand of specific consumption patterns. The number of processed products can be extensive, ranging from simple salted and sun dried pork, to cured sausages to smoked ham.

Mainstream processed pork products are commonly accompanied by some local specialties that may include more traditional recipes and herbs or spices. Pork can be processed on-farm provided that appropriate training has been given, especially in terms of food hygiene and safety.

- Pigs at household level

At household level pig production provides access to animal protein for farm families, contributing to an improved diet for family members.

Pork with its beneficial components like essential amino acids, vitamins and iron, facilitates a balanced nutrition which is especially important for young children in food insecure regions. On-farm processing of pork can produce products with improved storage characteristics, enabling meat consumption throughout the year regardless of when slaughter occurs.

In many societies women are traditionally responsible for raising, feeding and caring for animals. Commonly when pigs are sold, men get involved, often curtailing women’s access to income. The development of a smallholder pig sector thus needs to consider gender issues and this can be supported by extension services and appropriate training.

Pigs can contribute positively to the empowerment of women and enhance their equal participation in local markets. It can give women a better say in family matters, allow for their own income to be earned and in case of widowhood or abandonment can provide a safety net. It can also give women a greater role in their local communities. Activities in small scale pig production often require additional labour. Family members participate in the enterprise and this provides more employment opportunities for the farm family.

The level of technical skills and physical strength needed to succeed in small-scale production are minimal and routines required can easily be understood. Tasks can be split among all family members including people suffering from disabilities or suffering from illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. Pig management does not commonly involve excessive labour.

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On-farm processing enables new skills and knowledge to be learnt and provides for more varied products to be sold and further employment opportunities for the farm family.

Women that are involved in the raising of pigs can also get involved in processing of pork giving them yet another source of income deriving from pig enterprises. Kitchen processing is easy to set up, has very few start-up costs and can be a first step towards a more formalized operation where appropriate equipment is bought and a room in the farm household or a small building on the farm is devoted to processing operations. However before any such progress is made there has to be a corresponding market demand and importantly sales to make such investments feasible.

In poor rural but also peri-urban areas, pig production often functions as a banking system where the animal is a source of wealth that can be accessed when additional income is needed. This might be the case when school fees need to be paid, household members seek medical assistance or cash is needed for further investments. In this regard, pigs represent an attractive intermediate between poultry production, which can be initiated with very little money and the more long term oriented cattle production option requiring far higher cash outlays.

What Is The Fastest Way To Fatten Up A Pig?

Pigs usually need nutritious food regularly to be healthy, happy and contended. A diet that is high in energy (corn), low in fiber (cellulose) and supplemented with ample of protein is considered ideal and wholesome to ensure the upward and steady growth of a pig.

A pig can not be called a pig unless it loves its food. Its feeding habits are characterized with rooting and pleading for more food and eating food with a great gusto and relish.

However, in spite of your pig being constantly obsessed with the idea of eating food, it does not mean you submit to its obsession.

There is a specific and regulated pattern of feeding and eating habits for your pig and before you give your pig that extra morsel of food, ponder again!

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A major portion of your pig's diet should comprise of potbellied pig feed. Even though not abundantly available, do not compromise and substitute it with readily available other food. Pig feed generally resembles small pellets that are high in proteins and low in calories unlike a hog's feed.

Another important note to be made is to never feed your pig food that is formulated for a hog for obvious reasons like your pig is not a hog and does not need to eat like a hog. Once you have selected the right kind of food, the next thought provoking step is to decipher the proportion of food to be fed to pigs to most fundamentally ensure weight management. If you are raising your pig on a farm, you can feed them grain and corn in a pig trough. Always let pigs eat until they are full.

Feeding your pig food over the course of the day is a good way of feed your pig. By scattering half cup of pellet four times at regular intervals in a day will help is easy digestion and also teach the pig to rations its food. In case of a predicament, where you are not at home as often to cater to all feeds, then you can minimize it to 2-3 times a day but the quantity still remaining intact.

If your pig is hungry in between meal times, which is very likely, then feed it with lost of vegetables and fruits. Pigs feast on berries, carrots, raisins, apples, celery and almost all the other items stored in your refrigerator.

Not very fussy eaters, pigs when left loose in the wild, tend to relish mainly on vegetation and a random insect. Thus it is advisable not to over feed pigs with excess meat and pork items and maybe seldom entertain them with a slice of ham, bacon or sausages.

Pigs do enjoy sweet treats occasionally and they can indulge in animal crackers that are low in calorie or lightly sweetened cereal. Pigs should also be also given lots of fresh water as half of a pig's body is made up of water. If you feed your pig a proper diet, you will make sure it remains fat and healthy.

Importance of Feeds and Feeding

1. Feed accounts for at least 70% of the cost of commercial pig production. Therefore, it is the most important operational cost item in a pig enterprise. To maximize profits, a pig farmer must minimize feeding costs. Feed must contain the nutrients in the right quantities.

2. Pigs require feed for body maintenance, growth and reproduction. Feeds supply nutrients which are used to meet these biological needs.

3. There are six classes of nutrients required by the pig: water, energy, protein, vitamins, minerals and lipids. These nutrients can be supplied by a wide variety of feedstuffs.

4. Feeding pigs for optimum production requires that feedstuffs be combined in proportionate amounts that will provide the quantities of nutrients needed by the animals.

Nutrients required by pigs

1. Water: Sixty-five percent of the pig’s body is water. The pig requires water to enable all body functions such as digestion, excretion, blood circulation and maintenance of body temperature.

Lack of water quickly leads to a rise in body temperature and death. Also less water will have a major effect on food intake and pig performance. A Sow needs 20 liters of drinking water daily. A farmer should supply clean fresh water all the time.

2. Energy: Provides the body system with the power to function. The energy requirement of the pig is supplied by carbohydrates and fats. The main sources of carbohydrates are cereals, root crops and fruits (Table 5). Fats commonly used in pig feeds include groundnuts and soybeans oils, among others. The pig requires very small amount of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid required for the body’s normal functioning.

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3. Protein: Provides the primary blocks for body building and repair i.e meat, collagen, hair and nails. The most commonly used plant and animal protein containing feedstuffs are shown.

4. Minerals: These are the nutrients found in bones. Minerals are required for strong bones and normal body function. There are 13 essential inorganic minerals known to be required by the pig.

The minerals required in sizeable quantities are calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and chlorine. Iron is very important to the piglet. The common sources of minerals include: lake shells (Obusonko), bone ash, common salt, brown salt, soil and commercial vitamin-mineral premix. Bonemeal, oyster shell and limestone are the most common sources of Calcium and Phosphorus in pig rations.

5. Vitamins are required for maintenance of normal health. Common sources of vitamins for pigs include green leaves and vegetables.

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