Archive for November, 2009
Knowing the correct way of caring for pigs is the secret of becoming a successful pig farmer
Knowing the correct way of caring for pigs is the secret of becoming a successful pig farmer. When they are cared for properly, pigs will not only provide plenty of cheap meat for your family, but also fertilizer that you can use in your fields.
Caring for pigs begins when you buy them from a breeder. Make sure that the piglets you buy are healthy and have been immunized for the most common swine diseases. One way of knowing a trustworthy breeder is to look at their facilities and breeding stock. If they are not clean or the stock looks sickly, don’t deal with that breeder. Also, consult with a local veterinarian for a vaccination program for your herd.
While many people believe that all you need to feed pigs are table scraps and spoiled vegetables, caring for pigs means ensuring that they stay healthy. Make sure that you also feed them the right powder feed for their current level of development. And your pigs must also have plenty of clean, fresh water to drink, since water is essential to their health. Change their water daily, since they will bathe in it if they are given the chance.
Although pigs have the reputation of being dirty animals, perhaps because they enjoy rolling around in mud to cool off, they are actually very clean creatures. They become dirty only because they are kept in filthy pens. So an important part of caring for pigs is making sure that their living quarters are clean, with plenty of fresh straw for bedding, which should also be changed regularly.
If you raise them in a pasture, or let them out occasionally to root around in the fields and find plants to eat, make sure they are fenced in, particularly if they are already mature, in order to prevent them from wandering away. You might also want to build a water pool for them where they can swim and cool off. Refill the water pool frequently with a hose. Outdoor pigs should also have a small hut where they can have shelter from the hot sun, since they don’t sweat and have no normal way of preventing overheating.
Finally, proper handling is very important in caring for pigs. Pigs are intelligent and affectionate animals that enjoy being played with. So take some time to lavish them with some attention. And, always handle them gently, since rough treatment can frighten them and cause them to die of heart attacks, or can make them aggressive and hard to handle.