These compilation of tips for success in a pig farming business is based on many facets of farming like animal welfare, getting a good income, customer satisfaction and producing high quality products.
Starting a pig farm is not very complicated, and if managed properly, it is a strong business that can bring you good profit returns. But it does require some knowledge and expertise. Mismanagement of the farm and not selling or slaughtering when you should could mean that you lose out on the profit benefit. Here are a collection of tried and tested tricks and tips for success in a pig farming business.
Tips for success in a pig farming business
1. Invest in healthy pigs
One of the most important tips is to start with healthy pigs. Spending more money on healthy pigs is always a good investment. A high-quality feeder pig will grow more for the same amount of feed and time you give them than a poor-quality pig. So spending more money on quality will give you better quality results. If you have a choice of litter, then pick the biggest of the litter. These will, most likely, continue to grow well.
Cheap pigs will eventually cost you more despite their low price rates because they will not fatten up sufficiently or quickly enough.
2. Raise more than one pig
Another important tip is to raise more than one pig at a time. Pigs are social animals. They don’t like being alone and may end up not eating well or falling into distress, so have a buddy to keep them company.
3. Check your feeder often.
Pigs grow notoriously fast. For a few days, it may seem like the food is taking forever to be eaten. But once they are a little bigger, all the feed will disappear faster, and you’ll be serving empty troughs if you don’t check every few days. Checking the feeder will also let you know if all is going well with the pigs and if they are eating fast enough. And hungry pigs would try to escape, so keep them well-fed.
4. Provide them with entertainment
Pigs are intelligent creatures. They can get bored cooped up inside a sty, so give them something to do based on their natural behaviors. Pigs like rooting around and turning things over. Giving them a bale of straw will keep them occupied for hours. You can add in grass, vegetable scraps, sticks or anything else of interest to them. But be careful you don’t toss in weeds that are poisonous.
5. Prevent pig escape
You may think that’s what the fencing is for. But pigs are clever. When they know they can’t escape through the fence, they will try to burrow underneath them. So make sure your fencing is foolproof and strong enough. Electric fencing work best for them as it trains them not to go anywhere near the fence.
6. Maintain a perfect temperature
Maintaining a good temperature for your pigs is important as they are not very good at regulating it themselves. Provide them with heating lamps if it’s too cold for them. Pigs will gain weight faster and reach their optimum potential, given the right temperature. On hot days, give them water to wallow in. this will help them get cooler. You can also use a barn fan to keep them cool.
On cold days, top up their feeders well. They may need more food to help stay warm. Maintaining a good tempeature for your pigs is one of the most important of the tips for success in a pig farming business.
7. Provide clean water always.
Just as providing clean water is important, it is also best not to keep around water buckets as they will be uprooted easily. You can choose a barrel feeder, but always keep it full, so the weight of the water will prevent it from being toppled. Secure the waterer well to the side of the pen. Or use an automatic waterer.
8. Butcher them early
Once the pigs have reached the optimum size, it’s best you slaughter them instead of spending more than necessary for their feed. You may have to make a butcher appointment early, especially when winter is coming. Get them slaughtered and frozen before that. Pigs reach their finishing weight quickly, so set an appointment with the butcher as soon as you bring the piglets home.
9. Choose the best kind of breed.
There are certain kinds of breeds that fatten faster. So breed matters. Choose the best types of breed for your farm that are best for your location and climate. Crossbreds grow faster and are sturdier than purebreds. But as far as consumers are concerned, they care less about the breed of pig and more about the taste and quality of meat.
10. Get fresh feed
Don’t buy feed many weeks ahead, as they will get stale. Giving your pigs fresh feed is better than stale ones. Buy feed in small batches.
11. Pigs smell a lot
Pigs smell. So keep them away from the neighborhood, or you might get into trouble for air pollution.
12. Castrate male pigs
The last of the tips for success in a pig farming business is castrating male pigs. All male pigs or boars have to be castrated when they are 14 days old. This would not only make the meat taste better, but it will also save you from overpopulation of pigs in your barn. You don’t want to be feeding more pigs than you should.
Tips for success in a pig farming business: To sum it up
Pig farms are not very challenging once you get hold of the dynamics of pig farming. You have to be familiar with the nature of pigs to deal with the well. There are no sure-fire methods for a hundred percent successful farm, but these tips and tricks will make life easier for you.
One of the most important characteristics of a successful farm is to be responsible towards animal welfare and the environment. Learn more about how pig waste from commercial farms pollute the environment.
