The Rural Voice, 1998-04, Page 37pecking order.
"Take time to watch your pigs
several times a day," he said. "Watch
them during several periods of
activity. Learning what is normal and
not normal behaviour for a pig is a
matter of experience and skill."
Check the amount of activity
around the nipple feeder, the height
of the drinker pole or the taste of the
water — if there's too much
medication it can put stress on young
pigs by not giving them the proper
quality and quantity of water. Check
drinkers regularly and flush lines
between batches.
Observe the amounts of feed
consumed in each pen at least once a
day. A drop in feed consumption
might indicate the pigs arc sick but it
could be caused by a problem with
too little water because a waterer is
not working properly. Or it could
mean a feeder is not adjusted
properly or is plugged.
Watch how the pigs lie to see if
the temperature is right.
Look at the animals' physical
condition. "You want pink
colour in the skin, with short
shiny hair. The eyes should be clean
with no black crusts around them."
If there is tail -biting or navel
sucking, add a little potassium to the
feed for that pen and cool the
temperature down. Sometimes
keeping the pigs in the dark can end
the practice.
Murray Elliott of Selves Farms,
Fullarton dealt with stockmanship in
finishing barns saying finishing is the
easiest part of pig farming but can be
the most costly if you make mistakes.
A difference in feed conversion of .1
means $6,000 a year in a 1000 -head
finishing barn, he said. A difference
from 3.6 to 2.9 is worth 542,000 a
year.
Calibrate feeders every three
weeks all year, he said. Since you're
putting $180,000 worth of feed
through a 1000 -head finishing barn
each year a small improvement can
snake a big difference in profits. A
five per cent feed wastage can cost
$9,000 a year.
Put the feeder at the.front of the
pen so it can be checked easily from
the alley because otherwise it won't
get the attention it needs, he said. If
you need a wrench or a hammer to
adjust a feeder, don't buy that kind.
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APRIL 1998 33