Saturday, 18 August 2012

PIG FARMING: Some Details

To start your own PIG FARM  here are some details about PIG Farming which are really helpful for the armatures and may help to existing farmers also.




Pig Breeding and Farming

There are a variety of production systems that are used in industry today. There is no one ideal system in which the facility alone can meet all of the needs of the animal. The single most important factor in addressing the welfare of animals is the husbandry skills of the producer.
In an intensive system, pigs are usually housed through their growth and reproductive stages indoors in specialized sheds. A shed housing pregnant sows is called a dry sow shed. Sometimes, dry sows may also be kept outdoors, but this is only possible in a limited number of situations where the climate is mild and soils are free draining. When she is ready to give birth to her piglets, the pregnant sow is then moved to a special birthing or “farrowing” area. Weaner pigs (weaned piglets) are kept in a weaning shed and finisher pigs are housed in a finishing shed. Most Indian PIG farmers raise their pigs through the whole process in “farrow to finish” operations.

To achieve high health status of any PIG farms access of people and animals on to pig farms must be restricted to ensure that animals are kept healthy. These restrictions are known as “biosecurity” precautions.

Gestation

Young, unbred female pigs are called gilts. Gilt is usually eight months old before she is mature enough for breeding. They are normally housed in groups of three to 25 pigs per pen in the breeding area. Gilts are called sows once they give birth.
Male pigs, or boars used for breeding, are penned individually, so they don’t fight with each other. Pigs are very social animals and sows are kept either in groups or individually in close contact with their neighbours. They do have a strong social hierarchy and sometimes fight amongst themselves to establish who is dominant or subordinate in a group situation.
When gilts or sows enter oestrus in their reproductive cycles (about 21 days long) they are ready to be bred. Farmers oversee breeding to ensure the sow is receptive and successfully bred.
Sometimes, producers are using artificial insemination (A.I.), which is gentle on the sows, eliminates disease risk and can produce excellent pregnancy results. Larger farms may rely exclusively on A.I. in their breeding programs. Piggery managers keep records of sow and boar performance in a book or computer.

Farrowing

Sows are moved in groups to farrowing sheds approximately one week prior to giving birth. A farrowing stall allows the sow about the same movements as a gestation stall, but provides creep areas along either side for the piglets. Adjustable rails alongside the sow slow her movement when she lays down, thus protecting piglets from being crushed.
Once the sow begins to farrow, the whole litter is born within 2 to 5 hours. The farmer keeps a close record of when piglets are born. Very shortly after birth, piglets will nurse. A heat lamp or pad and a warm farrowing room temperature ensures piglet comfort.






Piglets

Piglets are moved from the farrowing rooms at a weaning age which can be anywhere from 50-60 days depending on the producer’s system and Piglets health. 







Growers / Finishers

Weaned and growing pigs are usually group-housed in pens of 5 to 20 pigs per pen. In well ventilated sheds, pigs will instinctively select clean and dry areas for sleeping, resting and feeding. Pigs are very clean animals and choose to defecate in an area separate to their feeding area.







Transport

When pigs are market weight —from 45kg to 110kg — they are loaded onto well-ventilated trucks with appropriate bedding for transport to market. The number of pigs in the load is carefully calculated taking into consideration truck size, travel distance, temperature and pig comfort factors. 


Best Regards
Chandra S Kashyap
"Silverweed Piggery Farms"

Saturday, 11 August 2012

Pig Farming In India

Think P.I.G. 
P stands for Persistence, I stands for Integrity,&
G stands for Guts.

These are the ingredients for a successful business and a successful life.”







PIG Farming In India:


Pig rearing has traditionally been in the main occupational axis of the socially backward down-trodden class of Indian population since time immemorial.The average production of Pigs in India is less in comparison to the developed countries.

This is mainly due to lack of Knowledge in respect of pig rearing and breeding, sometimes due to image of Pigs in society. However, in the present scenario, pig farming is no more restricted to lower class people. At present, seeing the economic importance of this animal most of the higher caste people have started Pig Farming in scientific manner. 

According to an estimate, the pork production was of Rs 1682 crores and the bristles production was of Rs 115 crores during recent years.
The characteristic features of Pig as a livestock are the highest feed conversion efficiency, utilization of wide variety of feed stuff viz. grains, forages, damaged feeds, vegetables, fruits and garbage ect., higher proficiency with shorter generation interval, i.e., first breeding as early as 8-9 months of age, farrowing twice in a year and 6-12 piglets in each farrowing. Initial requirements of small investment, quick returns and utilization of bristles and manure further increase the importance of this animal. 

Economic Value of a PIG:

According to recent studies of changing scenario of Animal Husbandry and Meat Industry in India, Pig farming with a profit of 60% topped all other types of subsidiary occupations like dairying (10%), poultry (30%) and sheep rearing which is at 22%.

With the introduction of new techniques for rearing and breeding of Pigs and appreciative & encouraging Government Schemes. Farmers and keen people are now attracted to Pig farming,because of its low starting cost and decent earnings at the same time. Moreover, not only traditional farmers, young generations from all over country trying their hands in different areas of animal Husbandry and most of those the popular one is PIG BREEDING FARMS.

Rising per capita income, growing urbanization and unfolding globalization are boosting the demand of high value commodities including meat. Due to these changes in recent past, a rapid shift has taken place in the dietary habits in favour of  non vegetarian diet. As a result demand for pork has swiftly increased and the domestic market price for pork has risen from Rs. 30-40 kg to 90-140 per kg over last five years. 
With gradual replacement of societal and religious taboos, the pig rearing by using scientific management practices is becoming popular across all social strata finding this comparatively more earning enterprise.   
 
Some Advantages of PIG:

The advantages of PIG  Farming are as follows:
a)   The Pig has got the highest feed conversion efficiency i.e they produce more live weight gain    from given weight of feed than any other class of meat producing animals.
b)   The pig can utilize wide variety of feed stuff viz. grains, forage, damaged food, vegetables, fruits, sugarcane, garbage and other unbalanced rations may result in lower feed eficiency.
c)   A sow can be bred as early as 8-9 months of age and can farrow twice in a year. They produce 6-12 piglets in each farrowing.
d)   Pig farming requires small investment on building and equipments.
e)   Pigs are known for their meat yield, which in terms of dressing percentage ranges from 60-80 in comparison to other livestock.
f)   Pork is most nutritious with high fat and low water content and has got better energy value than that of other meats.
g)  Pigs manure is widely used as fertilizer for agriculture farms and fish ponds.
h)  There is an increasing demand for pig's fat in poultry feed, soap, paints and other chemical industries.
i)   Pig farming provides quick returns since the marketable weight of 70-100 kg can be achieved with in a period of 7-9 months.
j)   There is good demand from domestic as well as export market for pig products such as pork, bacon, ham, sausages, lard etc.

Some Interesting Facts:


Pigs are fascinating, gorgeous, and completely lovable creatures. In fact,  in foreign countries  some people keep pigs as pets, and there are many scientific claim that pigs are smarter than dogs! 
Contrary to popular belief, pigs are actually very clean, and they're fast
According to Dr. Donald Broom, pigs "have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly [more so than] three-year-olds".

Pigs aren't filthy creatures like you may have heard, but are actually quite tidy and clean. Pigs like to make nests with fresh straw and almost never go to the bathroom near resting areas. Pigs do like to hang out in the mud, but they need to do this because they can't sweat and mud helps them cool off.

Although pigs like to sleep, they also like to have the freedom to move around, dig in the dirt with their noses, as well as play and spend time with other pigs. Younger, more playful pigs will often chase each other or enjoy games of tug-of-war.
Pigs who are treated kindly by people will often respond to their names being called and will even roll over, just like dogs, for belly rubs and scratches.
    
"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."_____George Orwell