Proper Pig Nutrition - 4 Vital Factors You Should Know When Feeding Pigs

Proper pig nutrition is essential to make sure
that your pigs remain healthy. Sick animals will
not be suitable for butchering, since the quality
of their meat will be suspect. While you might
think that you can create pig feed by slopping
table scraps and vegetables that have gone bad
into a bucket, this would result in unhealthy
pigs that may not achieve their full growth
potential. So you need to invest in the right
commercial feed that has the proper mixture of
nutrients.

To ensure optimum pig nutrition, make sure that
the feed you buy contains a lot of corn (for
energy) and is low in cellulose (fiber) while
having the proper proportion of nutrients
appropriate for their level of development. You
should keep in mind on feeding pigs no more than
6 pounds of food a day; otherwise they will
become too fat. Of course, you can supplement
this with over-ripe fruits and vegetables and
other leftover food. But keep in mind that pigs
should not eat meat, so you should also provide
protein supplements with their feed.

There are three types of feed available that are
given to pigs at various stages of development to
ensure proper pig nutrition. Starter feeds are
given to weaning piglets weighing 10-20 kg until
they reach a weight of 30 to 35 kg (when they are
around three months old). Grower feed is given to
mature pigs to ensure they reach the proper
weight of around 60 kg. Finisher feeds are then
given to pigs to prepare them for market or
butchering; the feed is given until they reach a
weight of 80 to 90 kg. When you are readying a
pig for market, make sure that any antibiotics
included in the feed are removed at least two
weeks before. Also, allow a transition period of
one week when you are shifting from one type of
feed to another in order not to upset the pigs'
normal feeding behavior.

Providing plenty of water is also essential for
proper pig nutrition, since they need plenty of
water to stay healthy. Make sure that they have
access to clean and fresh drinking water that
you should change daily.

Finally, when a pig is lactating, make sure to
feed them as much as possible to ensure full pig
nutrition and prevent the sow from getting too
skinny, which would adversely affect the health
of future liters. Make sure to feed her balanced
lactation ration, given twice a day to get them
to eat large amounts. Also treat the sow with
her favorite tidbits and sweets every once in a
while.

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Learning about proper pig nutrition does not need
to be difficult when you're learning from someone
who have experienced.So keep these points in
mind. If you would like more tips on proper pig
nutrition and how to raise pigs, take a look at:
http://www.howtoraisepigs.com

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