A Feeding Guide for Pigs can help you ensure your pigs are getting the nutition they need throughout their life stages.
Are you toying around with the idea of getting pigs? Are you new to raising pigs and want to make sure you are feeding them as best as you can? We understand there can be an overwhelming amount of information out there. This is especially true when you are trying to figure out what to feed. It’s not always easy to know where to start when deciding what raising pigs may look like for you.
Taking care of pigs and swine (pig) nutrition it is usually involves dividing it into different growth and life phases. Each phase of a pig’s life can come with its own unique goals and challenges. Therefore, today, we will cover the main points of focus and concern when feeding pigs during each of these stages of life.
Feeding Nursery Pigs
A nursery pig refers to pigs in their first few weeks after weaning. For commercial pigs, this is typically from weaning until they reach 25-30 pounds, though it can sometimes include pigs up to 50 pounds. The nursery period helps piglets adjust to weaning and learn to eat on their own. This is one of the most critical stages in a pig’s life. Proper nutrition during this time is essential for their long-term success. It is a huge transition to go from mom’s all-milk diet to solid feeds.
During this period, piglets are exposed to many new stressors, including a new environment, mixing with new peers, new feeding routines, and, most significantly, switching to a completely new diet. This change is more extreme at younger weaning ages. Switching from a liquid to a solid diet is a big adjustment, as it affects their digestive lining and gut. This process requires time, attention to detail, and extra care to help your pigs adapt successfully.
Swine nutritionists keep this in mind when formulating nursery pig diets in order to help them start on feed successfully and keep them coming back for more. Some things to look for in an early nursery feed program are:
- Milk products (whey, whey permeate, or lactose)
- Highly digestible proteins (soy protein concentrate or spray dried animal plasma): Pigs are growing so fast in this stage and these help provide necessary protein. It is also a good idea to limit the amount of soybean meal used in early nursery diets. Limit and gradually increase exposure to soybean meal for young nursery pigs, as their digestive systems are more sensitive to it until they grow older.
- Pellets: Piglets can’t fit a lot of food in their mouth, yet. Feeding pellets initially ensures piglets are getting all the essential nutrients in proper balance without the ability to sort anything out.
- Tasty ingredients and attractants will bring pigs to the feeder, adapt healthy eating habits and keep them coming back for more. These can include flavors, sweeteners, as well as some of the other ingredients already listed above.
- Gut health promoting products: These will help aid in gut health as it adapts to new diets and new challenges the pigs haven’t seen before. These ingredients include probiotics, prebiotics, acidifiers, etc.
These ingredients can be expensive. A good nursery program is often split into multiple phases. Each phase targets the pig’s specific needs as they grow. Unneeded ingredients are phased out to save costs. For example, as pigs transition from milk to feed, producers replace milk proteins with bulk grains like soybean meal. By the time a nursery pig reaches 25 pounds and has been weaned for a while, this transition is complete.Therefore, their digestive system is more mature. They can then start eating grain-based diets similar to adult pigs.
Feeding Grower-Finisher Pigs
When pigs are considered growers, they are normally between 25-125 pounds. “Finishing” refers to pigs larger than “growers”, until the time they are ready for harvest. Today’s commercial pigs are normally harvested at 270-290 pounds. Younger pigs have higher energy and protein requirements as compared to older finisher pigs. Pigs in these phases can eat both pellets and meal feeds. Pigs eat to meet their energy requirement. So you can have clean, fresh feed and water out in front of your pigs at all times. Providing feed at all times and letting them eat when they want is called “ad libitum” feeding.
Particle size of the grains is important here. If the grains are ground too coarse it can result in the feeds being digested less efficiently. However, too fine and it could possibly result in stomach ulcers. Similarly to the nursery period, producers can divide growing-finishing pigs into different feeding phases to better target their specific nutritional needs and maximize cost savings.
Feeding Breeding Swine:
Sows
Sows need feed to provide for their own bodies’ needs AND for 10-18 growing piglets. Maintaining proper nutrients within a healthy portion size is key for pregnant sows. It’s important to feed to meet the sow’s proper body condition. Depending on genetics, certain sows can hold their weight differently. However, there are several tools available, like back-fat meters, caliper measuring tapes, and various programs or industry materials, that can serve as aides to help you get an eye for what is ideal. A gestating sow typically eats about 5-6 pounds of feed per day, depending on her body condition. A fat sow can have a host of complications, including lower milk yields, difficulties during birth (farrowing), and problems with breed back. Feeding various high fiber ingredients can help gestating sows feel satiated while on limited feeds.
When a sow has farrowed and is now producing milk for her litter, she needs access to clean, fresh feed and water at all times. Lactation is not the time to try and adjust feed intake for body condition concerns. Lactating sows should be fed ad libitum. Lactating sows require higher energy and protein diets in order to meet the highly demanding job of feeding a full litter.
In general, a big focus with sows is on health and longevity. Again, body condition will play a big role in this, but making sure you are feeding them a diet with adequate vitamins, minerals and ideally, gut health promoters, will support the best health and production from each sow.
Gilts
Older gilts weigh around 230 pounds or more. They have unique nutritional needs. They require lower energy diets to avoid over-conditioning. This helps prepare them for future litters. It also maximizes their health and longevity. Bone strength is very important for both replacement gilts and sows.
Boars
Did you know that added vitamin C helps with sperm motility? Our swine nutritionists designed our breeding stock products to meet the specific needs of boars. Much like gestating sows, a boar’s body condition is important to maximize productivity and longevity.
Summary
Gradually switch the feed over a couple of days when changing the diet for pigs of all life stages and sizes. This will help them adjust to diet and possible taste differences. Additionally, pig diet formulation and ingredient inclusion differences should stay minimal. Our swine nutritionists formulate programs with a certain level of flexibility, but also with the main goal of creating a smooth transition for pigs as they grow. This also pertains to sows as they move back and forth between gestation and lactation diets. If pigs are switched to a feed and they aren’t ready yet, either nutritionally or a big change in taste, they could balk. This could open them up for additional stress and, potentially, health challenges.
We hope you will be able to keep some of these swine nutrition basics in mind as you continue learning about raising pigs. Remembering these tips can help highlight products that might work best in your feeding program. As always, if you have any questions, Kalmbach Feeds has a whole team of swine nutritionists that would love to answer your questions. We can help point you in the right direction with the best options for your pigs.
Article By: Julie Salyer | Courtesy of Kalmbach Feed