Is it possible to give red beets to pigs and piglets, their benefits and harms?

Red beets are a root vegetable rich in sugars and carbohydrates. It must be used with caution in the diet of non-ruminant artiodactyls. If improperly prepared or fed to pigs a stale product, acute poisoning may occur in the animals. Is it possible to give and include red beets in the daily diet of pigs and piglets, what are the benefits and harms of the red vegetable.

Is it possible to give beets to pigs?

Is it possible to give red beets to piglets and pigs? The issue is highly controversial. Forage and green chard do not cause digestive disorders in pigs, and the healthy green root vegetable is often included in the menu as an important vitamin supplement to the main diet.But sugar red beets can cause poisoning in the inhabitants of the pigsty.

Thus, it is necessary to feed pigs red root vegetables with caution, in small quantities, following the instructions. But juicy tops, finely chopped in a trough, will become a useful vitamin supplement to the main diet. Pig eats tops with great pleasure, while the animals saturate the body with vitamins A, B and C, and flavonoids.

Benefits and harms

If the consumption of the product so often causes poisoning in non-ruminants, why include it in the diet? Advantages and benefits of the supplement:

1. It is important to include succulent vitamin supplements in the pig menu in winter.
2. The vegetable contains easily digestible carbohydrates, which are necessary for non-ruminant artiodactyls for proper digestion and the functioning of the rumen microflora.
3. Complex feeds are better digestible.
4. The pigs' appetite increases.
5. Saving the farmer's costs on the purchase of concentrated feed.

Important! If the basis of the diet of domestic pigs is silage, then red beets should be included in small quantities as an additive to prevent acidosis.

Harm from the product to a pig can be caused by eating low-quality and stale, as well as cooked root vegetables. Scalded or boiled sugar vegetables quickly enter the fermentation process in the broth, where toxic substances begin to be released, and there is a high risk of poisoning of livestock.

Strictly follow the daily dosage of the supplement. The percentage of chopped vegetables should not exceed 30% of the entire serving of food.

Instructions for use

The basic rule when including red or fodder beets in the diet of non-ruminant artiodactyls is to give fresh vegetables, observing the norm. Step-by-step instruction:

1. Rinse the root vegetables to remove any dirt.
2. Finely chop the vegetables in a trough
3. Mix the product with the main feed.

The tops can be given fresh, poured with boiling water, even to piglets. If silage feed predominates on the pig menu, then the amount of chopped vegetables can be increased to 50% of the total feed mixture. This technique reduces the acidity in food, which stimulates the pigs’ appetite, and they are better able to eat the offered treat.

Tips and tricks

Including a red vegetable supplement in the livestock menu can significantly save the farmer’s budget for the purchase of concentrated feed. A healthy root vegetable can replace up to 50% of the main feed. Farmers' recommendations:

• Give vegetables and tops fresh;
• observe the daily supplement rate and the ratio with the main feed;
• do not include boiled root vegetables in your pigs’ diet;
• feed piglets and adults with chalk and roughage.

With a balanced diet for pigs and following the rules for preparing the sweet plant, pigs do not develop digestive disorders; on the contrary, food digestibility increases, metabolic processes improve, and immunity to infectious diseases is formed.