Xiang pigs are easy to raise and have a high feed conversion rate. What are the points to note in raising them?

    Miniature Xiang pigs are easy to raise, have a high feed conversion rate, sell well, and have a broad market. The key points for raising miniature Xiang pigs are introduced below:

Xiang pig

    Build the pig house well:Choose a dry, level site that faces the sun and is sheltered from the wind to build the pig house; the pig house can be either a single-row or double-row type, and must have walls built of brick and stone and surfaces finished with cement, so that it can be washed and cleaned and kept sanitary. The pig house for miniature Xiang pigs should be somewhat taller than an ordinary pig house, each miniature Xiang pig should occupy 0.8 sq m, and it is best to keep 8-10 pigs per pen. Outside the pig house, a manure collection area should be set up; the manure collection area should be larger than the pig house, calculated at 1.5 sq m per Xiang pig, meaning 10 Xiang pigs need a 15 sq m manure collection area.

    Piglet management:After miniature Xiang pigs are born, secure the sow's teats properly, let the piglets take enough colostrum, and take good warmth-keeping measures so the piglets start eating early. Generally, piglets can be given supplemental concentrate feed 4 days after birth, and after 1 month of age they should be vaccinated against swine fever, swine erysipelas, and swine pasteurellosis.

    Raising adult pigs:Miniature Xiang pigs are lively and active, yet timid and easily startled, so a quiet, dry, and clean raising environment should be maintained. The feed is mainly barley, rice bran, and wheat bran, etc.; weaned piglets should be fed a compound feed whose formula is: corn 10%, rice bran 50%, soybean cake 8.5%, wheat bran 30%, flour 1%, salt 0.5%. To improve feed conversion, feeding should be scientific: first, feed at fixed times, 4 meals per day, starting at 7 a.m., with one feeding every 4 hours; second, feed a fixed amount; for Xiang pigs weighing over 20 kg, feed should be given at 4.5% of their body weight, and for pigs within 20 kg, feed at 3.5% of their body weight. Before 2 months of age, let the Xiang pigs move around more to promote frame development; after 2 months of age, restrict their movement to promote fattening and ensure a high dressing percentage.

    Disease prevention and treatment:First, prevent disease before it occurs: wash the pig house floor once a day, frequently scrub the feed troughs and water troughs, and disinfect the pig house regularly; second, treat disease early, preventing and treating piglet paratyphoid.

    Market at the right time:After Xiang pigs have been raised to 5-7 weeks of age, they can be marketed as suckling pig raw material and should be sent to market in good time. If sold as breeding pigs, they can simply be sent to market at the specified time.