4213 10/17/2019 6 min.

Pigs are very popular animals among farmers and breeders around the world. They are unpretentious in maintenance and at the same time are capable of producing tasty meat and lard, as well as financial profit. Pigs need to be fed before slaughter to get the most out of them. However, not everyone knows how to do it correctly. It is important to take into account that there are certain rules and tricks for this.

What should be included in a pig's diet?

Feeding standards for pigs largely depend on the breed. It is believed that they are practically omnivores, but it should also be taken into account that some of their species are herbivores. In this case, the basis of the daily menu should be succulent herbs and vegetable products, as well as grains.

The diet of the most common breeds should include:

• cereals: peas, barley, wheat, corn, buckwheat;
• juicy foods: beets, carrots, pumpkin, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, potatoes;
• greenery;
• roughage: grass dust, bran;
• dairy waste and products;
• meat products;
• concentrates and feed. For more details on the composition and preparation of feed for pigs, see;
• meat and bone and fish meal.

In this case, food should be enriched with vitamins and minerals. If these elements are not enough, you can add purchased premixes.

Useful and harmful products

In order for the meat to acquire excellent taste and lard to gain graininess, it is important that at least fifty percent of the total diet consists of grain, juicy, dairy and meat products. It is recommended not to increase the amount of concentrates, feed and bran in the daily menu, since they do not contain many useful substances and calories.

Fish products should be added to the menu carefully, as they can spoil the taste of the resulting meat products.

Some breeders try to feed animals with oil cake, soybeans and oats. In order for them to actively gain and maintain weight, it is recommended to minimize the amount of such products in the diet, especially during the period of fattening for slaughter.

Feeding regimens

The rate of growth and weight gain of young animals depends not only on how the diet was composed, but also on what feeding regimen was chosen.

• “To my heart's content.” This form of feeding is considered the least profitable, since it implies no savings in food and unlimited access to food for young animals. It is used after separation of piglets from the sow. In this case, they must always have food in their feeder;
• Normalized. This method involves feeding the young animals several times a day at the same time. In this case, the food intake regime is compiled based on observations of the behavior and appetite of animals. It can be considered the most optimal, but it may require some experience in breeding and raising pigs. The method is suitable for feeding animals of all ages;
• Limited. It involves replacing succulent feed with coarser feed with minimal fat content. Most suitable for fattening sows for meat, as well as for feeding piglets. In the second case, less food should be given than a given group of young animals could eat, or they should be fed according to a fixed scale.

Animal nutrition depending on age

The composition of the diet for animals of different ages should be different.

Diet of suckling piglets

From the first days after birth, piglets receive all the necessary vitamins, nutritional components and microelements from their mother’s milk. However, with growth and development, a deficiency of these substances may occur. Therefore, after two to three weeks, complementary foods should be introduced.

Gradually, skim milk and cow's milk, grass flour, concentrates and juicy nutrition are introduced into the diet. Be sure to add table salt to your food, as well as chalk and bone meal. Thus, weaning from the sow is carried out within a period of forty-five to sixty days.

Feeding the young

Young animals must be fed so that by the age of ten months they weigh about one hundred kilograms, and by the age of one year - one hundred and eighty. The share of concentrates and compound feeds here should be from sixty to eighty percent, juicy - ten to twenty, rough - up to ten and feed of animal origin - no more than five percent.

The development and preservation of the animal’s weight, as well as the general state of health and the body as a whole, depend on the correct ratio of food in the feed.

Feeding adults

The diet of adult animals differs little from the menu of young animals. The difference is usually only in the amount of food. During the fattening period, the ratio should change depending on the choice: lean or fatty meat. Accordingly, in the second case there should be more juicy and fatty foods.

Fattening pigs for slaughter

Fattening animals for slaughter differs significantly from regular feeding, since in this case the nutrition becomes more intense.

For meat

Keeping piglets for slaughter for meat begins when they reach three months of age and lasts until the animal gains a weight of one hundred to one hundred twenty kilograms. IN
In this case, large meat carcasses are obtained with juicy meat and a fat thickness of about three and a half centimeters.

Fattening consists of two stages: in the first, the average weight gain is half a kilogram, in the second - about seven hundred and fifty grams. Such indicators are achieved by eating a diet rich in protein, as well as vitamins and minerals. The diet should consist of the most nutritious, juicy, green and concentrated feed with low fat content. In the last periods before slaughter, half of the entire menu should consist of potatoes, the other half - mixed feed. The most favorable time for fattening is summer and spring.

Bacon fattening

In order to obtain tender and juicy meat with layers of fat, it is necessary to provide young animals with a diet containing, first of all, green feed and dairy products, concentrates and compound feed, root vegetables, salt and premixes. Barley must be present in food.

At the very beginning of the fattening period, the daily weight gain should be about four hundred and fifty grams; for the last three months it should be at least six hundred grams. In order to increase appetite and digestibility of food, it is necessary to provide individuals with daily walks in the fresh air.

Fattening for lard

In order for the total mass of the animal to contain at least forty percent lard and fat, the basis of the diet must be juicy root vegetables and carbohydrate products. Corn, wheat, millet, barley, melons, as well as combined feeds and concentrates are very important for weight gain.

Regardless of the purpose for which fattening is carried out, boars must be castrated before slaughter, otherwise meat products will acquire a characteristic unpleasant odor.

Review of the best breeds

First of all, when purchasing pigs, breeders and farmers pay attention to larger meat breeds. They are usually unpretentious in nutrition and quickly gain the necessary weight.

• Large white. This breed is very popular in Russia. Its representatives are distinguished by a strong skeleton, harmonious physique, wide back and chest. By the age of six months, animals reach a weight of one hundred kilograms, each sow is capable of producing up to twelve piglets;

The body length of adult animals can be up to two meters

• Landrace. The body weight of pigs can reach three hundred kilograms, and the length of the body can be two and a half meters. Due to their good appetite and low mobility, individuals quickly gain weight. Moreover, in one farrow the female is capable of producing ten to eleven piglets. At the same time, they require about four kilograms of food for every kilogram of live weight per day;
• Duroc. The main external difference of this breed of pigs is their brown color. The body length of animals is usually up to two meters, body weight is two and a half centners. The percentage of meat during the fattening period can be eighty percent, the thickness of the fat can be three centimeters. At the same time, they are quite mobile and unpretentious in maintenance;
• Pietrain. The breed is excellent for fattening for meat, since they do not have a genetic predisposition to gain fat. At the same time, the animals quickly gain weight and reach a weight of two and a half centners. The offspring of sows is relatively small - up to eight piglets;
• Kemerovo. The breed is suitable for both meat and bacon fattening. Externally, its representatives are distinguished by thick hair and dark skin color. The daily growth of young animals is up to nine hundred grams

Animals tolerate climate change well and can reach a weight of more than three hundred kilograms.

Brazier. They are distinguished by the presence of thick hair. Due to it, animals can easily tolerate low temperatures and are suitable for growing in northern regions. They are very active, so it is recommended to keep them in an open pen.

Video

For more details on fattening pigs at home, watch the video

Conclusion

Raising pigs for meat, bacon and lard is quite easy if you follow certain rules. At the same time, the animal menu can be adjusted depending on the taste preferences of the breeders. During the period of keeping and fattening, it is important to maintain a balanced diet and ensure the correct ratio of products in the daily diet.

Pig fattening is the final process in the pork production cycle. Its result depends on the age of the animal at the beginning of fattening and its duration, as well as on the breed of the pig. It is most profitable to start fattening spring piglets, since in the summer they can consume large quantities of grass and waste from the garden.

To ensure maximum absorption by animals, food must be pre-processed. Thus, whole grains are poorly digestible by pigs. Therefore, the grain needs to be crushed (when crushed, the grain is digested by approximately 80%). Green plants and pre-boiled potatoes should be chopped (digestible by 90% or more). Food for piglets should be warm, not hot.

Combisilos, a feed consisting of several ingredients, has the greatest nutritional value for pigs. To prepare this delicacy, raw vegetables are used - cabbage, carrots, beets, pumpkin, carrots, corn, potatoes steamed with boiling water, as well as hay flour, legumes and various herbal plants. For high-quality and quick fattening, special vitamin and mineral complexes - premixes - are added to the piglet’s diet after the first week of life. They strengthen the immune system of animals and increase the nutritional value of meat. The use of premixes allows you to reduce production costs. We should not forget about liquid - a pig needs about two liters of water per kilogram of food consumed. To obtain high-quality meat, the pig must have a good appetite. If a piglet sucks food rather than grabs it, it cannot be used for intensive fattening. It is recommended to take castrated pigs, their meat is juicier and has better taste. 5-6 daily feeding and 3-4 daily drinking are recommended; with this regime, the piglet will weigh over 20 kg by 21 months.

Breeding and fattening pigs at home is a profitable and inexpensive business, with the right approach. These animals are distinguished by their high fertility - in a year, a sow with proper care can give birth to up to thirty piglets. The quality and taste of pork directly depend on the type of feed:

When fish products are added to the diet, pork acquires a fishy taste.
-the addition of dairy products gives the meat an appetizing aroma
- a diet with a predominance of bran and corn makes the meat loose and tasteless
- from root vegetables in large quantities, lard acquires a loose structure
-with a high content of soy and fishmeal in the feed, the quality of pork as a whole suffers

By maintaining the necessary balance and adding these products to the diet of piglets in moderation, you can easily achieve the desired effect. It is important to remember that it is better to throw away the food that the piglets have not eaten, and prepare a new, fresh portion for subsequent feedings.

To obtain high-quality meat, the conditions under which pigs are kept are also important—with a sedentary lifestyle, the animals’ appetite worsens and muscle mass grows more slowly. Premises for keeping pigs must be spacious, ventilated, with an open and closed part. The winter air temperature in the premises is recommended to be at least 15°C. Good results are obtained by raising groups of piglets together that were born together from the same sow. Keeping piglets this way reduces stress, which has a positive effect on the quality of meat. Periodically, an “audit” should be carried out to separate weak animals into a separate pen. This will reduce the number of trams and fights between them.

Pig farming at home is more economically profitable because pigs spend 30-35% less feed per kilogram of gain than cattle. In a one-year-old pig, with proper feeding, the ratio of fat to meat should be 40 to 60 with a total weight of the animal of 250 kg. Lack of weight or a thin layer of fat indicates an incorrect diet.

Pig fattening technologies

The technology of fattening pigs is a rather complex process. Pigs are bred on farms for meat, lard, as well as for the production of sausages and smoked meats.

Also a product of pig farming is leather, which is necessary for the manufacture of shoes, jackets, bags, belts, etc. Bristles are used to make brushes and brushes, the intestines are used to make strings and also for casing sausages, and the skeleton is needed to make bone meal.

The main task of fattening pigs is to obtain the highest quality products in a short time with minimal feed costs. In our country, the most popular among farmers is meat and bacon fattening of piglets and fattening of pigs to fatty condition. Let's take a closer look at these technologies.

Meat fattening of pigs. This type of fattening is used to obtain lean meat. Such pork is obtained when the pig reaches the age of about seven months and weighs about 100 kilograms. The boneless meat from such a carcass reaches up to seventy percent. Only young piglets, starting from three months of age and weighing up to forty kilograms, are fed for meat fattening. Fattening is carried out for three to five months until a weight of 100-110 kilograms is reached. Meat fattening takes place in two stages: preliminary from three to six months, and the second final stage - before the pigs are removed from fattening. At the first stage, weight gain is up to 600 grams per day, in the second - about 800 grams per day. When fattening, three types of nutrition are used.

Concentrated - barley, oat crops, corn, soybeans and animal feed - 3-5% nutritional value.

Potato concentrate - potatoes plus grain crops in a ratio of 30% potatoes to 70% cereals; if there is a shortage of cereals, the percentage of potatoes in the feed can be increased to 50 percent.

Concentrated root vegetable - cereals plus dried or raw beets with tops 20-30 percent of the total feed composition
It is also acceptable to use food waste in a 30-40% share of the main diet.

Bacon fattening technology. To get good bacon, take healthy piglets of the Landrace and Estonian bacon breeds; fattening mixed breeds is also effective. Bacon is tender, juicy meat, with thin layers of dense fat. The outer fat should be white and spread evenly over the entire carcass, with thickness in the spinal part, at the level of the sixth-seventh rib. To obtain the required quality of meat, the weight of the pig should not exceed 100 kg. In this case, the pig must have developed hams, a wide back and chest. One and a half months before the end of fattening, components rich in fat are excluded, or their quantity is limited, as this affects the quality of bacon.

Fattening pigs to fatty condition. The main purpose of such fattening is to obtain fat. The standard thickness of lard in a slaughtered carcass is about 10 cm. With a high-quality diet, the lard content in the carcass will reach 50%, 40% being meat. Using this technology, adult boars and queens weighing more than 120 kg are fattened. Fattening lasts from two to three months. The pig's weight gain is about 55%. The diet of fattening pigs consists of carbohydrate feeds - potatoes, beets, barley and corn. The required weight gain per day should be approximately a kilogram.

In the first month of fattening, pigs eat with great appetite; during this period they are given potatoes, food waste, herbs, and root vegetables. In the second month, the amount of grain feed in the diet is increased.

The most effective pig fattening technology

The most effective technology for fattening pigs is considered to be meat technology, since lean meat has recently been in demand among consumers. This fattening ensures an increase in body weight of up to seven hundred grams per day) and is characterized by the most efficient absorption of feed. If per kilogram of weight gain when using meat fattening technology you need about 4 units of feed, then when fattening to fatty conditions it is about 8 units.

The result of effective meat fattening of pigs is high-quality lean meat. This kind of pork is obtained by fattening piglets up to 100 kg (six-month-old piglets). It is more profitable to fatten piglets for meat until they reach a weight of over one hundred and twenty kilograms. The main requirement for piglets is early maturity (live weight 20-25 kg by 3 months of age) and a long body in order to get as much bacon as possible. Two months before slaughter, the content of feed that improves the quality of meat is increased in the pigs’ diet. - adding premixes.

Breeding and fattening piglets for meat at home is somewhat different from how animals are raised on large industrial farms. But in any case, the goal is the same - to achieve the required slaughter weight in the shortest possible time. In the article we will look at what to feed pigs for rapid growth, what food consumption standards exist, and whether they need to be additionally enriched with vitamins. We will mainly talk about a small private farm, where 2-3 individuals are raised for personal needs.

General standards

After the piglet is weaned from the sow (at about 1.5-2 months), it is raised on dairy products, kitchen waste, cereals - everything that can be prepared in your own kitchen. The diet of weanlings must include 15-20 g of chalk and salt. Juicy foods include potatoes, carrots, grass, tops. In winter, young animals are given chaff, silage, and hay dust twice as much as in summer. Fattening pigs at home can begin when the individual reaches 50 kg.

In order for weight gain to be fast and effective, you need to use the most nutritious foods. Vegetables, meat, cereals, flour, fruit and vegetable peelings, bread mixed with bran are allowed from food. Moreover, by the age of seven months, a piglet can weigh up to 100 kg.

In order to fatten a pig as much as possible in a personal household, you need not only to follow the nutritional rules, but also to comply with the mandatory maintenance and care standards:

• the pig barn should be warm and bright;
• clean and fresh water is freely available - for piglets 6 liters daily, for adult pigs up to 12 liters;
• the premises are disinfected every month;
• the diet consists only of high-quality and fresh products;
• waste from the home table is used fresh or after heat treatment;
• the grain is crushed before serving;
• Remains of food from the feeders are removed.

It doesn’t matter what types of fattening are used - meat, bacon or lard, but the general rules are the same for all. However, there are some tricks that allow you to get meat with a layer of lard or, conversely, lard with a strip of meat. Let's look at a more detailed diet for each of them.

Bacon meal plan

To obtain high-quality bacon meat with a fatty layer, the pig must necessarily eat barley, dairy products, and legumes. Due to them, muscle tissue is actively built up.

Young animals are put into fattening when the piglet is 2.5 months old and the individual weighs 25 kg. Don't forget that males must already be neutered. In the article we talk about this in more detail.

When fattening a six-month-old piglet for bacon, you can adhere to a feeding diet where there will be 3 kg of succulent feed per day, 1.5 kg of skim milk with concentrates and 2 kg of various root vegetables. These are carrots, beets, potatoes, pumpkin. Salt as an additive – 20 g. Two meals a day are provided.

As mentioned above, barley must be added to the food of bacon-fed pigs, as it improves the taste of the meat. Average daily gains in the last 2-3 months of fattening can reach 600 g. At the same time, the supply of soybeans, bran, and fish waste is stopped, as they worsen the characteristics of the future bacon.

Walks at home should be daily, which, for example, is not always feasible on a farm. Physical activity contributes to the formation of a series of meat and fat layers in the meat.

Landrace and Duroc breeds are suitable for bacon carcasses, as they have a long body. The products from the middle part are the best. A 100kg pig can produce, on average, about 10kg of bacon. So, this is an expensive delicacy.

Meat carcass

If you want to get a meat pig at home, then it is fattened at three months. The process lasts until they gain weight from 100 to 120 kg. Almost all breeds of pigs are suitable. If there is a lot of food and time available, then the animals are fattened slowly. This method is often chosen on private farms, and it is called low-intensity.

But when feeding at home, you can choose an intensive option. It is usually practiced on pig farms because it will allow you to achieve the desired weight in a short time. The weight gain per day will reach 650 g. In turn, this period is divided into preparatory (longer) and final (shorter). Together they last approximately 4 months. If a pig weighs 20 kg, then it is given 1.3 feed units per day. At 60 kg – 2.6, and at 90 kg (at the end of fattening) – 4.

It is best to start the first period in the warm season - spring and summer, because greens are the main component for feeding pigs. They are given root crops, melons, and legumes.

In winter, the diet includes grass meal and combined silage. Protein premixes are needed for intensive weight gain, but they are usually not given at home, and hormonal drugs are not used, because the meat is prepared for one’s own use and not for sale. Increase the amount of protein due to legumes.

With a lack of protein, animal growth stops and fat mass increases. To prevent this, 115 g of digestible protein must be provided per unit of feed. Vitamins, minerals and amino acids must be added to food.

The final period is short and at this time the daily gain should reach 750 g. If the pig is fattened with potatoes, then it makes up half of the diet. The other part is the concentrate. Protein is given within 100 g per feed unit.

In addition to potatoes, beets, food and dairy waste are allowed. And salt is required - 40 g per day. Food that can spoil the taste of meat is fish products, soy, bran and millet. Therefore, during the fattening period it is completely excluded.

Good lard

Pigs are fattened for lard at home when their weight has already reached 100 kg. The animal is sent to slaughter with a mass of 200 kg. It happens that the weight of sows can reach 250-280 kg. We will tell you how to feed animals correctly so that the lard is not tough and the amount of meat is no more than 40%. The correct diet will allow you to achieve an increase of 1 kg of live weight per day.

This type of nutrition involves carbohydrate foods - potatoes, corn, root vegetables. Concentrates that contain wheat and corn are used. Towards the end of fattening, they can be replaced with millet and barley. This will improve the quality and taste of the products. The set of products recommended for fattening a pig for lard is the same for both personal farming and a pig farm. Just different scales.

An approximate diet for fat-fed piglets weighing 100 kg or more consists of 4 kg of green feed, 3.5 kg of pumpkin, 3 kg of concentrate, 50 g of salt. Animals lead a sedentary lifestyle and towards the end of such feeding, after 2-3 months, they become round. As weight increases, the amount of food consumed also increases. For example, if the pig’s weight has already reached 150 kg, then it should receive 5-6 kg of potatoes, 4-5 kg ​​of fodder beets, 55 g of salt, 2 kg of crushed barley per day.

Feeding occurs 2 times a day. A pig is considered to eat normally if the food is in the feeder within an hour of being served. If everything is eaten much faster, then you can increase the amount of succulent and green food. If food is absorbed very slowly, then its amount should be reduced.

Food additives

We told you how and what to feed piglets at home for rapid growth, now we move on to supplements for growing organisms. With them, the fattening time can be significantly reduced. At the same time, the taste of the meat improves and the nutritional value of the product increases.

There are different options for supplements, but it is better not to overuse them, since a pig can gain weight well even on homemade food. It is necessary to select those that are quickly eliminated from the body and do not have a negative effect on pigs and people. If antibiotics are used, they can cause dangerous bacteria to become addicted to them.

Among the most popular drugs in home pig farming are monosodium glutamate and baker's yeast. Thanks to the first substance, the taste of the feed improves and pigs can eat more of it than usual. Its negative effect on humans and animals has not been proven.

The most effective way to grow a piglet in a short period of time is the second substance, yeast. The homemade recipe looks like this. Add 100 g of dry yeast to hot but not boiling water (5 l). You need to pour 2 kg of feed into this solution. The dough sits for 6 hours, after which 15 liters of water and 7.5 kg of grain mixture are poured into it.

If you feed pigs with this additive at home, this means significant savings on feed. At the same time, animals experience increased appetite and improved digestion. Usually piglets are given this dish twice a day. For pigs weighing up to 50 kg and castrated boars, the portion is 50% of the total daily ration, for animals weighing up to 100 kg - 20%.

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You may also be interested

It has long been calculated that even at home, investments in the construction of premises, the purchase of sows, and the costs of caring for and feeding pigs pay off very quickly. The average litter of a sow is approximately 15 animals. Fattening lasts about a year. Consequently, after 12 months, one sow can produce more than ten adult full-fledged piglets.

To achieve the best results, it is necessary to pay special attention to the diet, quantity and quality of feed and special additives. To successfully raise pigs, you need to know how to feed pigs correctly and with what.

Feed used in pig farming

Cereals

A huge share of the pigs’ diet comes from dry food, in particular cereals. And this is no coincidence. They contain the right carbohydrates, vegetable proteins and fiber, which are so necessary for the excellent quality of the product.

1. Barley. The most useful cereal, feed for pigs, which is absorbed by them by almost 90%. In the diet it takes up up to 70% of the feed composition and is suitable for feeding animals of all ages. Its percentage in feed is directly proportional to the quality of meat and lard.
2. Corn. It is also almost completely digested and absorbed during fattening of pigs of all age groups. It contains more fats and carbons than barley, but there are much less other nutrients, in particular protein, which has a bad effect on the quality of lard and meat. That is why the content of corn in the feed at the end of feeding should be significantly reduced.
3. Oats. It contains more fat and fiber than other cereals, therefore it is recommended for feeding young animals, sucklings and suckling queens. Its low price is also attractive. For animals in the last fattening period, for better quality pork, it is recommended to add oats mixed with barley to the diet.
4. Peas. The steamed product is an excellent food for all age groups, as it contains a huge amount of complete proteins. Its presence in the diet has a beneficial effect on the quality of meat.

Juicy feed

Potatoes are an excellent food for pigs

At home in central Russia, it is a staple food not only in the human diet. It has always been believed that the pig’s body is as close as possible to the human body. Therefore, just like for people, raw green vegetables in the diet are dangerous due to the presence of the toxic substance corned beef in it. It can be neutralized by boiling the potatoes in water and then draining the broth. In addition, the boiled product is much better absorbed by the body. In total, it should contain 20-40% of the total feed in the animal diet, depending on the type of pig fattening.

Fodder and sugar beets

20-30% of pig feed should consist of this vegetable. Moreover, sugar beets are 2 times more nutritious than fodder and are used for fattening pigs along with tops. Both varieties are fed crushed raw to all age groups of animals. It is not recommended to cook beets, as heat treatment significantly reduces the content of vitamins and other beneficial substances.

Carrots are a storehouse of vitamins

Green feed

Protein, vitamins and minerals - all this is fully contained in the green mass of many plants. Beneficial substances are also preserved in dried plants and hay. For this type of pig fattening, you can use beet tops, peas, vetch, and clover. Dandelion, young quinoa, alfalfa and woodlice are perfect for fattening pigs, both fresh and dry. It is recommended to pour boiling water over the nettles for this mixture. The price of green food is minimal, but the benefits are enormous.

Animal feed

Fish and meat waste

Pigs, like humans, are omnivores. When fattening, they take many vitamins, proteins and minerals from animal food: meat, fish and their processed products. Owners of pig farms successfully increase the productivity of all groups of livestock, regardless of the type of fattening of pigs, by feeding them meat and fish waste, having previously crushed and thoroughly boiled it.

It has long been noted that such animal food in the diet greatly deteriorates the quality of the resulting lard and meat, causing an unpleasant odor, therefore it is recommended to stop adding it to the mixture shortly before the end of fattening pigs.

Dairy

This animal product in the diet has an excellent effect on the quality of pork, so it is recommended to use it not only for fattening sucklings, but also for fattening piglets. Dairy products include: milk, whey, buttermilk and skim milk.

Combined silo

All of the listed types of feed can be used in pig farming in various combinations. The technology for fattening pigs is based, among other things, on the selection of different nutritional plans. The best and most effective dish for any pig is, of course, combisilos prepared from several ingredients. There are many recipes for preparing this delicious and healthy food for pigs:

• potatoes (tubers) – 4 parts, clover (tubers) – 3 parts, carrots (with tops) – 1.5 parts, cabbage leaves – 1.5 parts;
• carrots (with tops) – 2 parts, sugar or fodder beets – 5 parts, legumes (green mass) – 2 parts, hay flour – 1 part;
• corn (cobs) – 6 parts, pumpkin – 3 parts, legumes (green mass) – 1 part;
• potatoes (tubers) – 4.5 parts, vegetable waste (assorted) – 5 parts, grain waste – 0.5 parts;
• carrots (with tops) – 5 parts, sugar or fodder beets – 3 parts, legumes – 1.5 parts, grass flour – 0.5 parts;
• sugar beets – 4 parts, potatoes (tubers) – 3 parts, clover leaves – 3 parts;
• corn (milk cobs) – 8 parts, carrots – 2 parts.

All root vegetables are harvested raw for fattening, except potatoes. It is better absorbed after steaming. Depending on the age groups and the purpose of rearing, there are different types of pig fattening, and hence the menu.

Vitamin and mineral supplements

Why are premixes needed?

In order to quickly fatten pigs, special additives are added to the feed of a small pig after the first week of life. With their help, during fattening, his weight quadruples in just 60 days. Decades ago, this could only be a dream. More recently, scientists presented livestock breeders with their discovery - specially developed vitamin and mineral complex feed additives.

Premixes for pigs can significantly increase weight gain during fattening, taste and viability of the livestock. They strengthen the immune system and improve the nutritional value of pork. With their help, the fattening period is significantly reduced, which provides significant savings for the entrepreneur, reducing the price and cost of the product.

Composition of feed additives

There are various complex feed additives for pigs of different groups. They differ in the number of components and their percentage. Almost all feed additives for pigs contain: phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, lysine, threonine, manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, selenium. In addition, they contain vitamins: A, D3, E, B6, B12, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid. Each kit contains a small amount of antioxidants to extend the shelf life of the supplement.

Number of additives

There are different feeding standards for pigs of different groups. All premixes that go on sale have different prices and their own composition, intended for addition to a separate group of feed. The instructions for use describe the components in detail, and also tell you how much to measure into the feed in each individual case. For example, at home, for pigs from 60 kg before slaughter, it is enough to add only 1% of the premix to the total weight of feed. For pregnant and lactating sows this figure will increase to 3%. For fattening piglets weighing from 10 to 60 kg, you need to prepare a 2.5% vitamin and mineral supplement.

The success of pig farming depends on feed and feed additives in the diet. But to a greater extent it depends on the literacy and enlightenment of the farmer who is engaged.

3133 09/18/2019 7 min.

Fattening piglets for meat at home is a common and very profitable activity in private farming. The increase in live weight of a pig depends on the breed, conditions of detention, and, to a large extent, on the feeding technology itself. The technologies themselves are divided according to the principle of meat productivity, fat content and other indicators. This is all influenced by diet, daily allowances and other indicators described below.

Types of effective feeding of pigs at home

Types of fattening are distinguished depending on the purpose of the product:

• Meat - its goal is to obtain lean meat. This is the most common type of pig fattening. reach the required condition upon reaching seven months of age and weighing 100-120 kilograms. With this fattening, the yield of tender meat is about 70% of the pigs' weight, the thickness of the fat on the backbone is up to 2-4 cm. Fattening of piglets at home begins at 3 months, and ends at 7-8 months of age.
• Bacon is a type of meat. It is used to produce meat with layers of fat, which gives it a special taste and properties. For the bacon type, early maturing breeds of pigs are selected (Lithuanian white, Estonian bacon) and strictly adhere to fattening technology, controlling the diet. Piglets reach condition when they gain 80-100 kilograms of weight.
• Fattening for fatty meat. For this type of fattening they take. The main product obtained is high-quality bacon, reaching a thickness of 10 cm.

Read about Vietnamese piglets in.

There are three types of pig fattening: meat, bacon and combined.

Meat fattening is implemented using two types of technology: intensive and low-intensity.

Intensive

This is the most profitable and frequently used type of technology. It allows you to obtain meat products with an accelerated rate of increase in live weight - 650 g per day. For intensive fattening, 30-kilogram piglets are taken for meat starting from the age of three months and brought to meat condition over 4 months. Intensive technology is suitable for purebred young animals or piglets obtained by crossing highly productive breeds.

Low-intensity

This method is used at home when cheap and low-calorie feeds predominate. The daily growth rate of piglets is lower, and pigs reach a weight of 100 kg over a longer period of time than 7 months.

Peculiarities of weight gain in piglets

The diet of piglets depends on age. Up to 3-4 months, piglets are considered dairy. They are fed up to 5-6 times a day in small portions. Until the age of one month, piglets are fed cow's milk, and later they are switched to reverse milk. Babies are also fed boiled root vegetables (potatoes, carrots) and a small amount of grain feed.

Meat fattening begins when the animal reaches a weight of 20 kg - usually from the age of 3 months.

In this case, there are two main stages. Piglets intensively gain muscle mass until they gain weight of 70 kg. During this period, a significant part of the pigs' diet should be protein-enriched feed. These are legumes, peas or green mass, whey, skimmed milk, fish meal.

Feeding is carried out taking into account the digestive characteristics of piglets:

• Pigs have a single-chamber stomach, so roughage is unsuitable for piglets. Root vegetables and grass must be chopped.
• Concentrated (grain of wheat, oats, barley), offered in crushed or boiled form, since pigs are not able to chew grains.
• A single portion of food should not exceed the animal's needs. The remaining feed is removed from the feeders without waiting for the mash to sour.

During the second stage of fattening, animals increase their fat layer more intensively. After the piglets gain a weight of 70 kg, the proportion of grain and succulent feed (mash) in the diet is increased. The duration of walking is reduced, and a slight darkening is arranged in the pigsty.

When fattening meat, you can raise pigs with very tasty, tender and juicy meat, with a layer of fat on the backbone of 2.5-4 cm.

The daily diet of the animal in both periods should contain 10-35 g of table salt and chalk in an amount of 5 to 25 g.

Diet to gain the desired weight

High-quality and tasty pig meat can only be obtained with a properly formulated diet. Let's consider the composition of feed for intensive and low-intensity types of fattening.

Maintenance and nutrition for intensive recruitment

The intensive type is well suited for medium and large farms, allowing you to obtain a high yield of product in an accelerated time.

In intensive fattening, a large share is occupied by concentrated feed consisting of cereal crops. There are three main types of concentrated nutrition:

1. Potato concentrate. Grains make up 70% of the diet, the remaining 30% is potatoes. If necessary, increase the share of potatoes to half.
2. Concentrated root vegetable. Its basis is cereals combined with 20-30% beets, including tops.
3. Concentrated. Consists of grain crops - barley, oats, corn, soybeans.

When feeding with concentrates, piglets are fed twice a day, and with combined methods - three times a day.

The menu for intensively fattened piglets also includes:

• combisilos;
• juicy greens - up to 10-15% of the summer diet;
• grass flour in winter – 1-3%;
• animals – 3-5%.

It is also possible to use food waste (up to 30-40%). He will tell you about feeding suckling piglets.

How to properly feed with low-intensity

In small farms and when raising piglets for home consumption, an intensive diet may not be cheap.

At home, they often resort to a simplified feeding scheme - dry and wet:

1. Wet – the basis of the pigs’ diet is mash. They are prepared from boiled potatoes, root vegetables and other vegetables (beets, carrots, pumpkin), chopped grass and food waste. Crushed grain is added to the feed; boiled oats give good results. A protein component (for example, pea flour), cake, and vitamin and mineral supplements are also needed.
2. The dry version is based on grain mixtures. Technologically, this method is simpler than preparing mash. However, increased attention should be paid to the availability and quality of drinking water, since dry food predisposes to constipation. Read how to make feeders for pigs.

Bacon

For bacon fattening, the diet is prepared using barley, peas and other legumes, millet, as well as animal feed. Particular attention is paid to menu planning in the second period. Food products that impair taste - fish, cake, soy - are removed from the pig menu. Boars must be castrated.

What constitutes the basis of the diet

Feed - how much you need to quickly gain weight

Types of feed are divided depending on nutritional value and main components:

• concentrates, or energy - cereals, grains;
• protein - legumes, meal, flour;
• coarse - vegetables, hay, bran;
• animals – by-products of dairy and meat production (whey, blood and bone meal).

You can find out about the pig feeding table.

You can prepare your own pig feed at home.

Cereals can be prepared by cooking, steaming and yeasting methods. The following recipe is often used:

• For 1 kg of grain take 2 liters of hot water. The feed is filled with water and mixed, covered with burlap to obtain a steamed product. In 5 hours it is ready.

Among succulent feeds, silage is considered quite valuable. Recipes for home cooking:

• 45% steamed potatoes,
• 50% vegetables,
• 5% grain waste.

The silage mass must be crushed and placed in prepared tanks or pits. The mass is well compacted and covered. To reduce moisture, you can add about 7% peas. For 100 kg of silage add 400 table salt.

Compound feed

They combine ingredients from different types of food. Manufacturers produce two types for piglets and adult pigs:

• complete (PC);
• concentrate (CC).

PC provides complete nutrition for pigs that does not require additional additives. According to GOST, a PC includes from 6 to 12 components.

CC is used as a supplement to other feeds and contains proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Premix "Borka" is intended for the preparation of complete feed for fattening pigs.

At home, you can prepare nutritious feed yourself using the following composition:

• barley – 0.4 kg,
• oats – 0.3 kg
• alfalfa flour – 0.16 kg;
• meat and bone meal – 0.12 kg;
• Sunflower cake – 80 g;
• chalk – 20 g;
• salt – 10 g.

Proper organic nutrition

Intensive pig rearing is ineffective without the use of minerals, dietary supplements and vitamins. For this purpose, special mixtures of active substances are produced - premixes with organic trace elements and amino acids. Plant proteins are extracted by enzymatic hydrolysis and combined with microelements. Such organic complexes are called bioplexes; they are better absorbed than minerals in feed.

Alltech bioplex produced in Great Britain includes:

• iron 50000 mg/kg,
• zinc – 20000 mg/kg,
• manganese – 15000 mg/kg,
• copper – 5000 mg/kg,
• selenium – 200 mg/kg.

The use of bioplexes is a promising method of enriching and balancing the diet of piglets.

Additives for rapid fattening of pigs for meat

The intensive type of fattening of young animals involves the use of growth stimulants. Feed additives with vitamin, mineral, bioactive, and antibiotic properties are used. Additives stimulate pigs’ digestion and increase live weight gain.

The following additives may be found in the diet of pigs:

• Amylosubtilin GZH, which stimulates fat deposits in pigs;
• Etonium increases growth and quality of meat,
• Betazin – increases growth rate, reduces feed consumption;
• Azobacterin satisfies the portability of nitrogen and vitamin B 12;
• Monosodium glutamate stimulates the appetite of pigs, improves the taste of meat;

Organic acids (succinic, citric and glutamic) also have a positive effect on growth stimulation.

Antibiotics grizin, hygromycin, biovit, icin, flavomycin and others are also used to stimulate growth.

Antibiotics and stimulants should be used in accordance with regulations.

Video: how to fatten meat pigs

conclusions

1. Fattening pigs for meat is a profitable branch of household farming. Pigs are fertile and grow quite quickly. Meat fattening allows the use of piglets of almost any breed.
2. For large farms it is more profitable to use intensive feeding technologies; for home consumption it is easier to use low-intensive ones.
3. At the same time, piglets reach meat condition longer, often by 11-12 months of age, but you prepare the feed yourself, as much as you need, and fattening the young animals is cheaper.

He will tell you what to feed piglets for rapid growth at home.