Keeping pigs at home for beginners, how to raise

The maintenance of pigs and pigs requires a lot of labor, financial resources and the arrangement of a pigsty. Animals are fattened for 10 months. They are fed 2-3 times a day, and rich in vitamins, amino acids, protein, carbohydrates. At a time, a pig eats 1-2 kilograms of feed, that is, about 60 kilograms of potatoes, grains and vegetables per month, and gains only 10-15 kilograms every month.

Pig rearing technologies

Animals such as pigs are grown not only on an industrial scale, but also at home, or rather, in personal subsidiary plots.There are several globally recognized technologies that can achieve good results and minimize mortality. The choice of cultivation method depends on the number of herds and material resources.

For beginner pig breeders, any technology is a whole science that has its own principles and rules. Before you start breeding pigs, you need to understand this issue theoretically, and then move on to practice.

Danish

It is known that Denmark is the leader in Europe in the production of pork, it is advisable to adopt the experience of this country. There, in breeding farms, only purebred pigs are bought for fattening, which are quickly gaining weight. The Danish breeding method is characterized by the construction of stationary pigsties with the latest technology. This technology is used on an industrial scale, but private entrepreneurs can take advantage of this technique.

Distinctive features of Danish technology:

• emphasis on indoor cleanliness and fresh food;
• scheduled feeding;
• special machines for childbirth and feeding newborns;
• slotted floors;
• automatic manure removal system;
• maintenance of growing pigs in a spacious corral of 30 pieces;
• electronic heating and ventilation system;
• automatic feed line;
• special veterinary control regime.

With this method of breeding, the farm is a closed area, which is not allowed outsiders, including stray animals (cats, dogs). Vaccination is carried out according to the schedule. Pigs are kept clean and comfortable with regular hygiene measures.

Canadian

This is the opposite of Danish technology. In this case, stationary pigsties are not built. Pigs are kept in temporary tent hangars. Traditional straw is used as bedding.

Distinguishing features of Canadian technology:

• construction of tent hangars;
• non-replaceable bedding made of straw or sawdust;
• keeping in one room up to 250 heads;
• equipment heated drinkers;
• bunker feeders with free access at any time of the day.

In this technique, the pigs are kept in near-cold conditions. In winter, the animals are kept warm by composted bedding, which is not changed, but a new layer is added every week. The temperature of this floor reaches 15 degrees Celsius. Animals can move freely around the hangar.

Pigs are tempered from infancy, acquire strong immunity. Canadian technology is a minimum cost for the construction and cleaning of pigsties. Animals are fattened to a certain age and then sent to slaughter.

Two-phase

Usually, young piglets are kept with a sow until a certain age, and then transferred to another room. This procedure causes great stress in animals. In modern farms, piglets are not transferred anywhere. They live with the sow for up to 3-4 months. Then the females are imperceptibly taken to another room, and the piglets are left in the same one. This is the essence of the two-phase pig rearing system.

Pigsty requirements

Stationary pigsties are being built for breeding pigs. These premises must meet certain criteria. Properly raising pigs means creating comfortable conditions for the animals to develop and grow normally.

Temperature and humidity

In the pigsty, the air temperature should not be lower than 18 and not higher than 20 degrees Celsius. True, newborn piglets need to create special conditions. During this period, animals are sensitive to cold and drafts. The normal air temperature for newborns is 28-33 degrees Celsius. Heating of the room in cold weather is carried out with the help of lamps and electric heaters. Lowering the temperature below 14 degrees Celsius, as well as raising it above 30 degrees Celsius, increases feed consumption, but reduces weight gain.

Humidity in the pigsty should be 60-70 percent. High outdoor temperatures and dry indoor air can cause overheating. There should not be a steam room in the pigsty. High temperature and humidity can cause poor he alth, refusal to feed. The air condition in the room is regulated by supply and exhaust ventilation or simple ventilation.

Water availability

It is necessary to install drinkers in the pigsty. They are made from waterproof material. Drinkers are group or designed for one animal. On an industrial scale, automatic water supply is used. In subsidiary farms, pigs are watered from troughs. Water is poured 3 times a day, each time fresh. Animals are watered in the intervals between the distribution of feed. Water should be warm and clean. Norm per animal: 1 bucket (8-10 l).

Place for walking

The room per pig should be at least 4-5 square meters. In a non-walking compartment (cage, container), the animal will recover faster. If the pigsty contains several heads, the pigs are equipped with a place for walking. Typically, for 50 animals, the walking space should be 250 square meters.

Lighting

Daylight hours in a pigsty should be 10-12 hours. Animals respond well to daylight, so windows are installed in the rooms, which are placed near the ceiling. In winter, when it gets dark early, you can turn on the electric light bulbs. True, artificial lighting should not be too bright, otherwise the pigs will behave aggressively.

Automatic manure removal systems

An automatic manure removal system is being installed under the slatted floor for pigs. There is nothing complicated in its installation. First, concrete baths are made. A slatted floor is installed on top. Feces enter the concrete tank through holes. From there, sewage is pumped into containers through pipes and pumps and taken out of the farm. The faeces tank is cleaned every week.

How to care

In order to raise a he althy animal, it must be properly cared for from the moment of birth. At the age of 1 and 2 months, piglets are vaccinated against the most dangerous diseases. Fleas and helminths are removed once a quarter.

Pigs are fed on a schedule 2 or 3 times a day. Piglets should gain weight every month. The mass of a newborn is about 1 kilogram. By the end of the first month of life, the piglet should weigh 10 times more. Each month, the weight of the animal should increase by 10 kilograms. It is recommended to slaughter pigs at the age of 10 months, when they gain 130-140 kilograms.

Animals must be kept clean. The pigsty is cleaned daily, the manure is raked into the sump. If the floor is not slotted, it is covered with straw. It is recommended to ventilate the room once a day, disinfect it once a month.

Types and schemes of fattening

Pigs are raised for meat, lard or bacon. Depending on the desired result, a certain feeding pattern is followed.

Meat fattening

In order to raise an animal for meat, it is fed mainly with boiled potatoes and crushed barley porridge.The diet is supplemented with various fresh vegetables (pumpkin, beets). Pigs are given green fodder, cereals (wheat, corn), compound feed, cake, meal. Any breed is suitable for growing for meat.

Bacon fattening

In order to get lard with numerous meat streaks, pigs are fed in 2 stages, starting from 2.5 months of age. The weight of the young should be 25-30 kilograms. Up to 5 months, animals are given protein-rich food (crushed grain of wheat, corn, meal, cake, mixed fodder), as well as vegetables (pumpkin, beets) and green fodder. From 5 to 7 months, pigs are fed better. Animals are given potatoes, crushed barley and peas, herbs of leguminous plants. Only early maturing breeds are suitable for fattening for bacon: Estonian bacon, large white, landrace. Pigs should be kept for no more than 7-8 months.

Fat for fat

Exclusively for fat, animals are fed carbohydrate-rich food. Pigs get better quickly if they are given boiled potatoes, cereals, small amounts of fresh vegetables and green herbs.

How to feed piglets without a sow

Newborn piglets are usually separated from the sow at 2 months of age. If the pig refuses to feed the young, they are fed cow's milk sweetened with sugar. Piglets should be kept in a separate room where the air temperature is not lower than 30 degrees Celsius.

Starting from 3 weeks of life, babies can add semolina to milk, a little later, animals are transferred to boiled potatoes. It is necessary to organize the care of piglets, remove manure daily, lay fresh straw.

Possible diseases and methods of dealing with them

Pigs must be vaccinated against dangerous diseases. Piglets receive the first injection on the 5th day after birth. The baby is injected with an iron-containing drug. At 15 days of age, they are vaccinated against rickets.

At 16-30 days - vaccination against Aujeszky, at 20 days - vaccination against salmonellosis, at 20-30 days - against pasteurellosis, at 40 days - against plague, at 45 days - against leptospirosis, at 60 days - from erysipelas and Teschen's disease, at 90 days - from foot and mouth disease. Pigs are wormed and fleas removed once a quarter.

Features of winter maintenance

During construction, they try to insulate the pigsty so that in winter they turn on heaters less often. The temperature in the room should not fall below 18 degrees Celsius. The pigsty is heated with heaters, fan heaters and infrared lamps. Pigs are fed, as usual, 2-3 times a day. In the evening, turn on electric lighting.

Recommended