Feeders for Pigs - The Best Ways to Feed Your Pigs
A feeder pig should weigh between 40-75 pounds and be around 8 to 10 weeks old when you receive it. Your pig should have been on solid food for quite some time at this point. It is also a good idea to get more than one pig, since gaining weight will take longer with only one pig. When there is only one, pigs do not have to fight for their food. Therefore, they will not always try to get as much as possible if there is only one.
Getting your pig feeder on the path to maximum growth is the best thing that I can do for them. I have found that ground corn tends to be more digestible than whole or cracked corn for younger pigs because it is easier for them to digest, and they get more from the corn instead of it being expelled right away. While this is a bit time-consuming, it is a far better option and they will gain more weight in the end. As a next step, I add soybean meal, which is high in protein and will also contribute to weight gain. Protein is essential for pig growth.
Pig grain can be used with or without medications, but I prefer it with them for the first few months, as pigs are very susceptible to stress and having these medications is a good idea for them. The foods they eat help keep their immune systems healthy, so anything that can help is a plus. Initially at the 8 week stage, I take some of each of these rationed according to how many pigs I have. I make sure they get about 1lb per day. My pigs are fed twice a day using a mixture of ground corn, soybean meal, and grain. I mix it together, moisten it, and then mix it again, making it into a mush-like consistency. This causes the pig's digestive system to take longer to digest, thus adding to their weight. The food should be increased by 1 lb every 2 weeks and if you are near a fruit and vegetable market, you can stop and ask for any old food and they will let you have it, which can keep feed costs down but make it harder to gain weight if you cut back on the other food. You can also get day old breads from local bakeries; they will sometimes let you have them, but be careful; they will give your pigs diarrhea and contribute to excessive fat; otherwise, you will have a very lean pig.
Pigs for feeding
In general, feeder pigs are well-started young piglets that have been weaned and are eating a soft feed ration or grower pellets.
It is possible to market these piglets in a variety of ways since they are 40 pounds or more. There are those that can be marketed as young, dressed pork for restaurants, as breeding stock or replacement gilts, or simply fed to market hog weights and then slaughtered and then fabricated into primary pork and hog cuts.
Once again, the total amount of time and investment in the feeder pig enterprise can be considered short-term. This group of hogs has relatively low feed, overall care and management expenses, indicating that the probability of good cash flow and profitability is high. Visit our website: www.pigequipments.com
This hog enterprise may be profitable if it can produce at least two litters of piglets per sow/gilt per year. For instance, a gilt or sow can be successfully bred twice a year either by artificial insemination (AI) or natural breeding (boar). Each time the sow/gilt produces nine weaned piglets, bringing the total number of piglets to eighteen. The gross sale would be $1,080.00 if the eighteen piglets were marketed at $60.00 each. To establish the overall profit from this enterprise, the producer would have to subtract the typical expenses associated with sow/gilt care and management, equipment, taxes, feed, heat, lighting, marketing, etc.