by The efficiency of pig farming depends on the correct feeding of piglets from 1 to 6 months. The first month, sucklings grow up to 8-10 kg on mother’s milk.
During this period, piglets suckle their mother and from the fifth day poke their noses into the feeder with mineral supplements. Growing piglets do not have enough mother’s milk and require additional feeding.
In this article you will learn what to feed little piglets.
Feeding periods
Each period of feeding is determined by the ability of the baby’s gastrointestinal tract to digest food. By the end of the suckling period, hydrochloric acid begins to be produced in the stomach of month-old piglets and the diet expands.
The periods of development of the offspring can be conditionally divided into:
- lactic;
- growing up;
- fattening.
Milk (up to 2 months)
The milk period of piglets lasts up to 2-2,5 months. At this time, it is very important to select the right diet to ensure rapid growth.
Milk is the ideal supplement during this period. It can be either skimmed or whole, but it must be warm. During the first months of life, piglets need about 5-6 liters of skimmed milk (skim milk) and 6-8 liters of whole milk.
From the first weeks, mineral supplements (charcoal, turf or red clay) should be added to the feeder. After the babies learn to eat minerals and drink water, porridge cooked in skim milk or whole milk can be introduced into the diet.
In addition, pigs need to be gradually teach to eat vegetables: first in mashed form, later – cut into cubes. It is better to boil potatoes and give them together with concentrated feeds in the form of puree, but not earlier than the babies are two weeks old.
Starting from 1,5-2 weeks of age, animals can be fed with grated carrots (10-15 g/day). In summer, grass and greens are given freely from the first week of life.
This has a positive effect on the growth and weight of the babies. If you follow these simple tips, then by the end of the milk period the weight of the young animals will be about 25 kg on average.
Piglet feeders must be kept clean, as the babies are very sensitive to gastrointestinal diseases. To avoid this, all uneaten food must be regularly removed from the trough, after which the container must be thoroughly washed and doused with boiling water.
Cultivation
It is believed that during this period (2,5-4 months) the foundation for successful fattening is laid. At this time, active growth of muscle mass occurs and the piglets need to be provided with the most favorable conditions for feeding and keeping.
For rapid growth, the pig should be given thick porridge: oatmeal, barley, peaAs an addition, you can use whey or skim milk, as well as all kinds of cleanings and kitchen waste.
Piglets still need succulent feeds, which include potatoes, carrots, garden tops and grassTeenagers should receive at least 15-2 grams of chalk and salt per day.
If the rearing took place in winter, additional feeding in the form of chopped wood, hay dust, silage and vegetables in double the amount is allowed.
After finishing, it is time for fattening. In about 2-3 months, the piglet’s weight should increase from 50-60 kg to 100-110 kg. To ensure rapid growth of pigs, concentrates should be included in their diet starting from the age of three months.
Before you start fattening, you need to study as much information as possible about the types of feed mixtures, the corresponding diet and fattening rules. This will allow you to provide yourself with a high-quality and relatively inexpensive product in a short time.
In pigs, the body condition and productivity depend to a greater extent on rational nutrition than in any other livestock.
Fattening
In the period from 2 to 4 months, piglets grow intensively. The task of the fattening period will be to use feed as efficiently as possible and get more meat.
Depending on the breed of pigs and the special maintenance regime and fattening diet, the following are obtained:
- meat product;
- bacon;
- fat.
What to feed piglets from 1 to 6 months?
One month old piglets
Piglets at the age of one month are just beginning to adapt to feeds more familiar to adult pigs. Their digestive system is also adapting to them.
But at the age of one month, hydrochloric acid is practically not secreted in it. And therefore, resistance to bacteria and viruses that enter with food is minimal. Therefore, the cleanliness of the pen and feeder at this time is a priority task.
Also, abrupt weaning of a piglet from its mother and her milk is stressful for the young. It can be accompanied by loss of appetite and a sharp decrease in weight.
As a replacement, at first it is necessary to supplement dry feed with cow’s milk in the amount of 1-1,5 liters per day per individual. Milk can also be replaced with whey or skim milk, but in this case the norm is increased by 2 times.
During this period of development of piglets, the diet should not be changed abruptly. Dry feeds, which were given 2 weeks before weaning, should be given for at least 2 more weeks, and only after that gradual changes should be made. In summer, piglets can be pastured.
But here too, they should be accustomed to grass gradually. First, give them small portions of green bait, and then let them out for short periods of time, gradually increasing the walking time to 1-2 hours 3 times a day by the end of the second month.
In winter, beets, boiled potatoes and carrots must be included in the diet. The food should also be supplemented with bone and fish meal.
2-3 month old piglets
Feeding of piglets at the age of 2-3 months is still implemented 3-4 times a day. The main goal is to reach 4-35 kg by 50 months. The basis of nutrition is still milk.
For 2 months, one head will need at least 2500 liters of milk. But it is increasingly supplemented with compound feed, concentrated and succulent feed.
The amount of dairy products in fattening is gradually reduced. At the same time, the proportion of other feeds increases.
The approximate diet is:
- Concentrated feed – 1 kg.
- Boiled chopped potatoes – 1-1,5 kg.
- Juicy root vegetables – 1,5 kg.
- Hay flour – 0,3 kg.
In summer, the grass should be at least 2,5 kg per day per individual. The specified composition is mixed, crushed and given several times a day in small portions.
4 month old piglets and above
By 4 months, the animal is almost completely adapted to all types of food. At this time, you should switch to 2 or 3 meals a day with a clearly defined feeding time. The basis of the diet at this time is wet thick mash.
This mixture includes concentrates, root vegetables, salt, chalk, legumes, whey. The composition can be supplemented with bioadditives or a premix. All components are very carefully crushed, mixed and poured with a small amount of water.
It is advisable to feed piglets such food outside the barn itself. The presence of liquid will ensure dampness, air humidity and dirt at the feeding site.
It is better to allocate a separate area in the pen for feeding and accustom the young animals to it. In this way, the piglets will be constantly clean, which will affect their health and well-being.
Features of fattening piglets at home
Types of fattening are divided into the following:
- fattening to a fat condition;
- bacon and ham fattening;
- meat fattening.
When fattened for meat, the animal’s meat turns out tender, and on its back there is an even layer of fat 3 cm thick.
In this case, fattening of the piglet should begin at about 2,5 months and be completed by the age of six months. By this time, the pig should gain about 100 kg of live weight.
Meat fattening is carried out in two stages:
- Until the piglet reaches a weight of 70 kg, its diet should consist of 1 kg of concentrated feed per day (can be replaced with household waste), as well as chopped greens (legumes, peas, clover) in an amount of up to 5 kg/day.
- As soon as the animal reaches 70 kg, 2 kg of potatoes and 5 kg of beets should be added to the diet, the amount of concentrates should be increased to 1,5 kg, and greens to 6 kg. In addition, 10-30 g of table salt and chalk should be added.
Bacon and ham fattening
It is used to obtain pork with a layer (“marbled”). In this case, it is necessary to choose a piglet of the appropriate breed.
Fattening also begins at 2,5 months. Boars are first castrated (at two months of age).
Up to 5,5 months, the animal receives 1,5 kg of concentrates, 1,5 kg of skim milk, about 2 kg of beets and pumpkin, 3 kg of greens and 20-25 g of table salt daily. During this period, the pig should gain at least 400 g of weight per day.
At the next stage (up to 8,5 months), it is necessary to exclude from the diet all products that affect the quality of meat and its taste.
Now, to obtain a bacon product, the animal should be provided with daily active walks with two meals a day. The piglet should gain approximately 500-600 grams/day.
For fattening for lard, it is better to choose young piglets that have already gained 100 kg and sows. To achieve rapid weight gain, animals should be given food rich in carbohydrates.
Sugar beets and potatoes are ideal for this. Concentrates, which mainly contain corn and wheat, should be given at a rate of about 3 kg/day.
At the second stage of fattening, barley or millet should be included in the diet instead of corn – this will help improve the quality of the fat. With such a diet, the animal quickly gains weight up to 200 kg, half of which is lard.
In order to reduce significant costs for feeding pigs, as well as to ensure rapid weight gain, it is necessary to purchase special feed additives that, when used correctly, will help achieve the desired result, significantly improve the quality of meat products, and also provide protection for the animal from various diseases.
For example, when fattening for meat, it is necessary to add vitamins and amino acids to the feed, which significantly increases the nutritional properties of the product and leads to a rapid increase in live body weight.
Types of feed for piglets
You can feed piglets that have already been weaned from their mother with different types of food, but they are all divided into dry and wet.
dry
When piglets are 2-4 months old, they need to be given complete feed, which contains protein and fiber, in their diet.
It may contain the following components:
- soybean cake;
- corn;
- bran;
- wheat;
- monocalcium phosphate;
- barley;
- fish flour;
- vitamin-mineral premix;
- sunflower cake;
- salt;
- chalk.
If you feed the pig dry food, you must always ensure that there is fresh and clean water in the drinking bowl. When piglets are 2-4 months old, this is the time for their intensive growth.
Active development of muscle and bone tissue occurs. The diet should include a variety of foods to increase appetite and growth.
But you can’t overfeed the young animals, otherwise they may become obese, which will result in the animal’s growth stopping. The weight gain is 400-700 g.
Liquid
If you choose a liquid type of feeding, you need to learn how to cook such food correctly. For cooking, you should use sour milk and kitchen waste.
Liquid feeding involves the use of mash. This includes boiled potatoes with vegetables, cake or greens.
Combi silo
Piglets aged 2-6 months eat combined silage very well. Chopped vegetables and greens are used to obtain it.
This includes carrots, beets, lupines, cabbage, and legumes. But moldy silage is not suitable for feeding piglets.
Finely chopped combisilos must be prepared correctly. To do this, it is carefully tamped in polyethylene bags. This allows the air to be displaced. This type of preparation is excellent for feeding piglets in autumn and winter.
Yeasting
Another option for liquid feed is yeast. You just need to add baker’s yeast to the concentrated feed.
Yeast fermentation can be done using a straight or a sponge method. Each of them helps improve appetite, rapid growth and weight gain.
If you use the non-sponge method, you need to add 100 g of yeast to 20 liters of water. The liquid temperature should be 40 degrees. After thoroughly mixing, pour in 10 g of dry feed. Stir the mass every 30 minutes.
You can feed the piglets after 7-8 hours of fermentation. Read about the maintenance of the Vietnamese pig breed at this link. The sponge method involves taking 100 g of yeast and 5 liters of warm water.
Add 2 kg of compound feed there. Let the mixture sit for 6-8 hours. Then add 15 liters of water and 7-9 kg of compound feed to the dough. You can give this feed to the piglets after 2 hours.
Bioadditives, premixes
Useful active substances that are not contained in the usual diet of pigs should be supplied in the form of dietary supplements – premixes. Supplements have been developed for each age of pigs.
The introduction of such additives allows to significantly reduce feed consumption:
- The biological additive “Borka” for piglets increases immunity, increases weight gain. It contains vitamins, macro and microelements, this premix does not contain antibiotics, growth stimulants and hormones.
- “Good Peasant” not only increases weight gain, but also removes worms and improves the health of pigs. The taste of meat improves in pigs fattened with the use of such an additive.
- “Dar Velesa” is a supplement created specifically for piglets. It promotes better absorption of feed.
- “Borka Champion” – created for accelerated feeding. Weight gain increases by 20%, and the fattening time is reduced by a month. Also serves as a means of preventing rickets, anemia.
Important! Premixes are given to animals only as supplements according to the instructions; they cannot replace feed.
What should not be fed?
This question is also very important when fattening piglets and relates to the quality of the food. If you notice mold, parasites or signs of fungal infection – immediately destroy this food.
You should also be careful when feeding greens to animals. The fact is that some plants contain harmful substances that, if ingested, can cause poisoning of month-old piglets.
These may be the following herbs:
- horse fennel;
- black nightshade;
- cicuta;
- caustic buttercup;
- spurge;
- pickle;
- dog parsley, etc.
Particular attention should be paid to castor and cottonseed cakes, as they contain gossypol (a toxic alkaloid). Therefore, such feeds should be steamed or treated with alkali before feeding.
Sprouted potatoes are no less dangerous, so their sprouts must be removed beforehand, and green tubers must also be gotten rid of. It is unacceptable to give pigs water in which potatoes were boiled.
