Pig Husbandry

Anon

Description

This volume contains a collection of interesting and helpful articles on pig keeping, covering topics such as feeding, breeding, ailments, and more. Containing a wealth of information that will be of value to the modern pig farmer, this text constitutes a must-read for those with an interest in the subject, and makes for a worthy addition to collections of farming literature. The articles contained herein include: 'Breeding, Housing, and Management of Pigs'; 'Recent Developments in Feeding'; 'Diseases of Pigs in Relation to Management'; 'Special Problems of Pig-Keeping on the Smallholding'; and 'Bacon Factory Requirements'. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly rare and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are proudly republishing this volume, now in an affordable modern edition complete with a new introduction on pig farming.

Sujets

• Agronomie
• Agronomy for Sustainable Development
• Agriculture
• Engineering
• Technology
• Sciences et techniques
• Animal Husbandry

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 07 septembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781473354944
• Langue: English

Extrait

PIG HUSBANDRY
Papers read at the Conference held in the Guildhall, Winchester, on February 8 1951
1951
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd.
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Pig Farming
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus , within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig and its ancestor, the common Eurasian wild boar ( Sus scrofa ), along with other species; related creatures outside the genus include the babirusa and the warthog. Pigs, like all suids, are native to the Eurasian and African continents - they are highly social and intelligent animals. Pigs (hogs in the United States) can be farmed as free range, being allowed to wander around a village, kept in fields, or tethered in a simple house. In developed countries, farming has moved away from traditional pig farming and pigs are now typically intensively farmed.
Almost all of the pig can be used as food, with various parts being made into specialities; sausage, bacon, gammon, ham, skin into pork scratchings, feet into trotters, head into a meat jelly called head cheese (brawn), and consumption of the liver, chitterlings, blood (blood pudding or black pudding) are common. Today, pig farms are significantly larger than in the past, with most large-scale farms housing 5,000 or more pigs in climate-controlled buildings. With 100 million pigs slaughtered each year, these efficiencies deliver affordable meat for consumers and larger profits for producers. This has led to substantial conflict with animal welfare activists as well as those concerned for the environment though. The costs and benefits of large-scale pig farming are still very much up for debate.
Individual farm management focuses on housing facilities, feeding and ventilation systems, temperature and environmental controls and the economic viability of their operations. Procedures and treatments should also carefully weighed, to consider the animals welfare, health and management in correspondence with accepted husbandry skills. The way in which a stockperson interacts with pigs in agricultural production systems impacts animal welfare, which directly correlates with production levels. Many intensive farms deal with huge numbers of pigs each day, often resulting in handlers becoming complacent with positive interactions . This is not always the case however, and many small farm / homesteaders are turning to raising their own animals, with a view to sustainability and independence.
When handling pigs, there are various methods of handling which can be separated into positive and negative handling techniques, which, in turn, lead to positive and negative animal reactions. These terms are based on how the pigs interpret a handler s behaviour. Negative interactions include heavy tactile interaction, including slaps, kicks, fast movements or even the use of an electric Goad. Negative interactions can result in fear and stress in the animals, which have a variety of negative impacts. For instance, tactile interactions can cause basal cortisol contractions (hypertension). These interactions also lead to animals fearing people, to the point of avoiding human interaction, which can result in injuries to both stock and handlers alike. Fearful animals are also likely to be very stressed, which can result in immunosuppression, leading to an increased susceptibility to disease.
Pigs are very curious animals, and consequently when entering a pen it is good practice for a stockperson to enter with slow and deliberate movements. Such actions minimize the fear for the animal, which reduces stress. Allowing the pigs to approach and smell whilst patting or resting a hand on the pigs back are all examples of positive behaviour. Pigs also respond very positively to verbal interaction - allowing handlers to perform husbandry practices in a much safer and more efficient manner. Pigs are farmed in many countries, though the main consuming countries are in Asia, meaning there is a significant international and even intercontinental trade in live and slaughtered pigs. Despite having the world s largest herd, China is a net importer of pigs, and has been increasing its imports during its economic development. The largest exporters of pigs are the United States, European Union, and Canada. As an example, more than half of Canadian production (22.8 million pigs) in 2008 was exported, going to 143 countries.
Pigs are omnivores, which means they consume both plants and animals. In the wild, they are foraging animals, primarily eating leaves, grasses, roots, fruits and flowers, whereas in confinement, pigs are mostly fed corn and soybean - with a mixture of added vitamins and minerals. However, because pigs are omnivores, they make excellent pasture raised animals, traditionally called mortgage lifters due to their ability to use the excess milk as well as whey from cheese and butter making, combined with pasture. Pigs are incredibly valuable creatures to human beings, utilised for almost all their meat, and can be a relatively easy animal to keep - if cared for correctly. Pig farming will undoubtedly continue for many years to come, and it is hoped that the current reader is inspired by this book to investigate further. Enjoy.
FOREWORD
T HE importance of pigs in the general agricultural economy is growing and there is an increasing demand for literature on all aspects of their management. The following papers, which were read at a Pig Husbandry Conference held at Winchester in 1951, cover a wide field and cannot therefore in such limited space explore the more intricate technicalities. It is hoped, however, that they will help to fill the long-felt need for more information of a specialist character and show the place that pigs can and should take in the general agricultural picture .
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
October, 1951
CONTENTS
B REEDING , H OUSING AND M ANAGEMENT OF P IGS . H. R. Davidson
R ECENT D EVELOPMENTS IN F EEDING . R. Braude
D ISEASES OF P IGS IN R ELATION TO M ANAGEMENT . E. G. MORRIS
S PECIAL P ROBLEMS OF P IG -K EEPING ON THE S MALLHOLDING . J. W. Reid
B ACON F ACTORY R EQUIREMENTS . L. A. Trow
The views expressed in this publication are those of the speakers concerned; they do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry .
First Published
October 1951
Reprinted
March 1952
THE BREEDING, HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF PIGS
H. R. D AVIDSON
B ECAUSE one cannot well discuss the management of pigs without knowing the aim of the producer, we might first consider the two chief lines of policy, each of which has its protagonists. The one is the declared policy of the Government, a few pigs on every farm, the other a rapid and complete return to specialization in the production of Wiltshire baconer pigs.
The reason for the first policy is that it would enable a considerable number of pigs to be kept in the country without having recourse to any imported feedingstuffs, because the pigs could feed on the wastes and surpluses which are to be found on most farms. The explanation given for the second policy is that the customer will demand more bacon and will insist that this bacon must be supplied in one form only-namely, that of the Wiltshire cure. Denmark and Canada are supplying the type of pigs which the customer is said to demand, and these two countries, it is claimed, will soon be competing very strongly with home producers. This policy is supported by the slogan The customer is always right , but it ignores three fundamental facts.
First, it clashes with the other policy of a few pigs on every farm, because the experience from 1933 to 1939 of the working of the Pigs Marketing Board was that under specialization on Wiltshire bacon, more and more pigs were, in fact, produced on fewer and fewer farms. That is just the result of that kind of specialization.
Secondly, the production of such light-weight pigs as those required for sizable Wiltshire bacon is at variance with the economics of production. Pigs weighing no more than 200 lb. alive cost more to produce than heavier pigs. Evidence is available from animal husbandry experiments and from the agricultural economists that the cost of production per pound of carcass weight is greater in the small than in a heavier pig, up to a quite considerable weight of pig. There are several reasons for this, but one of the most important is that the on-cost of breeding the pig, when spread over a larger number of pounds of carcass, becomes smaller per pound than when it has to be spread over a smaller number of pounds.
Thirdly, the whims of the consuming purchaser are no longer law. In, say, 1908, when there were no currency difficulties and there was, in effect, a peaceful condition throughout the world, the merchants of this country could go to any part of the world to obtain any kind of food which the consumer thought he wanted. Now the situation is entirely different. The economic situation has changed completely. It is no longer a situation where the customer is always right because, in fact, the customer has to take what is given him. The customer might say that he demanded a sirloin of beef, a steak, several pounds of butter, a new family car, chocolate biscuits, and so on.
Thirty years ago the shopkeeper and the merchant would have had to go to the ends of the earth to get these things if the customer asked for them. Now the shopkeeper and the merchant have no say in the matter. The Ministry of Food distributes to us what it can obtain for us. Apart from that, we have, as a country, to produce either what is nutritionally most efficient, as in the case of milk, or what we can most efficiently produce with the raw material available to us. The nineteenth century wa