What are the blind spots in feed use in small-scale pig farms?
Blind spots in feed use in small-scale pig farms
(Agricultural Wealth Network) Practical Technical Operations
At present, the pig farming industry is already on the edge of profit and loss, and cost control has become the focus of pig farm management, but in small-scale pig farms, there are still many blind spots in the use of feed. They are mainly manifested as follows:
1. Increasing protein during the fattening stage, completely disregarding the high cost.
In rural areas, pig farmers feed large amounts of soybean cake or peanut cake during the fattening stage, believing that feeding pigs this way makes them grow faster and makes the meat firmer, but this is actually wrong. During the fattening stage, the pig's growth focus is on putting on fat, not building muscle; therefore, large amounts of protein feed (such as soybean cake or peanut cake) are not needed. In addition, soybean cake or peanut cake contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, and feeding too much can make the pig's fat soft and yellow, which not only fails to make the meat firmer but actually lowers the quality of the meat.
2. Feeding pigs only cooked feed, and some even stew it.
The technique of feeding pigs raw feed has long been widespread, but many rural pig farmers still use the feeding model of cooked feed for pigs, believing that pigs put on meat more easily when eating cooked feed, which is very wrong. In fact, after feed is cooked, almost all vitamins are destroyed, and the protein in the feed is denatured. According to experiments, about 20% of the nutritional components are lost during the cooking of feed, and the loss of nutritional components in green feed is even greater. If it is left in the pot for a long time during stewing, nitrite poisoning may also occur during feeding, causing pig deaths.
3. The higher the protein, the better the feed; exceeding the standard for faster weight gain.
Of course, the growth and development of truly lean-type pigs requires sufficient protein. The standard protein content in feed should be 17% for piglets, 15% for growing pigs, and 13% for adult pigs. Some people arbitrarily exceed the normal indicators to make pigs grow faster. Because the protein content is relatively high, pigs cannot completely digest and absorb it after eating, and excess protein ferments in the digestive tract, causing nutritional diarrhea.
4. Black feces means good digestion, regardless of whether copper levels are low or high.
The real indicators for distinguishing digestive quality should be the pig's manure output and the shape of the feces. A pig with normal digestion defecates 3-4 times a day, with smooth, rounded feces of moderate hardness. The color of the feces is determined by the variety composition of the diet and the trace elements and drugs contained in the feed. What people call black feces is merely caused by a high copper content in the feed.
5. Yellow feed color and good taste; sweet and fragrant means good feed.
The composition (concentrate) of feed is mainly protein feedstuffs, such as: soybean meal, cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal, fish meal, etc., among which soybean meal is yellow. People say that a certain feed is good and yellow because it is a pure soybean meal type. In fact, the quality of a diet can only depend on whether its nutritional structure is reasonable. Whether it is soybean meal type or miscellaneous meal type, as long as its nutritional composition is reasonable and suitable for the pig's growth and development, it is good feed. As for taste, it can increase the pig's feed intake and achieve the goal of weight gain, which is beneficial for piglets, but in the later fattening stage, feed intake needs to be controlled to prevent excessive fattening.
6. Judging whether feed is poor or good, using red skin and shiny hair as the indicator.
It can be said that red skin and shiny hair are signs of a healthy pig, but if the pig's growth and development are normal and its health is good, it is not necessarily required to pursue the indicator of red skin and shiny hair. Some feed mills exploit this misunderstanding among people by adding drugs banned by the state to the feed to make the skin red and the hair shiny. This practice is unacceptable, and the pork produced in this way will also harm human health.
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At present, the pig farming industry is already on the edge of profit and loss, and cost control has become the focus of pig farm management, but in small-scale pig farms, there are still many blind spots in the use of feed. They are mainly manifested as follows:
1. Increasing protein during the fattening stage, completely disregarding the high cost.
In rural areas, pig farmers feed large amounts of soybean cake or peanut cake during the fattening stage, believing that feeding pigs this way makes them grow faster and makes the meat firmer, but this is actually wrong. During the fattening stage, the pig's growth focus is on putting on fat, not building muscle; therefore, large amounts of protein feed (such as soybean cake or peanut cake) are not needed. In addition, soybean cake or peanut cake contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, and feeding too much can make the pig's fat soft and yellow, which not only fails to make the meat firmer but actually lowers the quality of the meat.
2. Feeding pigs only cooked feed, and some even stew it.
The technique of feeding pigs raw feed has long been widespread, but many rural pig farmers still use the feeding model of cooked feed for pigs, believing that pigs put on meat more easily when eating cooked feed, which is very wrong. In fact, after feed is cooked, almost all vitamins are destroyed, and the protein in the feed is denatured. According to experiments, about 20% of the nutritional components are lost during the cooking of feed, and the loss of nutritional components in green feed is even greater. If it is left in the pot for a long time during stewing, nitrite poisoning may also occur during feeding, causing pig deaths.
3. The higher the protein, the better the feed; exceeding the standard for faster weight gain.
Of course, the growth and development of truly lean-type pigs requires sufficient protein. The standard protein content in feed should be 17% for piglets, 15% for growing pigs, and 13% for adult pigs. Some people arbitrarily exceed the normal indicators to make pigs grow faster. Because the protein content is relatively high, pigs cannot completely digest and absorb it after eating, and excess protein ferments in the digestive tract, causing nutritional diarrhea.
4. Black feces means good digestion, regardless of whether copper levels are low or high.
The real indicators for distinguishing digestive quality should be the pig's manure output and the shape of the feces. A pig with normal digestion defecates 3-4 times a day, with smooth, rounded feces of moderate hardness. The color of the feces is determined by the variety composition of the diet and the trace elements and drugs contained in the feed. What people call black feces is merely caused by a high copper content in the feed.
5. Yellow feed color and good taste; sweet and fragrant means good feed.
The composition (concentrate) of feed is mainly protein feedstuffs, such as: soybean meal, cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal, fish meal, etc., among which soybean meal is yellow. People say that a certain feed is good and yellow because it is a pure soybean meal type. In fact, the quality of a diet can only depend on whether its nutritional structure is reasonable. Whether it is soybean meal type or miscellaneous meal type, as long as its nutritional composition is reasonable and suitable for the pig's growth and development, it is good feed. As for taste, it can increase the pig's feed intake and achieve the goal of weight gain, which is beneficial for piglets, but in the later fattening stage, feed intake needs to be controlled to prevent excessive fattening.
6. Judging whether feed is poor or good, using red skin and shiny hair as the indicator.
It can be said that red skin and shiny hair are signs of a healthy pig, but if the pig's growth and development are normal and its health is good, it is not necessarily required to pursue the indicator of red skin and shiny hair. Some feed mills exploit this misunderstanding among people by adding drugs banned by the state to the feed to make the skin red and the hair shiny. This practice is unacceptable, and the pork produced in this way will also harm human health.
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Thanks for sharing, bumping this