How and what to feed month-old piglets at home

Livestock » Pigs

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Kira Stoletova

Under normal conditions, a pig itself is capable of feeding its children. But this only happens if the sow has enough milk. If there is not enough of it, the question automatically arises of what to feed month-old piglets.

What to feed one month old piglets

To understand what the diet should be, you need to study the needs of a month-old pig, because at different ages pigs should receive different amounts of certain vitamins and minerals.

Requirements for feed for suckling piglets

A piglet that is one month old easily digests absolutely all vitamins and microelements. Fiber is not suitable for feeding small pigs: their body is simply not able to absorb it. Feeding suckling piglets per month should be carried out in accordance with a strict selection of diet. Its health and weight gain depend on what a pig eats.

Feed for a one-month-old pig should be:

• High Quality;
• nutritious;
• easy to digest.

If you feed animals food that meets these requirements, the babies will actively gain weight. You should not feed animals, otherwise they will have problems with the gastrointestinal tract. There is a special table that sets out the norm for both a one-month-old piglet and a two-month-old one.

At home, you should also follow these rules, because if food is poorly digested, pigs will begin to have problems not only with the gastrointestinal tract, but also with other organs.

Methods and nuances of nutrition

This period is the most difficult for both the pig farmer and the little piglet. Every owner, when buying a weaned pig or weaning it on his farm, strives to:

1. Save all livestock;
2. Provide proper care and systematic feeding so that at 4 months the young animals weigh from 35 to 50 kilograms, depending on the breed;
3. So that all the piglets are vigorous, playful and, most importantly, healthy, as some will become successors of the family in the future.

To ensure all the necessary conditions, every farmer must know that weaned piglets are kept in the same pen where they were with the sow. It is also necessary to observe the temperature regime; it should not be cold in the barn, the temperature should be within 18-22 degrees. Temperatures below 16 degrees, drafts cause serious illnesses in piglets: bronchitis, pneumonia, and as a result, low appetite and even death.

In order to properly balance the nutrition of small piglets, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the animal’s digestive system in the second month of life. If in an adult, gastric juice, which is important for the normal functioning of the digestive system, is secreted during feeding, then in piglets of the second month of life, after eating. Moreover, its amount is almost the same both day and night.

It is worth knowing that piglets up to 3 months old have almost no hydrochloric acid in their gastric juice, but they do have the necessary enzymes pepsin and chymosin, which are responsible for the breakdown of milk proteins. Knowing that hydrochloric acid not only participates in the digestive process, but also protects the body from various pathogenic bacteria that enter with food, it is worth ensuring the cleanliness of the feeder and food.

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It is the low concentration of hydrochloric acid in the stomach that leads to a large number of gastrointestinal diseases in piglets in the first two months of life. The normal concentration of acid in the stomach is achieved at 3 months of the animal’s life.

As soon as a piglet is separated from the sow, it experiences extreme stress, and loss of appetite, weight loss, and slow or stunted growth are very common. Here the pig farmer needs to do the right job: organize care, provide care so that the piglets can endure this period easier, recover faster and begin to gain weight and grow.

Considering that the weight of young piglets is growing rapidly , the diet of one-month-old weaned pigs should include food with a high content of all essential nutrients: proteins, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates.

Some farmers remember the deplorable practice of collective farms, when the survival rate of suckling piglets was minimal. This was due to the fact that young animals were fed by sows for up to one month and dry supplements based on cow's milk were introduced. After one month, these animals were completely weaned from the sow and switched to milk-free food. It was the abrupt weaning that reduced growth development, weight gain practically stopped, and up to 50% of piglets died.

Considering this fact, it is necessary for everyone who raises month-old piglets to remember that the diet should contain natural cow's milk, and the ideal option would be to introduce yogurt. Calculation of this product : 1-1.5 liters per day per head .

This method allows you to save on the consumption of grain feed; they experience rapid weight gain. As practice shows, piglets that receive up to 2 liters of milk and 1 kilogram of grain per day weigh more per week than those fed with two kilograms of dry food.

The piglets eat well and grow not only from whole milk, but also from dairy products. They can be given skimmed milk - the milk remaining after taking out the butter, not the sour whey. Considering that the fat content of these dairy products is lower, the norm is doubled.

Piglets in the second month of life need good care. It is advisable not to suddenly change the type of dry food. According to the recommendations of experienced farmers, 2 weeks before weaning and 2 weeks after, young animals should have the same dry mixtures in their diet. If you suddenly change the diet, the animal may refuse to eat, and as a result, it may not gain the required weight.

If you plan to turn piglets out to pasture, then this is the period of adaptation. First, green bait is introduced into the diet for several days, and then they gradually go out to pasture for 20-30 minutes 3 times a day. By the end of the second month, animals should spend 1-2 hours on pasture 3 times a day .

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Root vegetables are the favorite treat of weaned piglets. Introduce boiled potatoes, raw carrots, and beets into your diet. If your young animals grow in the summer, then green plants with mineral supplements should predominate in the feed, and if they are born in the winter, then try to saturate the food with concentrates, juicy fruits of the feed, mineral supplements and hay from legumes.

Feed for suckling piglets

The piglet's diet should mainly consist of milk. But during this period, giving milk alone is not enough. From day 20 you can start introducing potatoes, cereals and milk into your diet. You can also give a mixture of cereals. For this age it is better to observe the following ratio:

• barley - 46%;
• oats - 30%;
• peas - 5%;
• sunflower meal - 9%;
• fishmeal - 6%;
• special feed yeast - 3%;
• chalk - 0.8%;
• salt - 0.2%.

This mixture will fill the piglet’s body with all the necessary vitamins and microelements. You can also introduce greens into your diet at this age. Legumes are especially good for babies.

To feed at home, you need to choose the right menu. You can purchase products that contain all the necessary substances, or you can add them to the food yourself.

Nutrition for fast growth and weight gain

For proper and rapid growth, it is necessary to distribute the percentage of the daily feed intake:

• Summer period - up to 4 months, greens and additives to concentrates should predominate;
• Winter period - root vegetables must be added to concentrates and mixtures.

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As practice has shown, piglets that receive yeast bait grow faster and weigh 6 kilograms more than piglets without this bait. But to introduce yeast feed, the following conditions must be strictly observed:

• All yeast feeds are introduced gradually. At first, the daily intake should not be more than 10-15% of the total weight of the diet. In subsequent months, this bait is increased to 50% of the total diet.
• For feeding, use high quality yeast feed. If you notice a bad or sour smell, then such food can cause severe gastrointestinal disorders.
• If you introduce this complementary food and notice a deterioration in the piglet’s appetite, then you must immediately stop giving this food. Only after 15-20 days can its administration be repeated.
• For small piglets it is very important to follow basic sanitation rules. Food feeders should be cleaned regularly. It is not advisable to develop young animals before 4 months of age. They begin to get extra worried and fight among themselves. Do not mix animals of different litters, this can also affect your appetite.

In the second month of a piglet’s life, it is recommended to separate and feed separately those individuals that are lagging behind in development. They require special care and food with a high content of animal protein. For them, the dose of cow's milk also increases by 20% per head. These individuals must be washed in the summer and cleaned in the winter to avoid skin infections.

Dry food

Dry feeding is suitable for those who do not want to overwork themselves. It consists of feed, bran, hay shavings and cake. Piglets can be given this food from the age of one month. This product is most often used for fattening babies. If you feed your pigs this food, they will never have stomach problems.

Dry food can be purchased from manufacturers or in specialized stores. For piglets in the first month of life, they contain all the necessary nutrients. If you decide to prepare this food for your kids at home, you should add a premix to it. It is also necessary to add yeast, bone meal and other useful substances to the mixture. The amount of this mixture for a pig is indicated on the packaging.

Biofeed

This food includes all the beneficial substances a pig needs during its first month of life. It includes greens that animals of any age love. The biofeed also contains a set of vitamins and microelements that children need.

Piglets can be given both industrial biofeed and home-cooked feed. To prepare it yourself, you need to mix herbs, fruits, vegetables and premixes. For pigs in the first month of life, it is very important to give it according to the rules.

Signs of approaching labor

Any farmer who keeps sows for the production of piglets probably knows what a pig looks like before farrowing, when the pet begins to give birth.

It is easy to determine the farrowing time: 114 days are added to the exact date of mating and the approximate date for the appearance of the babies is noted.

This is possible thanks to farm documentation, which is maintained either in the form of simple records or, more professionally, in a modern computer program for herd management. Regardless of which form is chosen, the female can “tell” a lot herself.

You just need to observe how the pig behaves before farrowing:

1. During pregnancy, the abdomen increases in size, sagging forms, the female is calmer, heavier and more cautious.
2. About 7 days before giving birth, the stomach is drooping and the nipples are swollen. The appearance of the vulva also changes - it is clearly darker and very “ruffled”.
3. 12 hours before birth, colostrum appears in the nipples (not always with hormonal stimulation of labor).
4. The expectant mother digs intensively, rakes the litter, preparing a nest for the young, worries, and may bite parts of the pen.
5. If the mucus plug is expelled, labor will begin within an hour (usually at night).

Feed additives

Feed additives are the basis of the diet of pigs of any age. They especially play an important role for piglets in the first month of life and in cases of fattening. Most often, farmers make these additives themselves at home. First you need to take different protein products, it can be milk, meat, fish and more.

Minerals should also be included in the piglet formula. This could be salt, chalk, egg shells and more. Such substances allow you to saturate the body of a pig in the first month of life with phosphorus, calcium and others. A month-old animal eats such food with pleasure.

Prohibited foods

Feeding suckling piglets must be done correctly. In order not to harm the babies, you need to know what foods should not be given, because there are foods that can cause not just poisoning, but serious illness. The first thing that should not be given to pigs per month is rotten and frozen foods. In the official video from farmers, you can see how a piglet loses weight and dies in three days from E. coli. You need to monitor how and what the baby eats, otherwise there is a high risk that the piglet will get sick.

There are also plants that are poisonous to piglets. Among them are spurge and buttercup. These herbs can lead to the death of babies. In order not to harm the animal, it is advisable to process all feed. This will remove all harmful substances, if any.

You cannot give a month-old piglet green and sprouted potatoes. Also, water from potatoes should not be included in the diet. Beets can also be dangerous for pigs, but this is only if they are overcooked.

Daily feed intake

There is a certain norm of vitamins and microminerals that a month-old pig should receive per day. At home, the norm for 1 kg is as follows:

• calcium - 7 g;
• phosphorus - 6 g;
• salt - 6 g.

To saturate the body of a month-old piglet with all the necessary vitamins, you can use oats, peas, corn and other natural feeds for feeding. How much of these supplements to give depends on what else is included in the baby’s diet.

Animals of this age often suffer from anemia, so they must be fed according to a strict feeding schedule. If you follow it, then there will be no problems with the piglet. Also, to prevent anemia, it is necessary to add a solution of iron sulfate to the water.

Fattening a pig for meat

Fattening should be done using products that contain protein, carbohydrates and fats. You also need to feed piglets food rich in vitamins and minerals. Protein is found in legumes and grains. It allows babies to quickly get used to adult food.

Carbohydrates are used in the diet to give babies energy. That is why for fattening it is necessary to use green feed with the addition of root vegetables. This is the only way the pig will receive the required amount of carbohydrates. The animal can obtain all other vitamins using various supplements. They need to be fed strictly according to the plan so as not to lead to problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

In order to improve the metabolism of one-month-old piglets, it is necessary to introduce amylosubtilin HZH into their diet: it will not only improve the functioning of the entire body, but also quickly gain weight. It also makes the meat very tasty and healthy. If babies do not eat well, they should be given sodium gluconate. With its help, a good appetite is developed.

Possible diseases and illnesses

According to the recommendations of experienced farmers, in order to avoid the development of vitamin deficiency, it is necessary to accustom young animals to complete feed starters as early as possible, expose them to sunlight , and introduce green bait.

In order to avoid obesity in the piglet in the future, it is necessary to correctly calculate the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and provide walks in the fresh air. Don’t think that if you overfeed an animal from 1 month, it will have more meat and lard. These are misconceptions. Overfeeding leads to increased bone tissue growth.

Tips for feeding piglets

Potatoes in a piglet's diet should not be raw. If you decide to give this vegetable to your kids, it must be thoroughly boiled and crushed. The water in which potatoes were boiled should not be used for this, because it contains toxic substances.

Only carrots, beets and melons can be given raw. If you decide to boil them, you can safely give the remaining water to the piglets: it contains a lot of useful substances that play an important role in the development of pigs of any age.

Animals can be fed hay only after pre-treatment. To do this, you need to take the hay and steam it. Babies should grind grains, because their stomachs are not yet ready to digest the whole product. It is also worth remembering the list of plants that are poisonous to piglets. The slightest dose can lead to the death of pigs.

Priority actions

If changes are observed in the behavior and condition of the animal (refusal of food, anxiety, irritability, apathy, lethargy, digestive disorders in the form of diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, etc.), you need to carefully examine it from the outside. First of all, pay attention to redness of the skin and mucous membranes, swelling, spots, abscesses, discharge from the nose and eyes. It is also necessary to examine the feces to determine their consistency and color, and to determine the presence of worms and blood impurities.

In large farms, non-contact devices are used to measure the body temperature of pigs - infrared pyrometers, thermal imagers

Then the temperature should be measured. In healthy pigs it is normally:

You can measure the temperature with a regular mercury thermometer by carefully inserting it into the animal’s rectum and holding it for 7-10 minutes. If the readings exceed 41-41.5 ℃, then it is better to immediately contact a veterinarian in order to diagnose the disease as quickly as possible and determine the feasibility and possibilities of its treatment. If an infection is suspected, it is necessary to urgently take quarantine measures - isolate sick individuals, and carefully examine the rest of the livestock and separate those whose condition is in doubt from apparently healthy animals. After the diagnosis is established, the sick pigs are treated, and the rest are immunized or, if the disease cannot be treated (for example, African swine fever), the entire livestock is exterminated using a bloodless method, the carcasses are destroyed and then proceed according to established quarantine instructions.

How many times a day should piglets be fed?

Little pigs should not eat only 2 times a day. For normal development and growth, piglets need to eat about 6 times a day: this is the only way babies can quickly gain the required weight and at the same time receive all the vitamins and microelements.

Over time, the amount of feeding should be reduced to 2 times a day, but not before reaching the age of 4 months. In addition to food, babies must be given water, so you should constantly make sure that they have it.

Help during farrowing

The main thing in the delivery room is peace and quiet. A person controls the process, the behavior of sows and newborn piglets.

• An important element is observing the duration and time between the birth of each baby.
• The action should not exceed 4-5 hours, and the intervals between the appearance of piglets should be 30 minutes.
• Otherwise, it is necessary to stimulate labor by administering a medicine - the hormone oxytocin.
• The duration depends, among other things, on the age of the sow. The first farrow of young pigs lasts longer than that of multiparous pigs.
• The more piglets are born, the longer the labor will be and the more difficult it is for the sow.

A strong and healthy pig will cope with childbirth faster, but a sow that is overfed just before farrowing will have a more difficult time coping with it.

When providing assistance during childbirth, special care should be taken with regard to hygiene, and the occurrence of uterine inflammation or fertility disorders should not be allowed.

Important! All kinds of stress factors (nervous and unprofessional handling, rush, noise) negatively affect the sow and delay the birth process.