What are the common feeding methods used in pig farms?
There are quite a lot of pig farms in China, and after the impact of African swine fever in 2018, many farmers suffered great losses. So in the new year of 2019, many people believed that pig prices would rise and joined the pig farming industry. So what are the more common ways of feeding pigs on pig farms? Follow along with the editor below to find out.
1. Manual feeding
In fact, most small-scale pig farms nowadays use manual feeding. This is because ordinary small-scale pig farms are usually family-run operations, and they do everything themselves, which can greatly reduce farming costs and thus improve the economic returns of farming. Moreover, manual feeding allows for a more accurate and intuitive understanding of the pigs' growth conditions and timely handling of problems. But if the farming scale becomes large, manual feeding makes costs relatively high, so it is most suitable for small-scale farming.
2. Mechanical feeding
From the perspective of labor, besides manual feeding there is also mechanical feeding, which is generally used in large pig farms or some medium-sized pig farms with relatively ample funds. Mechanical feeding can greatly reduce labor costs and also improve work efficiency; this kind of farming can be said to achieve modern mechanized farming and is very convenient, but it is not perfect either. With mechanical feeding, we cannot discover problems with the pigs in time, and if an epidemic breaks out among the pigs it cannot be dealt with in time, so the losses caused are also relatively large.
3. Dry feed feeding
Dry feed feeding is a relatively traditional feeding method, mainly using solid feed for feeding. Although solid feed is convenient to store and transport and can also reduce labor intensity, its utilization rate is too low, and it is not very healthy or environmentally friendly, and it easily triggers some common pig diseases. We all know that the cost of feed is also relatively high, so a low utilization rate means a large consumption amount, and using this feeding method will greatly increase farming costs and reduce the economic returns of farming, so many places have gradually phased out this method.
4. Liquid feed feeding
Liquid feed is a method of feeding in which feed and water are mixed and stirred together, so that the pigs' water needs are ensured at the same time as feeding. Generally speaking, liquid feed has a relatively wide range of sources, and it can provide good protection for the pigs' health; at the same time, we can also improve the utilization rate of the feed, thereby reducing feed costs and ultimately improving the economic returns of the pigs. Moreover, many relatively advanced pig farms nowadays are using this liquid feed feeding method.
The above are several relatively common feeding methods that the editor wants to introduce to you today. Among them, manual feeding and dry feed feeding have also been gradually phased out, and it is believed that future pig farming models will become more and more advanced. Of course, when choosing a feeding method, we still have to take our own actual circumstances into account in order to achieve the highest economic returns.