How to feed piglets after weaning? A detailed guide to practical feeding techniques
The key to feeding piglets after weaning is that the feed amount must be appropriate; feeding too much or too little will both affect their growth and development. Too much easily causes indigestion, diarrhea and other diseases, while too little causes piglets to suffer a stress response from hunger, which is not good for healthy growth. We can judge this through the following aspects.
Check feed intake
After feeding, check feed intake promptly. If there is only a little fine crumb in the trough and no small pile of meal or pelleted feed is seen, it indicates the feed amount is moderate; if the trough is licked clean and moist, it indicates the feed amount is insufficient, and the amount put in next time should be appropriately increased; if there is leftover feed in the trough, it indicates the amount fed was too much, and the amount should be reduced next time as appropriate.
Activity status of the piglets
Check the activity status of the piglets. Before feeding, if the piglets rush to the trough at the sound and keep squealing, they are hungry, and more feed can be given; about 10 minutes after feed is given, if the feed in the trough is snatched up completely, the piglets do not return to the pen, and they crowd and look around at the trough, it indicates the feed supply is insufficient, and a little more can be fed; if the piglets show little response to the feed given, and their squeals are small and weak, and they are not agitated, it indicates they are not very hungry, and less feed can be given.
Defecation status of the piglets
Check the defecation status of the piglets. Within 3 days after weaning, piglet manure changes from thick to thin and from yellow to brown; this is normal. If the manure becomes soft, glossy and shiny, and the color is normal, the amount of feed put in does not need to be changed; if there is a small amount of scattered yellow manure in the pen containing feed particles, it indicates that a few pigs have overeaten, and the next feeding should be reduced by about 20% compared with the last time; if the manure is found to be pasty and light gray, with a few yellow spots, and contains undigested feed, this is a sign that the whole litter of piglets is about to develop diarrhea, and one meal should be withheld.
By using the above three aspects and then reasonably adjusting the feeding amount for piglets according to the actual situation, piglets will not have their normal growth and development affected by feeding reasons, and only then can the economic benefits of pig farming be maximized.