Detailed Explanation of Key Feeding Techniques for Pigs at Each Stage

[Wealth Classic Network]www.zhifujing.org Pig Farming Techniques:

     1. Rearing Techniques for Suckling Piglets  

      (1) Ensure suckling piglets get enough sow's milk: After birth, the only source of nutrition for piglets is sow's milk, and only by getting enough milk can their nutritional needs for growth be met. As age in days and body weight increase, the amount of milk needed increases, but milk secretion peaks at 21-25 days of age and then gradually declines. Therefore, to ensure normal growth, sow's milk alone cannot meet the nutritional needs of piglets, so piglets need to be given supplementary feed in a timely manner;  

      (2) Focus on supplementary feeding: Piglets should be given supplementary feed early. Early supplementary feeding can, on the one hand, exercise the piglets' digestive function, and on the other hand, supplement the nutritional deficiency of sow's milk. Generally, starting from 6-7 days after birth, piglets are enticed to eat feed. After 2 weeks of training, by 3 weeks of age they can consume a certain amount of feed. The feed for supplementing piglets includes concentrated feed, green and succulent feed, mineral feed and vitamin feed. During the supplementary feeding process, concentrated feed should progress from pellets to mash and from less to more in a gradual manner. Green and succulent feed should be chopped or pulped and mixed with concentrated feed. Mineral feed should be crushed and mixed evenly, with particular attention to the supplementation of trace elements such as iron and copper.  

      2. Feeding Techniques for Weaned Piglets  

      The nutrition piglets need shifts from being supplied by both sow's milk and feed to being obtained only from feed. This change in conditions imposes a stress stimulus on the piglets. Piglets often experience decreased appetite and weakened digestive capacity, so the feed must be highly palatable, nutritionally balanced and easy to digest. The diet should contain the energy, crude protein, minerals and vitamins needed for growing bones and muscles. Weaned piglet feed should be mainly concentrated feed, and the varieties should be diverse. Among energy feeds, corn, barley and sorghum are good; among protein feeds, soybean cake and legumes are both good feeds. In the early weaning period, the feeding amount should be somewhat controlled, with the control level at about 80%. After that, free feeding can be used, and the feed form is best as mash or pellets.  

      3. Feeding Techniques for Growing Pigs  

      (1) Rationally formulate the diet according to the fast growth and nutritional needs of growing pigs.  

      (2) Scientifically prepare the diet: To improve palatability and increase feed efficiency, green and coarse feed is often chopped, pulped and fed raw to reduce volume and waste. For concentrated feed, in addition to crushing, it must also be mixed and prepared into various forms, such as pellets, dry mash, wet mash and slop. At present in production, dry mash and wet mash are the two commonly used forms.  

      (3) Feeding techniques: In pig feeding, two methods are often used: free feeding and restricted feeding. Free feeding means placing sufficient complete compound feed in the trough so that pigs can eat freely and drink water freely. Restricted feeding means consciously controlling the amount fed, generally controlling it at 80% of free feeding or adding hard-to-digest fibrous feed to the diet to reduce energy concentration and control the intake of energy and protein. For the growing period of small Xiang pigs, feeding methods should be flexibly adopted according to their purpose. If used as experimental animals, restricted feeding can be used to reduce weight gain; if used for roast suckling pig, free feeding can be used to increase the rate of weight gain. As for feeding frequency, 2-3 times per day is appropriate.