Detailed Explanation of Key Points for Winter Feeding and Management of Xiang Pigs

Xiang pigs are highly favored by consumers for their tender meat and fragrant flavor. In recent years, due to strong demand on the international market, they have been listed by the Ministry of Agriculture as a “key protection and development project”. Breeders should pay attention to the following issues in feeding.

1 Insulation

Xiang pigs have lower cold resistance than local pig breeds. Poor insulation will not only affect normal growth but also cause losses. The walls of the pig house should preferably be one and a half bricks or one adobe block thick, tight, and free of cracks. Around thin walls, pile more firewood and straw as an insulation layer. The pig house should be covered with a plastic film greenhouse, preferably with two layers of plastic film. Cover the greenhouse with straw curtains at night. The greenhouse should have ventilation holes, and air should be let in 1 to 2 times around noon each day. Half an hour each time is sufficient. Manure should be cleaned up promptly, and the sleeping and lying areas should have dry grass, dry leaves, and dry sawdust changed frequently. Pigs that urinate in their sleeping area must be trained.

2 Feed must be complete in nutrition

Complete feed means that the feed fed to pigs must contain all the various nutrients the pig's body needs. Because pigs consume a large amount of body energy in winter, it is necessary to ensure sufficient food intake and a reasonable feed ratio. Feed types should be as diverse as possible so that the various feeds in the prepared daily ration can complement each other nutritionally. The quality and palatability of the feed used should be good. The commonly used feed ratio is 56% corn, 15% soybean cake, 19.5% wheat bran, 7% various brans, 1% bone meal, 1% fish meal, and 0.5% salt. The feed proportion should be appropriately adjusted for different growth stages of pigs. The principle is more concentrate in the early stage and less concentrate in the later stage. When selecting feed, adapt to local conditions and choose feed that is rich in nutrition and low in price as much as possible. For example, tofu residue is a very good pig feed and can greatly reduce the input of concentrate. However, tofu residue should not exceed 1/3 of the total feed input. Farmers with the conditions can also mix a small amount of fermented fresh chicken manure into the pig feed. Because Xiang pigs have the habit of eating green feed, this is an issue that cannot be ignored in feeding. In winter, cabbage, radish, carrots, and potatoes (potatoes are better fed cooked) can be used to replace green feed. Do not feed rotten or spoiled vegetables.

3 Feed cooked food and hot food

In the place of origin, Xiang pig feed is mainly cooked food. Cooking the feed can improve feed utilization. In the cold winter, feeding cooked food can enhance the pigs' ability to resist the cold and speed up growth. If there are no conditions for feeding cooked food, at least feed warm food. The feed should be soaked in water in advance, and hot water should be added when feeding. Feeding should be at fixed times and in fixed amounts, with large pigs fed three times and small pigs fed four times.

Although the incidence of disease in livestock is low in winter, hygiene and epidemic prevention should not be neglected. The pig house should be disinfected on schedule, and vaccinations should begin at the end of the first lunar month. This can ensure that the pig herd is not harmed by plague diseases when winter passes and spring returns.