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Breeding and raising pigs at home for beginners. Pig Breeding for Beginners

Breeding pigs, or pig farming, is not a particularly difficult activity and is very profitable. You can raise pigs at home both for fattening and breeding. Many farmers prefer to keep and raise piglets for sale, which is very profitable and quite affordable even for novice pig farmers.

Pig breeding as a business: is it profitable to keep piglets for sale?

Pigs, compared to other farm animals, have a significant number of advantages that make their breeding profitable and relatively simple:

high productivity rates and increasing large volumes of meat in the shortest possible time. The weight of a newborn piglet exceeds a kilogram, and after six months it is already about 100 kg;
the animal is omnivorous, and uses almost any food of plant and animal origin, including food waste;
pigs are distinguished by a good reproduction rate and high fertility rates, and proper maintenance allows them to produce offspring a couple of times a year, approximately twelve to fourteen piglets;
About a third of the substances contained in feed are completely absorbed by the animal, which has a positive effect on the fattening period.

First you need to decide on the ultimate goal of such a business. Pigs can be bred and kept for sale, or raised exclusively for meat. As a rule, keeping farm animals for sale as piglets is the most convenient and most effective way to make a profit. Raising a piglet for sale is not too difficult, but caring for an adult animal and the technology for producing a pig with large weight and high quality meat will require not only drawing up a competent plan, but also purchasing a significant amount of feed.

Choosing the right breed is half the success

Another important issue in domestic pig farming is the correct choice of breed of farm animal:

greasy breeds
meat or bacon breeds;
meat-fat or universal breeds.

A feature of all tallow breeds is that they are grown to obtain a large yield of high-quality lard. A pork carcass contains approximately 40–45% fat. The breed is characterized by a wide and rough body and a heavy front part. The best greasy breeds:"Ukrainian Steppe", "Berkshire" and "Large Black".

Meat breeds have an increased intensity of muscle mass development and are characterized by rapid growth, so proper intensive fattening makes it possible to obtain high slaughter weight in eight-month-old animals. The total volume of meat in a carcass is 60-65% or more. The body of such a farm animal is elongated, with a shallow chest and a well-developed, massive rear part. Popular breeds:“English Large White”, “Estonian Bacon”, “Temworth”, “Vietnamese Potbelly”, “Duroc” and “Landrace”.

Breeding pigs at home for beginners

When breeding at home, it is necessary to comply with certain requirements that are aimed at maintaining the health of farm animals and ultimately obtaining the maximum volume of quality products. Piglets must be selected based on weight.

Acquired piglets must be placed for a week in a special quarantine room, which makes it possible to identify a sick animal as early as possible. When raising young animals, the air temperature in the barn should vary within 18-22 o C with a humidity of no more than 75-80%. For small piglets, placement in rooms with drafts, cold and dampness is contraindicated.

It is necessary to keep the pigsty clean, and for proper development, provide the animals with regular walks in the fresh air. The water should be changed as often as possible, and the feeders should be cleaned after each feeding. The pigsty is disinfected and disinfested monthly. Piglets under three months of age should be fed five times a day, and young animals are fed four times a day. Adults are fed three times a day.

Rules for fattening pigs

The choice of feed is an important point, so the following factors must be taken into account:

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

To grow as quickly as possible, growth stimulants are often used, such as antibiotics, vitamins and microelements, and tissue preparations.

All feeds are divided into the following groups:

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

Fattening for meat should begin at three months and end by the eighth month, upon reaching a weight of 100-130 kg.

Ventilation and lighting

In conditions of short daylight hours in winter, artificial lighting is used:

the suckling sow and piglets receive lighting eighteen hours a day at fifteen lux;
Fattening pigs should receive artificial lighting twelve hours a day at a level of five to six lux.

A properly organized pigsty must have a high-quality ventilation system. Air exchange allows all used and contaminated harmful gases to be removed from the room. Ventilation can be industrial or homemade. It must be remembered that this type of equipment can cause drafts, which are dangerous for both piglets and young animals. The supply and exhaust ventilation system has proven itself best.

Growing room and walking area

To build walls, it is necessary to use heat-insulating and non-moisture-intensive materials that can effectively retain heat in winter. The most commonly used materials are wood, brick, slag concrete or gas-porous blocks, as well as rubble stone. Interior finishing can be done with plastered wood followed by whitewash.

The attic space must be insulated. Concrete or boards are used for flooring. The most convenient floors are slatted floors, which make cleaning easier. Internal partitions must be installed from strong and durable materials. To provide free access for animals to walking areas, it is necessary to construct manholes 0.8 m high and 0.6 m wide.

Features of care

Proper care consists not only of maintaining hygiene and preparing a balanced diet, but also observing the following rules:

food should be represented by 50-60% green crops, 10% succulent feed, 5% grass meal and animal feed;
in order to reduce feed costs, root crops and grain crops must be crushed before distribution;
breeding using Canadian technology involves keeping animals on a deep bedding layer;
The breeding technology includes activities such as cleaning the premises, preparing and distributing feed, examining pigs and carrying out preventive measures.

If pigs are bred for the purpose of further selling piglets, then it is necessary to use methods aimed at increasing the fertility indicators of the sow.

How and what to feed pigs (video)

Pig breeding technology at home

Beginning pig breeders quite often make mistakes, which include incorrectly selecting a sow or boar, as well as ineptly calculating the time of insemination. The most favorable period for breeding domestic pigs is mid-winter. The gestation period varies between 110-130 days, and the next mating can be performed after about six months. The sow must be more than eight months old and weigh at least 100 kg.

During the hunting period, which lasts a couple of weeks, the animal begins to jump on other pigs, suddenly loses its appetite, and also becomes restless. Cleaning the room where the sow is kept must be done several times a week. Preference should be given to the largest and calmest individuals who become good parents. It is especially important to provide the sow with high-quality nutrition with a high content of vitamin and mineral complexes.

Disease Prevention

There are several main ways to identify and diagnose diseases of farm animals, and all of them should be used when raising pigs:

constant monitoring of changes in animal behavior;
compliance with the feeding regime;
visual inspection of the condition of the animal’s body, limbs and head;
periodic measurement of body temperature in the rectum;
cleaning of the pigsty and analysis of feces.

The greatest danger is posed by plague, the causative agent of which can be transmitted through food, water, manure, bedding and meat. The main symptoms include fever, cough, constipation or diarrhea, and cramps. The disease is incurable.

The main preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of injury to farm animals are: are the exclusion of the following negative factors:

use of spoiled and poor-quality feed;
overfeeding animals;
insufficient nutritional value and balanced diet;
low or too high temperature conditions in the pigsty.

It is necessary to minimize the risk of animals receiving any damage, as well as the ingress of pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic viruses and helminth eggs with water or feed.

How to keep pigs at home (video)

Raising and fattening pigs with strict adherence to the technology of organizing housing and nutrition allows you to get not only good, but also quick results in high growth of farm animals. The result of proper cultivation is both high-quality raw materials and healthy meat products.

Breeding and raising pigs at home to provide for one's family often becomes a source of income for village residents. Thanks to modern technologies, livestock breeders are able to fatten piglets to a slaughter weight of 120-130 kg by 9-10 months. On average, about 70-80 kg of high-quality meat and lard are obtained from each carcass, which are sold without any problems at a fairly high price in markets or in the wholesale and retail trade network.

Fast growing omnivores

Raising pigs for meat and lard in your own backyard today is a completely affordable activity for beginning livestock farmers. Piglets are omnivores, eating almost any plant and animal food, as well as waste from their owners’ tables.

Pigs quickly gain weight, are unpretentious in maintenance, have strong immunity, and are able to withstand the harsh conditions of the Russian climate (although they require heating of the pigsty in winter).

Thanks to the peculiarities of the digestive system, pigs absorb more than two-thirds of the nutrients contained in the feed and grow very quickly. The yield of meat and fat from each carcass can reach 85%, while in cattle it rarely reaches 50-60%.

Pigs quickly reach reproductive age, and each pregnant sow is capable of producing two litters annually, each of which is guaranteed to have 12-14 piglets.

If you decide to raise pigs at home, you must decide what you plan to get from your activity. You can choose to raise 1-3 pigs for personal consumption, or set up a mini-farm that can become a full-time workplace for your family members and bring a stable year-round income.

In the first case, it is enough to equip a small room for a pigsty, which will contain 1-3 fattening pigs, or piglet sows, if you decide to specialize in the sale of suckling piglets.

When engaging in industrial pig farming, it is recommended to immediately build a separate building that can simultaneously house 10 or more pigs fed for meat. It is necessary to leave room for one or two breeding boars, as well as up to 3-5 sows, which will piglet twice a year. Be sure to consult with experts on how to raise large animals using a minimum amount of feed.

In this case, you can significantly save on the purchase of breeding material, and purchasing feed in bulk is always cheaper than purchasing it at retail.

Very profitable business

Industrial rearing of piglets at home will certainly create certain problems with the sale of meat products, for the sale of which on the market one of your family members will need to spend a lot of precious time, as well as additional funds for transportation costs.

It is much more practical to sell pigs in bulk to a trading network, whose representatives themselves will come to pick up the animals prepared for slaughter. But here a problem arises with the correct preparation of pre-sale documentation. Large retail chains refuse to cooperate with farmers who do not have the official status of individual entrepreneurs and do not pay taxes to the state.

Choose the direction of livestock farming

Raising pigs at home for beginners will not be a serious problem if you follow our recommendations.

First of all, conduct a market analysis and find out what is in greatest demand in your region. It could be:

low-fat or fatty pork;
thick lard with meat layers;
bacon with thin layers of lard.

Each of these products has different characteristics and prices, so studying the demand is a very important point for a new livestock farmer.

Based on this analysis, you need to choose the breed of pigs that you will breed. It is not recommended to keep piglets of different breeds on a farm, since when crossed, the offspring lose the characteristics inherent in the original forms, and the quality of meat and lard decreases.

Follow this rule, even if you are not going to sell anything, but will raise animals only for yourself.

The best breeds of fattening piglets

Today, according to meat and fat characteristics, all breeds of pigs are divided into three groups.

The first is represented by meat and bacon pigs, which are famous for the quality of their meat, but have virtually no layer of subcutaneous fat, called lard. Representatives of the Landrace bacon breed are very popular; by the age of 7-8 months they reach a weight of 100 kg or more, and their tender meat is permeated with the finest veins of fat.

Herbivorous Vietnamese pigs, which are somewhat smaller in size, are also classified as meat pigs. These piglets are unpretentious in keeping, they happily eat tops, corn stalks, finely chopped straw and hay, gain 70-80 kg of live weight by 7-8 months, and their low-fat meat is considered dietary and is especially popular among gourmets.

Representatives of the meat-greasy white large breed (the most common in our country) can reach a weight of 150-160 kg by the age of 1 year. They have meat that meets all quality standards, as well as a fairly thick layer of tasty lard.

Among lard-meat pigs, one can distinguish a large black breed; by the age of 8 months, individuals gain weight of about 100 kg. They have a looser body structure and a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.

Provide warmth and good ventilation

Breeding and keeping piglets on a farm requires the construction or refurbishment of a barn, which will serve as a pigsty. Sanitary standards recommend that it be located no closer than 10 m from the living space. This will protect you from odors released by pigs.

In the pigsty, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation and not allow the humidity level to rise above 75%.

The temperature at which piglets feel most comfortable and quickly gain weight is 12-20 degrees. Therefore, for the conditions of central Russia with low winter temperatures in the pigsty, it is necessary to equip a heating system.

You can choose how to raise pigs yourself using our recommendations. If your farmstead is small and you do not have the opportunity to allocate an area for free-range or stall-run breeding of piglets, then it is best to use the stall fattening method.

With him, the piglets are constantly in their pens. They move less, without wasting energy that is used to build muscle mass and store fat.

Proper arrangement of a pigsty

The volume of the pigsty must be calculated in such a way that there is at least 2.5 square meters per fattening pig. m, and for an adult pig or wild boar - 5 sq. m area.

There are several traditional methods of raising pigs, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Piglets can be kept in one common pen, or in pairs, separating fattening pigs from castrated pigs.

For beginning pig farmers, the method of raising pigs using Canadian technology is perfect. Fattening piglets are kept in one spacious pen, which is not heated in winter.

An acceptable temperature in the pigsty is maintained by rotting straw bedding, which is poured onto the floor of the pen as it becomes dirty, and is completely replaced no more than 2-3 times a year.

Rules for choosing piglets

It is best to purchase piglets at the age of 1.5-2 months, when they are already accustomed to feeding on adult feed on their own and have the necessary vaccinations against infectious diseases.

When choosing to breed suckling piglets for sale, be sure to have up-to-date vaccinations with appropriate records from your veterinarian.

If you are going to fatten piglets for meat, then buy them from one owner. Pigs from the same litter are more friendly and fight less often, injuring each other.

For crossbreeding, it is better to purchase boars and future sows from different owners, which guarantees better survival of the offspring and the absence of defective babies in farrowing.

When purchasing piglets, be sure to ask to see their parents to get an idea of what you can expect from them in the future.

Features of the diet of fattening pigs

To feed a piglet for 6 months, and for it to reach a weight of 100 kg or more, you will need about 400 kg of concentrated feed. This feed is rich in microelements, vitamins, as well as biologically active substances contained in premixes. Little is required, and the feed value is very high.

It is best to purchase concentrated feed in bulk, even for a small number of pigs, after first calculating the volume required to fatten your pets from the moment of purchase to slaughter or sale. Pay attention to the expiration date.

In order not to worry about what to feed your animals if you cannot purchase feed, remember that piglets eat finely chopped and pre-steamed grain mixtures. As well as any vegetables and fruits, and when eating boiled potatoes, the greasy layer quickly builds up.

If you keep pigs for your own consumption, then you can safely give them food scraps from the human table, although this is not recommended when breeding piglets for sale.

Follow the diet

In order for piglets to grow quickly, reaching slaughter weight within 6 months, it is necessary to correctly create a daily diet that will include not only high-calorie foods, but also the required amount of biologically active substances.

To speed up the gain of live weight, pigs need to add premixes to their food containing vitamins and microelements easily absorbed by the body, as well as table salt at the rate of 10 g per piglet per day. An excellent method for accelerating weight gain is yeasting feed, which you can read about in the article.

It is best to feed piglets at the same time, dividing the daily ration into several approximately equal portions.

Regardless of the method of keeping and breeding, to quickly gain weight, piglets need to be fed 5 to 3 times a day, which depends on the age of the animals. The norm for a 2-month-old piglet is 2 kg of feed, provided that it weighs up to 25 kg. By five months it increases to 4 kg with a weight of up to 60 kg. At 8 months, when the individual weighs about 130 kg, the norm increases to 7 kg.

Mandatory veterinary supervision

We will tell you further how to raise pigs so that they do not get sick. This is especially important for beginning individual entrepreneurs who plan to sell raised pork in markets or sell it to wholesale and retail chains.

Pigs have a similar body structure to humans and also suffer from infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted from humans and vice versa.

The most famous of these diseases are swine flu strain A1H1, swine fever and tuberculosis, pasteurellosis and Aujeszky's disease. It is much easier to prevent them with timely vaccination than to treat them.

Piglets are susceptible to helminthiasis, among which pork tapeworm and roundworm are especially prominent. If you want to maintain the health of your pets and increase the rate at which they gain live weight, then refuse to use low-quality and spoiled products that may contain pathogens of dangerous diseases.

Features of obtaining viable offspring

If you decide to start breeding reproductive pigs, you must understand how reproduction occurs in these animals and what is needed to improve the health of suckling piglets.

It is strictly forbidden to keep two mature wild boars in a pen, which will definitely fight and can cause serious injuries to each other. Even during the feeding period, they should not be allowed near a common feeding trough at the same time, but it is better to arrange a separate place for eating for each.

Pregnant sows can be kept in a common pen, but during the farrowing period they need to be allocated a separate pen, in which a special corner for piglets will be equipped. Above such a corner you need to hang a red lamp, which can raise the temperature to 30-32 degrees Celsius, maintaining the health of the kids.

The process of covering a sow with a boar occurs naturally without human intervention; it is enough to leave the animals in one pen for a day.

Content:

Living in rural areas requires having a personal subsidiary plot. Carrying out his business is troublesome and time-consuming. But have you noticed that our old people, living in the village, try to their last strength to keep a pig. And if they can no longer do this, then they consider that life is over. It turned out sad, but it has long been believed that anyone whose health allows it can raise pigs.

In economically unstable times, she helped out many families. But such a handicraft approach is not entirely justified. Our time allows us to breed pigs not only for personal consumption, but also for profit. And this is only possible when organizing sales. And although those who sell pork complain about great difficulties in selling their products, they live in good-quality cottages and drive brand new cars. This means that we can conclude that this is still a profitable business. Maybe they are afraid of competition?

But when taking on a new business, you don’t need to “throw yourself into the pool headlong.” First, gather information. They say whoever owns it owns the whole world.

Before the beginning

Learn about the biology and benefits of raising pigs and their breeds. You can read about this in detail in the article (Farm 31, “What do they feed pigs”). The following factors make them attractive for breeding:

Rapid growth and weight gain. By the age of eight months, a pig can weigh one hundred, and by one year it already reaches one hundred and fifty kilograms.
Ability to absorb feed of any origin.
Good digestion of food. Better than other pets. This means that less feed will be required per unit of production. And the relative cost per kilogram of meat will be lower.
The taste and quality of pork meat make it popular among consumers of meat products. And this, in turn, should not cause problems with its implementation.

Risks

But not everything is so rosy in this process. It has its own “reefs” and “pitfalls”. There are risks and there are quite a few of them.

Either the pig or the boar may be infertile. And you, for example, purchased them with the aim of breeding and selling dairy pigs. The only thing left is, if the boar is infertile, then, having previously castrated, send him under the knife. And to cover the pig, take a boar from another farm. And this is an extra expense and a possible transfer of diseases.
Possible infections and illnesses. As a result, the death of one individual or the entire population. And this is a significant blow to your pocket. Instead of profit, you will get only losses. To minimize the spread of possible infections, it is necessary to maintain cleanliness in the pigsty. Catch rats, preventing their population in the pigsty from growing to horrifying limits. And they are always found where there are animals and food. Therefore, they spread the infection from one to another. Birds can also spread the disease. They also like to make money at other people's expense.
It is risky to engage in pig farming near large complexes. Firstly, there is a lot of competition. And, secondly, in the event of some kind of African plague, your healthy pigs will go under the knife due to the imposed quarantine.
Some piglets may be stillborn. And these are your lost profits.
Damaged relations with neighbors. It is not a fact that this will happen, but there is a high probability. Few people like the smell of manure. Therefore, try to locate the pigsty in compliance with all norms and requirements. And this is no closer than forty meters to the neighbor’s house. Otherwise, the harmful neighbor will start writing to all authorities. Then you won't have any trouble. It’s good if you’re lucky and your neighbor also has animals.

Forage analysis

After studying the literature and weighing all the pros and cons, you finally decide to breed pigs. Now we need to solve the issue of reducing the cost of future feed supplies. To do this, find out what food businesses are in your region. And what kind of waste do they sell? It might be cheaper to buy food there. Please take a look at the following businesses.

Plants for grain processing and production of dairy products (butter, cheese). Perhaps you can buy whey, bran, and different types of cakes there at a reasonable price.
Distillery. There you will be interested to know the availability and cost of feed yeast.
Local food establishments. They may be willing to give you leftover food for a small fee.
Sawmill. There you can buy sawdust and shavings needed for animal bedding. They are more convenient to use than straw. Since they do not need to be prepared in advance. They are available at any time of the year. In addition, due to their high hygroscopicity, they perfectly absorb moisture.

Ready-made feed is expensive to buy. Talk to other pig breeders. Find out what they feed, listen to their recommendations regarding the price and quality of the feed used.

It would be a good idea to purchase a grain crusher. Then you will be able to prepare grain mixtures with your own hands, bringing them to the required fractions.

It is very important to prepare the place where the pigs will be kept, that is, the pigsty. It should be warm, dry, ventilated and strong. Pay special attention to strength. Since pigs are large animals and have significant weight. If you have a shed that meets these requirements, you can adapt it for these purposes. If there is no suitable premises, then it will have to be built.

To ensure the dryness of the structure, it must have a foundation over half a meter high. This will help avoid flooding of the pigsty. In addition, in the place where it will stand, the depth of groundwater should be less than one and a half meters.
The walls must be strong and of sufficient thickness to prevent freezing of the room. They can be protected with a metal mesh or slate sheets secured around the perimeter.
The ceiling also needs to be insulated. It is cheap to insulate with sawdust and sand. Sawdust - 20 cm. Sand - 5 cm.
It is better to make the roof slate or corrugated.
The floor may be concrete. It should be done with a slight inclination towards the drainage grooves. They also need to be equipped. This will make the process of removing excrement easier.

The pigsty is divided into zones.

Feeding area. Containers for food and drinking bowls are installed in it. You can read about which drinkers are best to use and how to install them in the article (Farm 34 “Feeding pigs”).
Rest area or den.

To prevent pigs from breaking the partitions, they are made of metal.

The boar must live separately. It doesn't require much space. But the pen for him must be particularly strong, since the boar is very heavy. He can easily dig a hole or smash everything to pieces.

A sow requires more space than a boar. 3x4 meters will be sufficient for her. Lighting and ventilation are required in a pigsty. For lighting you need to use infrared lamps. They are also used to warm piglets.

Ideally, it would be to build something like a small pool for the pigs - a pit filled with water. They can swim in it. And also fence off the walking area (10 sq.m).

Visit to the veterinarian

Before you start raising pigs, consult your veterinarian. Find out,

what vaccinations need to be done;
what diseases should be feared and how they can be avoided;
purchase the medications and vitamins recommended by him.

You will definitely need fish oil and anthelmintic medications. It would be a good idea to stock up on trivitamin and biovit. Biovit consists of B vitamins mixed with antibiotics.

Growing technologies

The profitability of pig farming depends not only on the choice and cost of feed, but also on the choice of breed and on the method of fattening animals. Traditional methods are not always effective. There are modern alternative technologies.

For example, according to Canadian and Danish technologies, it is proposed to abandon the use of brick and concrete for the construction of a pigsty. Danish technology is justified when applied to large complexes. But the Canadian one is also suitable for small farms.

Danish

Its features are as follows.

Keeping animals on floors with cracks.
Self-alloying system equipment in floors. It allows you to collect manure in baths. This improves the sanitary condition of the pigsty.
The use of floors made from different materials. For young animals, these are floors made of light plastic. They are easier to clean and more comfortable for piglets to lie on. For adult pigs made of concrete. These floors can support the enormous weight of individuals and are more difficult to damage.
Availability of a separate pen for giving birth to sows.
Use of devices for heating young animals (infrared lamps or heating panels).
Installation of lines that automate the process of feeding and watering, as well as automatic water heating.
Carrying out preventive veterinary measures.

As a result of such organization of production, it is possible to achieve a fifteen percent increase in the weight of fattened animals. And, as a result, increasing the productivity of pig farming.

Canadian

The second name is the cold keeping method. True, experts are still arguing about the advisability of its use in Russia. It's all about the very harsh climate of our individual regions.

According to the methodology it is proposed:

Instead of a pigsty, install a tent hangar;

Use deep litter made of various organic materials, which is not removed, but constantly expanded;
Use bunker feeders with mixed feed poured into them, drinking bowls with automatic heating;
Ensure pigs have constant access to food and water;
Keep them in homogeneous groups.

Initially, the litter layer is twenty centimeters. As it gets dirty, another layer is added. And so layer by layer. As a result, composting of the litter layer occurs. Compost generates a large amount of heat, thereby warming the pigs. But, of course, drafts must be excluded.

This technology can be used to keep adult pigs. It is not very suitable for children. But the advantages of this system include the fact that it minimizes the cost of building a pigsty and does not require constant cleaning of the premises.

After finishing feeding, the hangar is cleaned, washed, and disinfected. And they populate a new feeding group.

Two-phase

A three-phase growing system is considered traditional. It consists of dividing the entire process into three phases.

Suction period.
Growing up.
Fattening from four months.

The transition from one group to another causes stress in piglets, weight gain falls, and productivity decreases.

With two-phase technology, the second period is excluded. That is, the grown-up, but still fragile young animals, before they are transferred to the fattening farm, remain where they are used to, that is, in the brood pen. But the sows, after their piglets are taken away from them (from one and a half to two months), are transferred to another room.

With this technology, it becomes possible to intensively use sows, receiving two farrows from them per year.

As you can see, the issue of breeding pigs can be approached in different ways. Use old handicraft methods. Or choose modern technologies. Each method is good in its own way. Which one to choose is up to you.

Are you tired of constantly buying expensive and not always high-quality meat at the market or in a store, and raising pigs on your own seems an increasingly attractive idea? If there is a place on your site for a pigsty, and you yourself are ready to devote time to breeding pigs, the only thing left to do is to determine for yourself whether the game is worth the candle?

What conditions are necessary for keeping pigs?

Raising pigs is considered perhaps the most successful option for animal husbandry, profitable and relatively easy. The sow gives birth to about ten piglets twice a year, which grow very quickly, gaining weight well on a small amount of feed. Neither birds nor cattle will provide such effective growth. However, you should not count on the fact that a pig can be kept in any conditions and fed whatever it takes. Although these animals are omnivores, their health and meat quality largely depend on their diet.

Raising pigs is considered perhaps the most successful option for livestock farming, profitable and relatively easy.

If you are seriously interested in the idea of taking up pig farming, first you should familiarize yourself with the basic rules of how to raise pigs and study the characteristics of different breeds. For example, some common breeds of large white pigs are of the bacon type, and no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to get good lard from them.

Video about breeding and keeping pigs

Features of fattening pigs according to age:

Piglets begin to be fattened at three months of age. Since they need more protein for the active formation of muscle mass, boiled legumes, chopped cabbage leaves, and boiled carrots, coarsely grated, are added to the diet. The volume of feed increases to 4 kg per animal.
By the seventh month of a pig’s life, the ratio of muscle mass to fat begins to change, and the animal’s growth almost stops. The daily ration during this period should be about 6 kg, the diet is enriched with boiled sugar beets, the amount of salt consumed daily increases to 30 g.
From eight months the pig fattenes up fat, so from this time on the diet should be dominated by peas and boiled corn, chopped zucchini, pumpkin and fatty waste. Fresh and cooked fruits will produce more tender, lean meat. The volume of daily feed for an eight-month-old pig should reach 7 kg, and the amount of salt should be 40 g.
By the first year, a well-fed pig should have a meat to fat ratio of 60:40, weighing over 250 kg. The amount of feed consumed per day increases to 8 kg.

Piglets begin to be fattened at three months of age.

You can read more about this in the corresponding article on our website. If, with adequate nutrition for the pigs, you are unable to fatten them, perhaps the animals simply do not have enough exercise to gain muscle mass - give them a larger enclosure.

There is an opinion in society that pig breeding as a business is highly profitable and uncomplicated. Is this really true, and why then don’t all pig farmers become millionaires without much effort? If you want to start your own livestock business, raising pigs can be a great option, but you must be prepared for the realities of reality and understand that pig farming also requires investment and labor, like any other branch of agriculture.

Sample business plan for pig breeding

Don't expect pigs to thrive in all conditions and gain weight quickly on kitchen scraps alone. To make good money selling high-quality pork and young stock, you will need to build a good-quality pig barn, equip it in accordance with all requirements, feed the animals a variety of nutritious food, monitor their health, regularly clean the pigsty and pay attention to breeding work.

Pig farming can be a good start for a business from scratch, since to begin with it is enough to purchase a couple of dozen pigs and gradually expand your farm if things go well. Young animals can be sold from the fourth month of life, earning money from the sale of meat, lard and skins. In addition to the farm, you can organize your own smokehouse to also earn income from your own smoked pork.

Video about a business idea for breeding pigs

You can understand whether it is profitable to raise pigs only after drawing up a detailed business plan, taking into account all the features of this livestock industry. Much will depend on which one you prefer. So, with cold keeping, the costs of building a pig farm will decrease several times; another question is whether you will be able to raise a healthy number of pigs in such conditions. There are many options on how you can reduce the initial costs of starting a pig farm, and we will look at some of them below.

The financial part of the business plan for breeding pigs is calculated as follows: for the construction of premises and for the purchase of necessary equipment, 1 million rubles will be required, for staff salaries - up to 1.2 million rubles per year, for the purchase of feed - 300 thousand. rub. in year. In total, you will need about 3,500,000 rubles to start. Income from the sale of young animals will amount to 600 thousand rubles. per year, and from the sale of meat - 1.1 million rubles. per year, which together will amount to 1,700,000 rubles. in year. According to these calculations, the payback period for a pig farm will be about two to three years.

Pig breeding

When drawing up a business plan, do not forget to include the costs of veterinarian services and mandatory vaccinations for piglets in order to avoid the spread of infectious diseases that can destroy the entire livestock.

Of course, this is a very rough estimate and the numbers will vary greatly depending on various factors. For example, you can build a pig house yourself from scrap materials or purchase an old pig farm and renovate it. By making, you will significantly reduce the initial costs of equipping the pigsty, and the use of modern equipment will allow you to almost completely eliminate manual labor, reducing the cost of staff salaries. Although most domestic businessmen still prefer to work the old fashioned way rather than spend money on automating a pig farm.

Feeding pigs

As for feed, in the summer you can prepare your own grass for pigs and use root vegetables from your garden as succulent feed all year round. But it will not be possible to do without compound feed, vitamin complexes and special feed additives during industrial breeding of pigs, because the quality of the resulting meat depends on the pigs’ diet.

Secrets of success or how to make pig farming more profitable

Experts estimate the profitability of pig farming as a business at 30%, but this is far from the limit, and if you wish, you can achieve higher figures.

Video about pig farming

To make pig farming truly highly profitable business, use the following recommendations:

choose the breed of pigs that is most suitable for your purposes and pay special attention to the selection of piglets - it is better to purchase females and males from different suppliers to avoid genetic mutations, and when purchasing sows, take into account their productivity, milk production, number of teats and the safety of the brood;
avoid drafts and dampness in the pigsty, periodically disinfect the premises, destroy insects and rodents;
take care to create suitable conditions for pregnant sows;
hire experienced, professional workers - for a large pig-breeding complex you will need a veterinarian, livestock specialist, several pig breeders and general workers;
provide pigs with high-quality, nutritious, vitamin-rich feed, while keeping in mind that feeding boars, pregnant sows and young animals has its own characteristics;
Do not forget about vaccination and regular examination of animals by a veterinarian so as not to miss the first manifestations of diseases.

Provide pigs with high-quality, nutritious, vitamin-rich feed

Taking into account all the recommendations listed above, breeding pigs as a business can be a very profitable business, because high-quality pork is always in demand. The main thing is to competently draw up a business plan, assess all possible risks and think through ways to reduce them, as well as draw up an income plan and calculate the break-even level of sales.