Systems and methods for keeping pigs at home for beginners

Keeping piglets and pigs requires a lot of labor, financial resources and arrangement of a pigsty. Animals are fattened for 10 months. They are fed 2-3 times a day, with food rich in vitamins, amino acids, protein, and carbohydrates. A pig eats 1-2 kilograms of feed at a time, that is, about 60 kilograms of potatoes, grains and vegetables per month, and gains monthly weight of only 10-15 kilograms.

Pig rearing technologies

Animals such as pigs are raised not only on an industrial scale, but also at home, or rather, on private farms. There are several internationally recognized technologies that can achieve good results and minimize mortality. The choice of growing technique depends on the number of herds and material resources.

For beginning pig farmers, any technology is a whole science, which 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 pork production in Europe; it is advisable to adopt the experience of this country. There, in breeding farms, only purebred pigs that quickly gain weight are bought for fattening. The Danish method of breeding is characterized by the construction of stationary pigsties using 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 cleanliness of the premises and fresh food;
• feeding on a schedule;
• special machines for childbirth and feeding of newborns;
• floors with cracks;
• automatic manure removal system;
• keeping growing pigs in a spacious pen of 30 pigs;
• electronic heating and ventilation system;
• automatic feed supply line;
• special veterinary control regime.

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

Canadian

This is the opposite technology to the Danish one. In this case, stationary pigsties are not built. The pigs are kept in temporary tented hangars. Traditional straw is used as bedding.

Distinctive features of Canadian technology:

• construction of tent hangars;
• permanent bedding made of straw or sawdust;
• keeping up to 250 animals in one room;
• equipment for heated drinking bowls;
• bunker feeders with free access at any time of the day.

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

Two-phase

Usually young piglets are kept with the sow until a certain age, and then transferred to another room. This procedure causes severe 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 quietly taken to another room, and the piglets are left in the same one. This is the essence of a two-phase pig rearing system.

Requirements for a pigsty

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

Air temperature and humidity

In the pigsty, the air temperature should be no lower than 18 and no higher than 20 degrees Celsius. True, newborn piglets need to create special conditions. During this period, animals are sensitive to cold and draft. The normal air temperature for newborns is 28-33 degrees Celsius. Heating of the room in cold weather is carried out using lamps and electric heaters. A decrease in temperature below 14 degrees Celsius, as well as an increase above 30 degrees Celsius, increases feed consumption, but reduces weight gain.

The air humidity in the pigsty should be 60-70 percent. High temperatures outside and dry indoor air can lead to overheating. There should not be a steam room in the pigsty. High temperature and humidity can cause poor health and refusal to feed. The air condition in the room is regulated using supply and exhaust ventilation or simple ventilation.

Water availability

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

Walking area

The room for one pig should be at least 4-5 square meters. In a non-walking compartment (cage, container), the animal will recover faster.If there are several heads in the pigsty, the pigs are given a place to roam. 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 premises, which are placed near the ceiling. In winter, when it gets dark early, you can turn on electric light bulbs. However, artificial lighting should not be too bright, otherwise the pigs will behave aggressively.

Automatic manure removal systems

An automatic manure removal system is installed under the slatted floor for pigs. There is nothing complicated about installing it. First, concrete baths are made. A slatted floor is installed on top. Feces enter the concrete tank through holes. From there, sewage is pumped through pipes and pumps into containers and removed from the farm. The feces tank is cleaned every week.

How to care

In order to raise a healthy 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 of 2 or 3 times a day. Piglets should gain weight every month. The weight of a newborn is about 1 kilogram. By the end of the first month of life, the pig should weigh 10 times more. Every month the animal's weight should increase by 10 kilograms. It is recommended to slaughter pigs at 10 months of age, when they have gained 130-140 kilograms.

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

Types and schemes of fattening

Pigs are raised for meat, lard or bacon. Depending on the desired result, a specific feeding regimen 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). The pigs are given green feed, cereals (wheat, corn), compound feed, cake, and meal. Any breed is suitable for raising for meat.

Fattening for bacon

In order to obtain lard with numerous meat streaks, pigs are fed in 2 stages, starting from 2.5 months of age. The weight of young animals should be 25-30 kilograms. For up to 5 months, animals are given protein-rich food (crushed wheat, corn, meal, cake, mixed feed), as well as vegetables (pumpkin, beets) and green food. From 5 to 7 months, pigs are fed better quality food. The animals are given potatoes, crushed barley and peas, and leguminous herbs. Only early maturing breeds are suitable for fattening for bacon: Estonian Bacon, Large White, Landrace. Pigs need to be kept for no more than 7-8 months.

Fattening for lard

Animals are fed food rich in carbohydrates exclusively to obtain lard. Pigs recover quickly if they are given boiled potatoes, grain porridge, a small amount 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 need to be kept in a separate room, where the air temperature is not lower than 30 degrees Celsius.

Starting from the 3rd week of life, babies can add semolina to their milk; a little later, the animals are switched to boiled potatoes. It is necessary to organize the care of piglets, remove manure daily, and lay down fresh straw.

Possible diseases and methods of combating 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 - against erysipelas and Teschen's disease , in 90 days - from foot and mouth disease. Once a quarter, the piglets are dewormed and fleaed.

Features of winter maintenance

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