Meat Dog Farming Techniques, Feed Formulas and Farming Prospect Analysis
Farming Prospects for Meat Dogs
1. Farming history: China's dog-farming industry started in 1956, and its major development occurred in the 1980s-1990s, when it flourished with both collective and individual operations. It peaked at the end of 1996, but by 1998, due to the influence of pet dogs, the meat dog farming industry kept declining, especially in the north where prices fell to one-third to one-quarter of the level at the end of 1996. Apart from the influence of the pet dog market, the main reason for the price decline is also related to the cultural differences between meat dog quality and that of developed countries. First, because of the results of breed speculation during the "dog-farming craze" in earlier years, breeding dog farms kept almost every female, and the resulting inbreeding caused the quality of breeding dogs to degenerate. Another reason is that many farms, in order to save costs or because of insufficient funds, still raised dogs under low standards, resulting in smaller and smaller dogs. Yet another reason is that farming was carried out in areas unsuitable for raising dogs, which led to a decline in the price and quality of meat dogs.
2. Farming prospects: China's dog-farming industry did not begin to recover until the second half of 2000, along with the decline of the pet market, which brought a turning point for the dog-farming industry. In early 2001, as dog meat prices rebounded, the number of breeding dogs increased again. Up to now, with the continuous improvement of China's meat dog farming techniques and breed improvement, meat dog prices have been on an upward trend in recent years, and the market has been relatively good. German Shepherds have sold relatively steadily in the recent period, with domestic German Shepherds priced at around 300 yuan and ordinary ones at around 100 yuan. Domestic German Shepherds sell relatively quickly, and prices are rising. Therefore, meat dog farming should be a promising industry for making money.
Feed Formulas for Meat Dogs
1. Nursing dogs: For the feed formula for nursing dogs, taking the daily feeding amount for 10 nursing dogs as an example, 850 grams of animal meat or offal, ground with a meat grinder, then add 3 eggs, 500 grams of cornmeal, 850 grams of chopped green vegetables, and an appropriate amount of growth hormone (use according to the instructions), add a small amount of concentrated bone-and-meat broth or milk, rice water, and gradually increase thin porridge as well as a small amount of bone meal and fish meal. At first feed 30-50 ml of thin porridge and bone-and-meat broth each time, then gradually increase to 200-500 ml, feeding once a day.
2. Puppies: The feed formula for puppies is 20% cornmeal, 15% broken rice, 15% bran cake, 5% rapeseed cake, 14% soybean cake, 15% wheat bran, 5% flour, 5% fish meal, 5% bone meal, and 0.5% each of growth hormone and salt. It is best to add meat broth, that is, boil 500 grams of pork per dog per day into broth and feed it together with the meat, feeding 3 times a day while supplying enough drinking water.
3. Young dogs: After weaned puppies are fed for 35 days, they enter the young dog (male dogs should be castrated) rearing stage. The feed formula is 30% cornmeal, 20% broken rice, 20% bran cake, 10% soybean cake, 10% wheat bran, 5% rapeseed cake, 4% bone meal, and 0.5% each of growth hormone and salt. Because young dogs grow quickly, mineral feed should also be added, mixed with warm water, feeding 3 times a day, and it is best to add an appropriate amount of animal feed.
4. Fattening dogs: After young dogs are fed for 70 days, they enter the fattening stage. The feed formula is 26% cornmeal, 26% broken rice, 20% bran cake, 10% soybean cake, 10% wheat bran, 5% rapeseed cake, 2% fish meal, and 0.5% each of growth hormone and salt. It is best to add fatty feed.
Farming Advantages of Meat Dogs
1. Small investment: With an investment of less than 10,000 yuan, annual returns can reach more than 100,000. It is supported by the government, increases farmers' income, and is a good project that benefits the country and the people.
2. Large demand: Meat dogs not only have great value as meat, but also extremely high medicinal value. The whole body is a treasure, and the market potential is huge. Dog meat is delicious, with tender meat and rich nutrition, and is a high-grade beauty product.
3. Strong reproductive capacity: Meat dogs are domesticated animals and have the characteristics of strong adaptability, easy raising, fast reproduction, and fast growth. The large-scale meat dog breeding base in Jining City, Shandong, through biological purification and crossbreeding of fine breeds, has an even larger body size (much larger than ordinary native dogs), a high reproduction rate (can produce 2 litters per year), many pups per litter (5-12 per litter), a short growth period (marketed in 5-6 months), and a high meat yield (body weight can reach 80-120 jin).
4. Strong adaptability: Dogs have an extremely strong ability to endure hunger. Even without food for a week, they will not become very weak. They have strong resistance to trauma and strong self-healing ability, strong disease resistance, a low viral infection rate, and are not prone to illness. They have strong adaptability to the environment and can grow and reproduce well in extremely harsh environments (such as winter conditions of -40 to -30°C in northern China and summer conditions above 30°C).
5. Easy to raise: Pigs and chickens need to be fed multiple meals a day and are not selective, and cattle even need to be fed at night, while improved meat dogs only need to be fed twice a day to fully meet their growth and breeding needs, so they are very easy to raise. Dogs are omnivorous animals; they eat all kinds of grains, as well as vegetables and by-products from livestock product processing plants, discarded bones, leftover meals and so on. Therefore, meat dogs have a wide range of feed sources, and the prices are low.
Farming Techniques" />
Farming Techniques for Meat Dogs
1. Site selection: For large-group dog housing, choose sandy land with higher terrain, dry, flat, and slightly sloped, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, shaded and ventilated in summer, and warm with full sunlight in winter. The groundwater level of the dog housing should be low, avoiding low-lying and damp areas. The dog housing should face south or southeast, and should be downwind of residential areas, in a relatively secluded place, with sufficient water sources, good water quality, convenient transportation, and easy power supply, and at a certain distance from residential areas, main traffic routes, livestock and poultry farms, sewage pits, chemical plants, and so on.
2. Dog housing construction: The dog housing should be built firmly and durably, and must conform to dogs' living habits and sanitary conditions. Each dog house should have a separate exercise yard. The dog house should be made of brick, tile, and cement structure, and doors and windows can be made of steel and wood structure. The exercise yard should preferably be made of cement ground or lime-sand mixture, with a slight slope to facilitate drainage. Partition walls should be enclosed with angle iron, steel pipes, and wire mesh, which is firm and durable, prevents biting and tearing, and is also easy to clean, wash, and disinfect. The area should be determined according to the purpose and the needs of the dogs, and should be no less than 10-12 sq m, with a height of no less than 2 m, of which the dog living room is 2-3 sq m, the breeding female dog's living room is 3-4 sq m, and because young dogs live in groups, their living room area must be no less than 6-8 sq m.
3. Seed selection and introduction: Meat dog breeds should preferably have a large body size, low feed consumption, high meat yield, and delicious meat. Adult dogs should weigh more than 25 kg, have a gentle temperament, poor sensitivity to external stimuli, low activity, not be fierce, and be suitable for confinement. They should grow quickly. For fattening dogs, it is best to use crossbred puppies and carry out pen raising.
4. Raising young dogs: Divide self-bred or purchased puppies into groups by size and strength, with no more than 30 per group. First feed them thin porridge for 10-15 days. As age in days increases, make the porridge thicker, until it becomes dry rice or steamed corn bread. Use meat, vegetables, and vitamin additives to make meat-and-vegetable soup, feeding 3 times a day, with 1 additional feeding at night. After the puppies adapt to the new environment and eat normally, they can be dewormed. Use 100 mg of deworming medicine per kg of body weight, give once, and continue for 3 days. It is best to give the medicine in the morning before feeding.
5. Reasonable castration: Male dogs should be castrated in time. The best period for castration is within 1 month after the full moon, injecting 0.5 ml of "castration spirit" into the testicles.
6. Epidemic prevention and disease control: Meat dogs generally have few illnesses, but group farming should prevent problems before they occur. Therefore, the dog housing and the dogs' bodies should be regularly rinsed with medicine. Breeding dogs are required to be injected with rabies vaccine. In summer, dog housing easily produces peculiar and foul odors, so an ozone electronic meter sterilizer can be used. Enough drinking water utensils should be set up to supply sufficient clean drinking water and ensure cleanliness and hygiene. The dog housing and exercise yard should be cleaned every day, feeding utensils should be washed every day, and regularly disinfected. Bedding straw should be frequently replaced and dried in the sun. To prevent infectious and parasitic diseases of dogs, such as canine distemper, rabies, canine enteritis, canine hepatitis, and so on, canine five-combined vaccine can be selected for mixing and inoculation, combined with intramuscular injection of immunoglobulin, with good results.
7. Reasonable feeding: For commercial meat dog farming, compound feed should be used. The formula is 35% rice, 25% cornmeal, 10% sorghum flour, 10% soybean cake, 10% wheat bran, 7% fish meal, and 2% bone meal, or 20% rice, 25% wheat bran, 8% cooked potatoes, 20% cornmeal, 10% soybean cake, 1% bone meal, 10% fish meal, and 5% animal offal. Add 5 grams of multivitamins, 15 grams of copper sulfate, and 10 grams of zinc sulfate per 100 kg of feed. The feed should be made into dry rice or steamed corn bread. For 1-month-old puppies, in addition to the above compound feed, appropriately increase protein feed such as animal offal. For 2-month-old puppies, appropriately increase fatty feed such as livestock and poultry offal, beef tallow, and oil residue to help fattening. For 3-month-old dogs, in addition to the above ingredients, supplement 25 grams of meat and 250 grams of green feed per dog per day, while ensuring enough clean drinking water. Dogs should not be fed raw feed. Animal feed is indispensable every day, supplying 20-25 grams per 1 kg of body weight per day. Dog food must be high-quality and fresh, prepared just before feeding, and they should not eat leftovers.