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How to keep a pig at home. Pig breeding

Home breeding of pigs, contrary to established ideas about its troublesomeness, is a profitable and interesting business, which, like any other in the agricultural industry, requires the investment of labor and money. The key to success and quick payback for the meat products produced will be a well-drafted business plan, a properly organized pig farm and the correct placement of investments.

Home-produced meat is a high-quality, healthy and natural product, which determines its demand in the consumer market and increased interest.

Pig Breeding: Benefits

The pig, in comparison with other domestic animals, is more endowed with such qualities as:

High productivity, high speed of meat growth and significant volumes. The weight of a newborn piglet is approximately one kilogram, after a week - 2-3 kg, after a month - 20-30 kg. A one-year-old pig weighs 150 kg, and it crosses the 100 kg mark at seven months of age.
Omnivorous. Pigs eat almost all plant and animal foods, including food waste.
Good reproduction rate and high fertility. Under good housing conditions, one sow is able to please the farmer with offspring twice a year, that is, in one farrow there are 12-14 piglets, each of which will produce more than 100 kg of good meat in a year.
High digestibility of food - up to a third of the substances contained in the feed. For example, poultry can absorb only a fifth of it. That is, to gain weight, a pig will need less feed than any other animal.
Popularity. Pork, like chicken, is especially loved and popular among consumers.

Premises for a home pig farm

How to raise pigs correctly if the conditions are at home? Raising pigs first of all requires the availability of suitable premises. It should be a dry, warm and well-ventilated barn (or barn), reliably protected from piercing winds, especially in winter. In order to maintain sanitary and hygienic conditions and prevent various infections, the barn must be whitewashed from the inside.

Laying a foundation 50-70 cm high above the ground before building the room will ensure it is dry. Particular attention should be paid to the location of groundwater, the depth of which should be deeper than 1.5 meters from the ground level. Otherwise, the room will be humid, which will negatively affect the health of the pigs.

The walls must be thick enough to maintain heat in the room and protect animals from freezing. It is advisable to insulate the ceilings from above; As an inexpensive insulation, you can use a 20-centimeter layer of sawdust and a 5-centimeter layer of sand above it.

For a roof that must be waterproof, warm and strong, slate or corrugated sheeting is most often used. The floor is often made of concrete (without depressions or cracks to avoid accumulation and rotting of animal waste products). It is easy to clean and non-slip, which prevents possible injury to the pigs. Drainage ditches must be provided to remove excrement.

Comfort for pigs: the key to success

The barn must be equipped with pens, which, in turn, must be divided into an area where the pigs will be fed (with a food trough located in it) and a den - where the animals spend the rest of their time. A pig is a fairly large animal, and it is prone to destroying partitions and undermining the floor, so special attention should be paid to the strength of these parts of the room. Ideally, the machine fences will be metal. Be sure to have a drinking bowl located on a small hill. Otherwise, the pigs will pollute drinking water.

Pigs also need a shallow pit filled with water for swimming, and a sheltered space for walking in the warm season. Moreover, such an area should be quite large (at least 10 sq. m), especially if it is planned to let a sow with her offspring or a large number of individuals out for a walk.

The pigsty must be provided with electric lighting, used during the period of farrowing and the sow's feeding of young offspring. For small piglets, heating devices will be required.

Breeding pigs: choosing a breed

Let's consider another important issue when raising pigs at home. This is the choice of pig breed. There are three types of them: greasy, meat (bacon) and meat-fat (universal).

Tallow breeds of pigs are aimed at producing high-quality lard. Naturally, there is meat on the carcass, but at a certain point, starting from the age of six months, the growth of muscle tissue slows down, causing intense accumulation of fat. One pig carcass of this type contains 40-45% fat and meat, respectively 50-53%. Externally, greasy pigs are characterized by a wide and rough body; its front part is an order of magnitude heavier than its rear part. The most popular breeds of the greasy breed are the Ukrainian Steppe, Berkshire, Hungarian "Mangalitsa", and Large Black.

Meat (bacon) breeds of pigs are characterized by an increased intensity of muscle tissue development compared to fat tissue. Breeds of this type have rapid growth of offspring, which, with proper intensive fattening, reach a weight of 100 kilograms by 7-8 months of age. The amount of meat obtained from such pigs is 58-68%, less often - 80%, lard - 21-32%. The body shape of meat pigs is somewhat elongated, characterized by a shallow chest and a highly developed rear part, which is larger than the front. The most prominent representatives of the meat type are the English large white breed of pigs, Estonian bacon, Vietnamese pot-bellied, Tamworth, Duroc, Pietrain, Landrace.

The meat breed is considered universal because it produces delicious meat and tender lard. Even with standard feeding (food waste), pigs of this type quickly gain weight, the meat content of which varies from 53 to 65%, lard - 29-37%.

Feeding

Feeding animals can be done in two ways: wet and dry.

Wet feeding is traditional and involves the preparation of mash - feed diluted with water. The pigs are given food scraps and boiled root vegetables. This method is low-cost, since it does not require the purchase of additional feed, however, the animal’s weight gain will not be particularly intense. Therefore, to quickly obtain meat, the emphasis should be on dry feeding, which is less hassle, and the result will be more noticeable. Dry food for pigs must be combined with plenty of water. You should also take into account the characteristics of each food; Thus, it is better to give pigs a lot of ground grain, which will become the basis of nutrition. Boiled potatoes can be used as an addition. In their raw form, root vegetables can be given in small quantities as vitamin supplements.

It is better to feed in small portions, because with significant one-time volumes, part of the food will remain in the trough unclaimed for further use.

Fish and bone meal, leguminous crops, feed yeast, cake and skim milk - sources of protein, will be excellent additives to the main feed, especially for meat breeds of pigs.

Often, for breeding pigs, young animals are purchased on the market (which is quite expensive), but you can also keep your own sow. Sexual maturity in a female usually occurs no earlier than 8 months, farrowing occurs 110-115 days from the moment of fertilization. For mating, it is necessary to use a pig that has reached a weight of 100 kg. She should be well fed, significantly enriching her diet with vitamins. To carry out mating, it is necessary to determine the period when the pig begins to hunt, the signs of which are restless behavior of the animal, lack of appetite, the appearance of redness on the genitals, discharge and estrus. The pig should be mated with a boar within 12 hours. The ovulation period in an animal lasts for one and a half days, so it is important to determine it in a timely manner. Within 17 days from the moment of mating, you should observe the behavior of the animal: if fertilization has not occurred, the pig will behave calmly, if there are signs of heat, then you need to repeat the procedure.

In the first 3 months from the moment of fertilization, the pig is given regular food, later it should be made more concentrated, preferring roughage and succulent feed. The animal should not be overfed in order to avoid complications during childbirth. A couple of days before farrowing, the pig begins to behave restlessly; her sides droop significantly, her mammary glands swell, and her genitals become swollen.

When giving birth to an animal, the presence of a person is desirable, especially if the sow is young. It is possible that the birth may be delayed and the animal will need help. The piglets, which appear one at a time with each push, must immediately be wiped with hay and freed from mucus in the mouth. The piglet may appear in the amniotic sac, which must be immediately torn open and the baby released.

Caring for piglets

Piglets are born weak, therefore, in order to avoid losses of young animals, the most comfortable conditions should be created; The temperature of the pigsty must be at least 18 degrees Celsius, the room must be well ventilated and dried, without traces of dampness, and electric lighting is required. During the first three weeks of life, little piglets feed on mother's milk, which can boost their immunity and gain the necessary weight; Next, the young animals should be accustomed to other foods aimed at intensively stimulating growth. It is recommended to wean piglets from the sow no earlier than 4 weeks after farrowing. If there is no sow, the young animals are fed from the nipple with cow's or goat's milk. During dairy age, it is also important to give them vitamin injections containing iron.

Caring for pigs is not particularly difficult. It is important to provide them with appropriate living conditions, timely feeding of pigs and high-quality supervision of young animals. The air temperature in the barn should vary from 12 to 16 degrees, for young animals - 18-20 degrees. The optimal indoor humidity is 70%. It is important to comply with sanitary and hygienic standards for keeping pigs, regularly clean the floor in the pigsty, and clean the feeders from food debris.

Home Pig Business Plan

Drawing up a business plan when planning to create your own pig farm requires the inclusion of costs such as the construction of a pigsty and the purchase of equipment necessary for operation, staff salaries, the purchase of feed, and veterinary services. The cost part can be affected by a number of different factors. For example, you can build a pigsty yourself from scratch, or you can purchase an old pig farm and carry out repair work on it. The use of modern equipment will significantly reduce wage costs, which will make pig breeding more profitable. Although most businessmen prefer to use manual labor, saving on service automation.

Pig farming is always profitable

The profitability of pig farming as a business is estimated at 30%, but if desired, higher figures can be achieved. This requires:

Choose the pig breed that is most suitable for the purpose of keeping and its conditions. Particular attention must be paid to the selection of young animals, which are recommended to be purchased from different suppliers in order to avoid genetic mutations. Purchasing sows requires taking into account their milk production, productivity, condition of the teats and the safety of the brood.
Periodic disinfection and avoidance of dampness and drafts in the pigsty.
Creating optimal conditions for pregnant sows.
The presence of experience and professionalism among farm workers.
Providing animals with nutritious, high-quality, vitamin-rich food, taking into account all the characteristics of animal feeding.
Vaccination and regular examination of animals to prevent the occurrence of diseases, timely treatment of pigs when they appear.

Pig farming as a business, taking into account the above recommendations, can be a very profitable activity, because high-quality pork is always in high demand.

Pig breeding is the most profitable business in the field of animal husbandry, so keeping even one pig in your homestead is always profitable!

Pig farming or keeping pigs at home is a very profitable and not particularly difficult activity. Pigs can be raised for both breeding and fattening.

Most farmers prefer to raise and breed pigs for sale, which is quite profitable and absolutely affordable even for novice pig farmers.

Is it profitable to keep pigs for sale: pig breeding as a business

Compared to other farm animals, pigs have a large number benefits, which make pig farming at home relatively simple and profitable:

the animal is omnivorous, and almost any food of animal and plant origin, including food waste, is used for food;
excellent indicators of increasing meat volume and productivity in a short time. The weight of a newborn piglet usually does not exceed 1 kg, and after 6 months it is about 120 kg;
approximately a third of the substances contained in feed are completely absorbed by animals, this has a positive effect on the period of fattening;
pigs are distinguished by high fertility rates and excellent reproduction rates, and proper maintenance makes it possible to produce approximately 12-14 piglets several times a year.

At the beginning necessary decide on the main task of this business. Pigs can be kept and raised for sale, or raised for meat only.

Breed selection

Correct The choice of pig breed is another important issue in home pig farming:

universal or meat breeds;
bacon or meat breeds.

A feature of all “greasy” pigs is that they are kept to obtain a high yield of high-quality lard. A pig carcass contains approximately 42-47% fat. The breed is characterized by a heavy front part and a rough and wide body. The best greasy breeds: “Large Black”, “Berkshire” and “Ukrainian Steppe”. A feature of all lard breed pigs is that they are kept to obtain a large yield of high-quality lard.

Meat pigs are characterized by rapid growth and have high active development of muscle mass, therefore proper intensive fattening makes it possible to obtain high slaughter weight in pigs already at 8 months.

Most often, the total volume of meat in the carcass is approximately 65-70% or more. The body of this breed of pigs has a well-developed, massive rear part and the presence of a shallow chest. The most popular The current breeds are: Estonian Bacon, English Large White, Vietnamese Potbellied, Tamworth, Landrace and Duroc.

Meat breeds are considered universal, this is due to the production of high-quality tender lard and meat. Even with the condition of fattening with ordinary food waste, it is noted fast weight gain with 33-37% fat and 57-68% meat.

Almost any breed of pig can be quite easily adapted for pig farming at home.

Breeding pigs at home for beginners

When breeding at home, you need to follow some rules, aimed at preserving the health of farm animals and, as a result, ultimately obtaining the maximum amount of high-quality products.

Piglets must be selected according to weight criteria.

Requirements for keeping piglets

Newly purchased piglets are required to be placed in a special quarantine room for a week, which makes it possible to identify a sick animal as early as possible.

When raising young animals, the air temperature in the barn should be in the region of 19-24C with a humidity of no more than 77-82%. For newborn piglets contraindicated location in a pigsty with dampness, cold and drafts.

It is necessary to observe in the pigsty cleanliness, and for proper growth and development, animals need to be provided with regular walks in the fresh air. The water should be replaced as often as possible, and the feeders should be cleaned after each feeding.

Done once a month disinsection and disinfection pigsty. Piglets under 3 months of age are required to receive food 5 times a day, and older piglets are fed 4 times a day. Adult pigs are fed three times a day.

Basic rules for feeding pigs

The choice of diet is an important point, therefore it is necessary to take into account such factors:

age characteristics;
breed characteristics;
expected condition and fattening period;
availability of food supply.

Often used to grow as quickly as possible growth stimulants, which are represented by tissue preparations, microelements and vitamins, antibiotics.

All feeds are classified as follows:

feeds that greatly reduce the quality of pork, including cake and soy;
grain bran;
grain crops, including peas, rye, millet and barley, as well as green and succulent feed.

Fattening for meat must begin at 3 months and be completed by the ninth month, when the carcass weight reaches 110-140 kg.

Lighting and ventilation

Animals require sufficient natural light, which has a positive effect on biological processes in the body of pigs. Given the short daylight hours in winter, artificial lighting is used:

fattening pigs are required to receive artificial light 12 hours a day at a level of 5-6 lux;
piglets and the suckling sow receive lighting 18 hours a day at 15 lux.

Organized Right The pigsty must have a high-quality ventilation system. Air exchange makes it possible to remove all contaminated and used harmful gases from the room.

Ventilation can be installed homemade or industrial. It must be remembered that this type of equipment can provoke the appearance of drafts, which are dangerous for both young animals and piglets. The supply and exhaust ventilation system performed quite well.

Walking area and growing room

For the construction of walls, it is necessary to use non-moisture-intensive and heat-insulating materials that effectively retain heat in winter. As a rule, brick, wood, gas-porous or slag concrete blocks, as well as rubble stone are used. The interior finishing can be done with plastered wood followed by whitewashing.

In the pigsty microclimatic conditions will depend on the correct construction of the floors. The attic space must be insulated. Boards or concrete are used for flooring. It is best to install slatted floors, which make cleaning easier. Internal partitions must be constructed from durable and strong materials. To make an animal free access to walking areas must be equipped with manholes 60 cm wide and 80 cm high.

Rules of care

Proper care is not only about drawing up balanced diet and maintaining hygiene, but also following the following rules:

in order to reduce costs on feed, grains and root crops must be crushed before distribution;
food must be represented by 10% succulent feed, 65-70% green crops, 8% feed of animal origin and 5% grass meal;
the pig breeding technology includes activities such as distribution and preparation of feed, cleaning the premises, carrying out preventive measures and examining animals;
Breeding pigs using Canadian technology involves keeping them on a deep bedding layer.

When breeding pigs for the purpose of subsequently selling piglets, it is necessary to use methods that are aimed at increasing attention to the fertility characteristics of the sow.

Pig breeding technology

Often, novice pig farmers make mistakes, which include: wrong choosing a boar or sow, as well as ineptly determining the timing of insemination.

Most favorable The breeding time for pigs is the middle of winter. Gestation time can vary between 100-120 days, and subsequent mating can occur after approximately six months. The sow must be more than 8 months old and weigh at least 120 kg.

During the hunt, which lasts several weeks, the animal becomes restless, begins to jump on other pigs, and also suddenly loses its appetite. Cleaning the area where the sow is located should be done several times a week.

Preference necessary give to the calmest and largest individuals, who later become good mothers. It is very important to provide the sow with high-quality food with a high content of vitamins and minerals.

Postpartum care

After the birth of piglets, it is necessary to take care of them special care, however, a lactating sow also needs attention and care. Immediately after farrowing, the pig must be given a liter of water or water half diluted with potassium permanganate.

The changes are also reflected in the diet; on the first day it is best to feed a liquid mixture (for example, oatmeal or wheat bran). A week after farrowing, it is necessary to add root vegetables, which accelerate the flow and formation of milk. The sow needs to be fed three times a day at equal time intervals.

After farrowing, hygiene procedures are carried out with each piglet: cleaning the mouth, ears, snout, cutting and burning the umbilical cord with iodine.

Disease Prevention

Main ways diagnosing There are several definitions of diseases of farm animals, and each of them must be used when raising pigs:

adherence to diet;
regular monitoring of changes in pig behavior;
feces analysis and cleaning in the pigsty;
regular measurement of body temperature in the rectum;
visual examination of the condition of the animal’s head, limbs and body.

The greatest danger is posed by a disease such as plague; the causative agent of this disease can be transmitted through water, feed, meat, bedding and manure. The main symptoms are cough, fever, cramps, as well as diarrhea or constipation. The disease is incurable.

The main activities for prevention, which are aimed at reducing the risk of infection of farm animals, are to eliminate the following negative factors:

overfeeding pigs;
use of poor quality and spoiled feed;
too high or low temperature in the pigsty;
insufficient balance and nutritional value of the diet.

Need to minimize the risk of pigs receiving any damage, as well as the risk of helminth eggs, pathogenic viruses and pathogenic bacteria getting in with feed or water.

Fattening and breeding pigs with strict adherence to the technology of nutrition and maintenance makes it possible to obtain not only excellent, but also quick results in the high growth of farm animals. Proper cultivation results in both healthy meat products and high-quality raw materials.

Keeping pigs is a profitable business, since one animal can produce up to 150 or more kilograms of meat; one sow can produce up to 25-30 piglets per year. By 6-7 months they are ready for slaughter. Raising pigs at home is not difficult. To do this, it is worth drawing up a business plan, which includes preparing the premises, monitoring the temperature, humidity and light levels, and feeding regime. If you comply with the above conditions, you can succeed in this matter.

Keeping pigs at home

The benefit of raising pigs at home is associated with obtaining a large amount of meat, given that they reach slaughter age relatively quickly. Pigs are characterized by high fertility. When a sow farrows, she produces up to 10-12 piglets, and in a year this figure reaches 27-30 piglets per sow.

Danish or Canadian technology is suitable for home breeding. With Canadian growing technology, the floor is covered with a thick layer of litter, which does not change for a long time. This allows you to keep the room warm. Bedding materials include sawdust, straw, hay, sand and other natural materials. Danish is suitable for raising large livestock. Manure flows into special baths or devices. Waste is removed from the area daily.

A born piglet weighs about a kilogram or 1.3 kg. At one week of age it doubles. At two months of age it reaches a weight of about 45-60 kilograms. One sow, thanks to its offspring, produces up to 2-3 tons of meat per year. Per kilogram of weight gain, a piglet consumes 20-30% less feed than cattle.

Where are piglets kept?

For novice pig farmers, the following recommendations can be given. Usually they start from scratch. To raise pigs at home, you will need a spacious barn. It should be spacious, bright, ventilated and with separate closets. In the summer, a pigsty made of boards is suitable. This is advisable for the southern regions, for example, for the Krasnodar Territory, since there you can do without a warm barn, and in the farms of the northern regions they build an insulated room.

During construction, the existing and future livestock are taken into account, since the pigs will reproduce. Animals are distributed by age. Boars and sows are kept separately from young piglets. One compartment can accommodate up to 25-30 young piglets. There are 2-3 animals per square meter.

A good pigsty is built from brick, cinder block, foam block or log house. The listed materials retain heat and do not conduct moisture. The foam block is durable and strong. The interior walls are plastered and whitewashed. The ceilings are covered with boards or reinforced concrete. It is important to insulate the ceiling with sawdust, dry grass or sand and earth.

Drafts and dampness should not be allowed in the barn, as they are the main enemies of animals. In the room where artiodactyls are kept, rodents breed, which should not be allowed. Mice and rats should be controlled.

Drinking bowls and heaters are installed in the pens (they do not need to be installed if the room is hot). Necessary tools used in the shed: shovel, pitchfork, buckets, rake, trough.

Breeding

To obtain healthy and well-fed offspring, it is necessary to study the basic conditions of keeping a piglet. Feeding should be balanced; split meals are recommended, that is, five to six times a day, including dairy products, mineral and vitamin products, grains and vegetables.

Young piglets are weaned from their mother at the age of 2-2.5 months and transferred to three meals a day. They gradually switch from full-fat breast milk to skim milk (skim milk). In summer, pigs graze on fresh grass, and in winter they are fed hay.

By the age of seven months they should already weigh about 110-130 kilograms. Therefore, by that time, adult pigs are slaughtered, leaving sows and boars for breeding.

Choosing a breed for growing

About thirty-five breeds of pigs are bred on the territory of the Russian Federation. The following types of artiodactyls are popular:

Russian white;
landrace;
Vietnamese pot-bellied;
Duroc;
barbecue and others.

White Russian

When choosing a breed, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the animals. Some of them are not suitable for growing in harsh climates.

Individuals are divided into three categories:

meat;
lard-meat;
bacon

The first category includes the white breed of pigs and their crosses. They have developed muscle tissue. They are characterized by a wide convex chest, a wide long back, a powerful dense rear, and strong short legs. Representatives of the breed have thick bristles that cover the entire body, a large head on a long thick neck, and noticeable, non-drooping ears. Landrace belongs to the meat and fat category. Individuals of this breed have a lot of meat and little fat. These pigs are distinguished by large litters and rapid weight gain.

Tallow and meat are black and motley. Their lard predominates over meat.

In bacon breeds, the body looks like a torpedo, and the chest is narrower than that of greasy pigs. They quickly gain weight. The carcass accumulates up to 68-70% meat and about 23-25% fat.

Duroc is a representative of the bacon category. Animals of this species reach two meters, the carcass is massive. They gain from 150 to 250 kilograms of weight. Externally they are distinguished by the characteristic brown color of their skin and bristles.

Methods of content

There are several ways to keep animals:

1. Walking, which involves the free exit of animals from the pen to the walking area. Suitable for the warm climate of the southern regions.
2. Pen-walking housing allows you to install a door from each pen to the walking area; the livestock is taken out for a walk only on sunny days.
3. The walk-free method is suitable for ventilated large rooms. In multi-storey pig farms, animals are not allowed to roam.

With the third method, restriction in movement contributes to rapid weight gain, since the animals’ energy is not spent on movement, but they lie down more, thereby gaining the necessary weight in a short time.

Pig breeding

Physiological maturity occurs at the age of 9 months, and at 12-14 months the animals already give birth to their first offspring. For breeding, a sow is selected that has the following parameters: it must weigh at least 100-120 kilograms and have 12 fully developed nipples.

Be sure to include vitamin-enriched foods in your diet. If she behaves restlessly, refuses food, and makes characteristic grunts, then this may indicate sexual desire. The mating of the sow with the male is carried out within 12 hours from the moment such behavior appears. After 12-14 hours, the pig will lose interest in mating, and the procedure will have to be repeated another time. It is possible to inseminate artificially. After 17 days, the pig may show signs of repeated heat, which will indicate infertility. The fertilization procedure is repeated with another male.

Post-farrow care

Both piglets and the young sow need special care. Immediately after farrowing you should give the queen a liter of water, adding a little sugar, and after 6 hours you can completely satisfy the female’s drinking needs.

On the first day after birth, they are fed with a liquid formula. After seven days, root vegetables are given, which accelerate the flow of milk. The sow needs to be fed three times a day at regular intervals.

After birth, each piglet is wiped, its snout and ears are cleaned, mucus is removed from the mouth, the umbilical cord is cut off, and it is cauterized with iodine.

It is important to bring the piglet to the mother's nipples in the first 40 minutes, otherwise the sow will refuse to accept the baby. Colostrum is the mother's first milk; it is completely absorbed by the body of the young and is extremely necessary for it.

You can raise healthy offspring if the following conditions are met. The temperature in the pigsty is considered optimal for emerging young animals to be 18-23 degrees, while for adults 12-15 degrees is sufficient. Air humidity of about 70-75% is necessary to maintain the health of young animals. Drafts, dampness and cold should not be allowed. Piglets die from such negative influences.

Feeding piglets for meat

You need to start fattening piglets for meat at three months. There are a lot of methods in pig farming:

1. Low-intensity. Not too rapid weight gain. A pig grows to 100-110 kilograms over a long period of time. This is an ideal option for small farms. They are fed with mash, dry grass or crushed grains in the required volume.
2. Intensive method. It is used if it is necessary to achieve weight gain in a short time. This is the most effective and profitable method. Three-month-old piglets are fed for 4 months. An individual gains up to 650 grams per day.

Food containing up to 30% greens is considered optimal. The composition must contain fresh grass, legumes, root vegetables, melons, flour, and silage.

Breeding domestic animals has always been a very profitable business, especially if it is carried out by professionals. One of the most profitable businesses in the agricultural business is pig breeding, since you can get 50-200 dollars for a pair of piglets. Raising pigs at home is a rather difficult, but also profitable business. You will learn below how to raise pigs at home.

Farmers mainly breed domestic pig breeds, but foreign ones are also very popular. Let us recall that pork breeds are divided into the following categories: lard-meat (when slaughtered, about 60 percent of fat and 20 percent of meat come out of the carcass; meat-greasy (70 percent of meat and 10-15 percent of fat); bacon (the carcass contains approximately an equal amount of meat and lard).The choice of breed for breeding is entirely your business, however, when choosing, you should take into account all the criteria and whims of representatives of various breeds.

The most popular among tallow-meat breeds are the North Caucasian, Mirgorod and Belarusian Black-and-White. Pigs of the above breeds in most cases have a black and white color. The weight of such pigs can reach 270-300 kilograms. It is worth noting that in a short period of time they gain weight of more than 100 kilograms (150-170 days).

The Landrace and Estonian bacon pig breeds are the most popular representatives of the bacon pig category. Pigs have a white color, long ears, an elongated body and plump hams and loins. The yield of fat from these breeds is low, and the yield of meat is high.

The list of the most popular meat and fat breeds includes: Lithuanian, Siberian Northern and Ukrainian Steppe White. The color of these animals is, accordingly, white, and their sizes are large. Representatives of the above breeds have poorly developed adipose tissue, which allows muscle tissue to gain a greater percentage of weight in the carcass. Breeding pigs of these breeds is especially common in households, because they are suitable for meat and bacon fattening. A sow can produce 10 to 15 piglets per farrow. In just six months of life, piglets gain weight of 100 kilograms, and the weight of an adult boar is more than 350 kilograms.

In recent years, breeding pot-bellied pigs of the Korean and Vietnamese breeds has become very popular. It is very profitable to breed them. The cost of piglets of this breed can range from 80-120 dollars per pair, but a sow can produce from 14 to 20 piglets per farrow, which completely covers all the costs of food and the purchase of piglets for breeding. Pigs of these breeds belong to the bacon category; they are small and compact, and their requirements for nutrition and living conditions are low. The only disadvantage of Korean and Vietnamese pigs is their weak immunity, so they need vaccination.

Today, many are interested in the question: “Is it profitable to raise pigs?” The answer is of course. In just 2-3 years of maintenance you can get more than 1000 percent profit.

Necessary conditions for pigs

Before you get hung up on the idea of breeding pigs, you need to decide on the technology for breeding pigs. It is worth noting that some breeds of pigs are very demanding in terms of climate and feeding conditions and therefore it is necessary to create special conditions for them. Otherwise, their maintenance will only be at a loss.

To have pigs of any breed, you should first build a pigsty and pen. In this case, it is necessary to take into account that each pig must have at least 4 square meters of free space in the pen. If pigs are kept in small closed sheds, then productivity will be very difficult to achieve. At the same time, it is better to place the pigsty a little away from the house, since a not very pleasant smell may come from there. After the pigsty and pen are built, you need to buy or make feeders and drinkers yourself. It is best to cover the floor with boards and lay a layer of dry straw on top so that in bad weather conditions the pigs do not freeze and contract acute respiratory infections. It is better to raise pigs in insulated areas.

Feeding and care

Pigs have a single-chamber stomach, which is why it is difficult for them to digest foods that contain fiber. Because of this, their diet should consist of 80 percent of feed with a high content of minerals and carbohydrates, while there should be less coarse and succulent green feed.

Pigs can also be fed traditional wet feeding, which includes food waste, boiled potatoes, grain and grass. You can also feed them dry food - crushed grain mixtures with the addition of pea flour and various additives. If the second option suits you better, then you should make sure that the pigs always have water. The downside of this feeding method may be constipation and a decrease in live weight gain.

The dry type of feeding requires little labor, since you do not have to cook vegetables for pigs twice a day and carry buckets of mash. To prevent the pigs from being hungry, it is enough to simply crush the grain in advance, add the remaining ingredients and give the pigs the quota.

Representatives of the younger generation grow better on dry feeding, so if pigs are regarded as a profitable investment, and not as a destroyer of kitchen waste, then it is better to buy dry food.

It is worth feeding grains to representatives of different pork breeds in ground form, since this is how they are much better digested and absorbed. Feeding pigs whole grains is not economical. Yes, pigs will eat them, but this will be of little use, since 50-60 percent of the grain will be released undigested along with feces.

As vitamin supplements, a small amount of root vegetables is fed to pigs raw, and as a main feed - boiled and in sufficiently large quantities.

Pigs should not be overfed. At one meal, they should eat a little less than their stomach can accommodate, so that a slight feeling of hunger remains.

When it comes to feeding meat breed pigs, care must be taken to ensure that their feed contains a large amount of protein, which makes up muscle tissue. With enough protein in the pigs' diet, they will quickly gain live weight. Therefore, it is best to feed grain legumes, fish meal, feed yeast, cakes, skim milk, skim milk or meat and bone meal.

How to breed

Breeding pot-bellied and other breeds of pigs is a complex process, so it must be approached responsibly. According to preliminary data, the first signs of heat in pigs may appear as early as 6-7 months of age. Hunting can be determined by the red genitals and mucous membrane. It is worth remembering that it is better not to allow young sows to have access to a boar at such a “young” age. It is best to carry out fertilization at the age of 10-12 months, since the sow is then completely ready for bearing fruit. If a sow loses her life at this age, this can lead to health problems for both the mother and the offspring, as well as the latter’s tendency to gain weight.

You need to prepare for mating in advance and during the week before mating, it is better to feed the sow with succulent feed and concentrates. It is better to choose a sow from healthy, large pigs with a good appetite, since it is such an individual that will be able to bear healthy offspring. A sow that is suitable for fertilization must gain at least 500 grams of live weight per day. If mating takes place in the summer, then the pig must be released into fresh air so that it can eat grass and be nourished with useful substances.

It is better to introduce the uterus to the boar 12 hours after the first signs of heat were noticed in the sow. To make sure that the mating was successful, it is necessary for the boar to cover the uterus 2 times. If, a month after the mating, no signs of heat were noticed in the sow, then we can assume that the mating was a success.

Pregnancy in representatives of various pig breeds can last from 115 to 119 days. In order to know exactly the date of farrowing, it is necessary to keep a calendar, crossing out each day that has passed since mating.

Feeding the uterus at the beginning of pregnancy is practically no different from the daily diet, however, after the first month of pregnancy, the pig must be given a balanced diet that contains a large amount of nutrients needed by the emerging generation. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that all components of the sow’s diet are fresh, since the queen’s eating rotten or spoiled foods can lead to the embryo dying right in the sow’s body.

It is also worth preparing for farrowing in advance. Pigs are very aware of the approach of farrowing and begin to behave restlessly. If a pig behaves restlessly, cannot find a place for itself and carries bedding in its teeth, building something like a nest in the back corner of the barn, then you know that over the next week a new generation will be born.

It is necessary to clean and disinfect the pigsty in advance, as well as prepare all the necessary equipment that may be required during a difficult birth. Often farrowing takes place at night and it is better for it to be supervised by a qualified veterinarian, but if there is none, then you can give birth yourself, having the slightest idea in this matter.

Piglets are born in a kind of sac, which they tear apart upon birth. After the birth of a piglet, it is necessary to cut off its umbilical cord at a distance of 5 centimeters from the tummy and cauterize it in the brilliant green. Then attach it to the nipple for feeding. In most cases, the pig can farrow on its own, but in some cases it needs human help.

Pig farming is a highly productive area with short production times. A newcomer to agribusiness needs knowledge of advanced farming methods and growing technologies that will provide a competitive advantage and increase income.

How to raise pigs

The health and meat productivity of pigs directly depend on the diet and living conditions. A pig absorbs more than a third of the food consumed and for fattening it requires 30–35% less food than, for example, cows. In this regard, it is recommended to carefully study the topic of proper diet and not skimp on food, as it will pay off handsomely. As for breeding conditions, pigs are kept both on large farms and in private farms.

It should be remembered that:

Keeping it outside is acceptable during the warm season. In winter, animals will need a roof over their heads and protection from frost.
Raising pigs in special pits in the Russian climate is not justified: the animals may start to get sick.
If you wish, you can raise pigs in your summer cottage, but in this case it is especially important to remember veterinary and sanitary standards. Under standard 6-acre conditions, it is allowed to keep only one pig, whose barn must be at least 15 m away from residential buildings.

Pig Breeding for Beginners

When starting to grow, you must first decide on the purpose of your business. Animals are raised both for subsequent sale as live weight and fattened for meat. Many beginning farmers choose the first type of activity, since it is quite profitable and least expensive, both in terms of time and finances for purchasing feed.

Fattening for meat, although it requires large financial investments and a scrupulous study of the theoretical basis, gives the opportunity not only to provide oneself with a tasty, high-quality product, but also to earn money from it.

Regardless of the chosen direction, every entrepreneur (even a summer resident) must register his activities with the relevant government authority.

Choosing a pig breed for breeding

If the choice is made in favor of fattening, then you should take into account the division of all breeds into:

meat;
sebaceous;
bacon

Meat products quickly gain muscle mass and the meat yield is 60–65%.

Meat includes:

English large white;
Cornish black;

Sebaceous ones are characterized by a thick layer of fat in the carcass, which is built up by an appropriate diet.
The most famous representatives of this species:

Mirgorodskaya;
Belarusian black-and-white;
North Caucasian.

The tender meat of bacon pigs is permeated with layers of fat, which allows you to make bacon slices from it.

These breeds are considered:

Estonian bacon;
Korean;

Necessary conditions for keeping piglets

You need to prepare in advance for placing animals on a farm, thinking through all the nuances.

Arranging a pigsty

The room should be warm and dry. A mandatory element is a clean bedding of sawdust or shavings. Don't forget about windows and ventilation openings equipped with frames with mesh to prevent rodents from entering.

Important! Pigs don't like too much light. It makes them aggressive. The total area of windows should not exceed 20% of the floor area.

Any barn consists of three parts:

pig room;
walking space;
swimming pool.

Pig feeders

The most important thing is its volume (at least 2 buckets of feed). The best material for feeders is iron. The feeder should not be on the floor, but on some elevation, but so that it is convenient for the animals to approach it.

Drinkers for pigs and piglets

We should not forget about the drinking regime. Regardless of the material from which they are made, they must be clean, sealed and durable, with an uninterrupted supply of water. The ideal option would be to install a water heater to prevent the liquid from freezing in winter.

Proper nutrition

The taste of future meat products depends on the balance of the diet. Pigs should not be fed solely kitchen scraps.

To obtain high quality pork, the following feed is required:

grains (barley, rye, peas);
juicy (beets, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin);
coarse (hay flour);
green (alfalfa, clover, nettle);
animals (dairy products, meat waste).

Corn and bran are not the best choice and should not exceed 50% of the diet. Soybeans, cake and oats significantly reduce the quality of meat and lard.

Feeding with compound feed

Combined feeds consist of a mixture of grains, herbs, legume flour, and vitamins. You can prepare them yourself or purchase them ready-made.

Growth stimulants

Veterinary pharmacology offers a lot of drugs to increase the productivity and better development of animals:

steroids for growth;
enzyme additives for better digestion of feed;
antibiotics;
phosphatides.

Veterinary and sanitary rules for keeping pigs

As already mentioned, keeping pets is regulated by veterinary and sanitary standards.

Basic rules for placing a pigsty with an area of no more than 50 m² on a site include:

The distance between the barn and residential buildings is no less than 15 m, and the cesspool is no less than 20 m.
Fencing the farmstead area from wild animals.
The surfaces of the barn, feeders and drinking bowls must be washed and disinfected regularly.
The strength of the floor in a pigsty, it is best to make it from concrete. Wooden boards can rot, causing illness.
Stocking density is 0.35–0.4 m²/head for piglets, 0.8–1 m² for adults.

Measures to prevent diseases

Primary prevention of diseases is compliance with diet and hygiene. During the growing period, it is necessary to regularly monitor the condition of the animals (behavior, feed intake, water consumption).

If necessary, contact veterinary services. Animals are slaughtered under conditions that prevent contamination of carcasses.

Reproduction

Pigs begin to bear offspring early. On average, they reach sexual maturity at the age of six months, some breeds earlier. The issue of animal reproduction is especially important for farms focused on selling breeding piglets.

Pig mating

Despite early sexual maturity, it is best to breed young pigs at the age of 8–10 months, when their mammary glands are fully formed and you can count on high maternal qualities, multiple births and viable young animals.

Before fertilization, the uterus must be healthy, without signs of obesity. Its weight should be about 120–130 kg. Males and females are selected based on breed and physical characteristics.

Mating is divided into:

freestyle;
manual (mating with selected females).

Artificial insemination

Considered more effective. The likelihood of fertilization increases, since in this case the seminal fluid is introduced into the genital tract of the uterus by a veterinarian using medical instruments.

Gestational age

On average, sow pregnancy lasts about 4 months (101 to 126 days).

The period depends on:

breeds;
age of the female (young individuals bear offspring earlier);
multiple births (the more piglets, the earlier the birth);
time of year (in winter the period decreases slightly).

When to castrate piglets

It is carried out with the aim of improving the quality of meat and preventing the development of aggression in the future in young boars. There is no consensus on the age of emasculation. Early castration at 10–14 days leads to less blood loss and is less painful. At the same time, uncastrated suckling piglets develop more actively. One way or another, you should remember the need to differentiate the procedures of castration, vaccination and deworming in time.

There are two methods of castration:

open;
closed.

Did you know?The European Animal Welfare Group is actively working to ban castration. In 2013, a conference on this topic was held in France. Animal rights activists insist that this procedure has a detrimental effect on the physiological state of animals and propose replacing the surgical operation with a chemical one.

Systems and methods for keeping pigs

There are two main maintenance methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Pigs are kept in a special area outdoors from mid-spring until the first autumn frosts. This method has a beneficial effect on the condition of animals and their reproductive functions, but requires costs for the construction of sun-protective awnings and canopies. The method is good for small farms.

On larger farms, the cage or stall method is more commonly used. However, this method of breeding often has a bad effect on the life of pigs and requires owners to especially carefully control the temperature, microclimate, lighting and cleanliness in the barn.

Content technologies

Two innovative technologies developed by international leaders in the field of pig farming - Canada and Denmark - are relevant.

Raising pigs using Canadian technology

Danish technology

This technology involves the construction of a pigsty with:

automated feed and water supply lines;
slatted floors equipped with a manure removal system;
comfortable dens for heating piglets with infrared lamps.

This approach reduces labor costs, but requires serious financial investments, so it is used on large farms.

How to slaughter a pig

The pig should be slaughtered when its weight reaches its maximum.

You should also not overfeed her. If the weight does not change within two weeks with the same diet, the pig can be slaughtered.
On average, slaughter takes place at one year of age, plus or minus a few months, depending on the breed. If we are talking about a suckling pig, then its age should not exceed two months. In this case, its meat will be truly lean, juicy and tender.

There are two main methods of slaughter:

blow to the neck;
a blow to the heart.

Not all carcasses are released for sale. The concept of “kill yield” includes meat, lard, skin and head. Typically the slaughter yield is about 75%. However, offal (liver, lungs, heart) can also be sold.

How to find out the weight of a pig

The weight of an animal can be determined without scales.

There is a special table from which, knowing parameters such as body length and torso girth behind the shoulder blades, you can obtain weight data.

If you don’t have a table at hand, you can multiply the body girth by the length and divide by a factor of 142 (for greasy pigs) or 156 (for meat animals of average fatness).

Features of keeping pigs in winter

As already mentioned, during the cold season, pigs need to be indoors. These animals do not require too warm greenhouse conditions; it is enough to maintain a temperature of +12...+18°C in winter.
These artiodactyls tolerate heat worse than cold, so the maximum permissible temperature in the barn is +20°C. A heater is only needed when a sow is giving birth or for newborn piglets.

Drafts, which can lead to illness, should be avoided. That's why you need to insulate the windows and seal the cracks in the walls. A thick layer of straw is placed in the pens, which serves as insulation and the pigs love to bury their heads in it.

Important!The longer a pig is fattened, the higher the percentage of fat layer and the lower the meat yield and its quality.

Food and drink should be warm.

The diet should be varied:

fruit and vegetable peelings;
hay;
fish oil;
chalk.

Normal temperature in pigs

Normal temperature readings are an indicator of health for all living beings. For pigs, this norm is +38...+39.5°C for adults, up to +40°C for piglets. A temperature higher than normal indicates the presence of a disease. The farmer should always have a thermometer and the contact number of the veterinarian on hand.

Maintenance costs

As can be seen from the above, maintenance costs depend on the breeding method.

Whatever technology you prefer, when starting to raise pigs, you need to draw up an estimate that includes the following costs:

construction of a pigsty;
purchase of piglets;
equipment;
feed;
vaccinations and veterinary services.

When drawing up estimates, the farmer needs to be guided by current prices and background information that allows him to calculate maintenance costs and approximate income from raising pigs for fattening.

Did you know?Pig slaughter has been an integral part of winter festivities in Western Europe for centuries. Until now, in many villages you can find traditional ceremonies, sometimes even with a masquerade. In some regions there is a custom of giving meat to neighbors.

Profitability

You can calculate profitability by knowing the average weight of a pig and market prices for meat. In addition, the profitability of pig breeding directly depends on the rearing technology, on whether expensive automated equipment is used, whether feed is produced independently or purchased in specialized stores.

Pig farming has traditionally been considered a lucrative industry suitable for those new to agriculture. However, as in any type of business, you need to master the theoretical basis and only then start growing. It is difficult to guarantee a certain percentage of income, since it depends on many factors, including the changing economic environment. But in any case, a quality product will always find its buyer.