Types of feed for pigs
Nutrition is one of the basic needs of any living organism. The body needs a balanced daily intake of nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. This process allows you to stay healthy and continue active life. Without food, the body will not be able to live long, and malnutrition and poor pork feeds will lead to illness or death. Thus, in order to live long and avoid health problems, it is necessary to monitor nutrition. If you own animals, then one of the main obligations to them is the timely provision of a healthy diet.
General dietary structure and daily nutrient requirements
Before starting pig breeding, one of the main questions must be answered - what is the ration of these animals? It is necessary to find out in advance how and how to feed the pig in order to obtain the desired result. The ration and daily requirement is calculated taking into account a number of factors:
- breeds;
- age
- pregnancy and feeding (for sows);
- growing goals (breeding or slaughter);
- financial opportunities.
Fast fattening and weight gain is possible only with strict observance of the diet. Pigs must be fed at the same time of day. Feeding of pregnant sows is done once, single and lactating sows - twice a day. Fattening pigs, weaners, piglets during the rearing period feed three times a day.
Learn about pig breeding as a business here .
Considering age, condition and goals, one of three feeding modes is used:
- plenty;
- normalized;
- limited.
Feeding with a balanced compound feed with vitamin supplements allows you to get the desired result much faster than feeding with food waste and root crops.
Feed groups
The quality of pig products directly depends on the quality of food products that the pig feeds. All feeds are divided into three groups according to their effect on meat quality.
- The first group of food products allows you to get high-quality meat products.
- The second group has less useful qualities and is suitable for obtaining varieties of meat of medium quality.
- The third group includes poor food, which directly affects the quality of meat. However, they can safely feed young growth to reach 60 kg of weight.
For higher grades of meat
The feed of this group allows you to get the highest quality pork and dense, grained lard. For fattening pigs of the highest grade of meat in the diet must be green feed and animal feed. These include:
- Juicy vegetables and root crops. Potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, sugar beets.
- Green feed. Shiritsa, nettle, alfalfa, sainfoin, clover.
- Cereals. Barley, millet, peas, rye.
- Roughage. Hay flour from legumes (alfalfa, clover, sainfoin).
- Dairy products and meat waste.
Such foods contribute to rapid growth, improve the taste of meat, increase the density of fat.
For medium meats
This group of feeds includes less quality food. They can be up to half of the total feed mass, but it is advisable not to exceed this amount. With constant feeding of pigs with these products, meat and lard gradually lose their taste. Such feeds can be beneficial (for example, corn gives animals a lot of energy, but contains almost no protein), but it is advisable to introduce their diet together with the first group. This includes:
- corn;
- buckwheat;
- wheat and rye bran.
For low quality pork
The third group of food products leads to a deterioration in the quality of meat and fat. The meat becomes coarse, unsuitable for canning. Salo acquires a loose texture, poorly stored. Products of this group should not be used with greasy fattening, but with meat can be used in the last stages. These foods include - soy, cake, oats.
2 months before slaughter, Arma 3 groups are completely excluded from the group and the number of products from the first group increases.
Feed types
Compound feed is necessary for pigs to gain weight and enrich the body with nutrients. According to the origin of feed for pigs are classified as follows:
- vegetable (crops, bran, green feed, root crops, oilcake, meal);
- animals (dairy products, meat waste and flour);
- food waste;
- compound feed ;
- synthetic;
- mineral;
- bioadditives .
Plant origin
Plant foods are divided into two groups according to the capacity of energy and fiber.
- Concentrated. 1 kg of dry matter contains 0.65 feed units and less than 19% fiber.
- Bulky. 1 kg includes less than 0.65 feed units and more than 19% fiber.
Cereals are the most important in the diet.
Feed contains a large number of easily digestible substances. They help balance the diet. Cereals are characterized by a high content of metabolic energy, but they have low biological value.
- Corn . It has great nutritional value among cereals. Due to the scarce protein content, it is not suitable for young animals and sows.
- Barley It is one of the best animal feed, which is why it is often used as the basis for compound feed. Positive effect on meat quality.
- Oats . An important dietary component of feed and animal feed. Oat Nutrition is the benchmark for measuring nutrition in feed units.
- Wheat For feed use a low quality and coarse product. Fine grinding can release a lot of gluten, which leads to digestion.
- Legumes They contain a lot of protein - 20-40%. The most nutritious crop is soy.
- Flax seeds Valuable dietary supplement. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3), vitamins A and E.

Bran
Contains a large amount of fiber and protein. Wheat bran is especially enriched. As a food product, they are suitable for all age groups of pigs, but they should be added to the diet in small quantities.
Silage
Good nutritious food. It has an acidic environment and is well stored without access to air. Such food can not be left in the trough for a long time, because it quickly deteriorates outdoors. The silage process lends itself to most types of feed.
Hay
It has high nutritional value. Depending on the time of mowing the grass, its composition, and storage conditions, its nutritional properties may change. This product - the only one among the roughage contains in the composition of vitamin B - an important component of the body's mineral metabolism.
Straw
This feed consists of stalks of cereals and legumes that have undergone a process of grinding to grain. Straw has an average energy value and low nutritional properties. Because of this, it is used to weight and give volume to other feeds.
Apply vegetables
They contain readily soluble carbohydrates, vitamins of groups B and C. Pectin components allow the removal of toxic substances formed during rotting in the intestines from the body of an animal. Vegetables are low in nutrition, but contain a lot of water. Because of this, they easily deteriorate and can cause poisoning. Root crops should be washed. Potatoes must be cooked and chopped. Pumpkin, watermelon, zucchini are dairy products.
It is strictly forbidden to give animals green or sprouted potatoes. Solanine is formed in it - an extremely toxic substance.
Animal
Products of animal origin include:
- Milk and its derivatives. Milk has all the nutrients and trace elements. Especially useful when feeding .
- Meat, blood, meat and bone meal, as well as technical fat.
- Fishmeal and fat, fish waste. Increases productivity. To avoid unpleasant odors from meat and fat, in the final stages of fattening should be excluded from the diet
- Feather flour.

Chemical and biological synthesis: yeast, chalk, coal, ash
With a lack of vitamins and minerals, premixes and mineral supplements are introduced into the pig diet. You can buy them ready-made, in a balanced way, or make them yourself. Also, fodder fish oil can provide vitamins, which should be given and not stopped.
Premixes contain vitamins, minerals, therapeutic drugs, amino acids, enzymes, etc. Mineral additives are considered:
- yeast;
- coal;
- a piece of chalk;
- salt;
- clay;
- ash;
- tricalcium phosphate.
Household feed forms
In form, all feeds are divided into dry, moist, concentrated and combined. Dry products are most often used on farms with a large number of animals. Wet feeding requires more effort, so it is used mainly on small farms. However, liquid pig feeds are more readily eaten faster.
Coarse or dry: composition, additives - soy, yeast, fish meal
Dry foods include full-feed and crushed grain mixtures with various additives (premixes, cake, bran). When used in animals, there should be enough water in the drinker in the drinker, as they are difficult to digest. Dry feed is easier to use because it does not require prior preparation, compared with wet. They can fill automatic feeders.
Wet
This type of feed is the most ancient, because food waste has traditionally been the diet of pigs. Most animals prefer to eat liquid food. It is easy to use and assimilate. This type of food allows you to quickly increase the gain in live weight in pigs, as well as achieve the weight necessary for slaughter. However, wet feeding is more costly in terms of preparation and feeding to animals.
How to feed piglets for rapid growth is described in detail here .
Concentrated: normal per day, consumption
Grain feeds and by-products of the processing of grain crops, oilseeds are considered concentrated. They are characterized by increased nutritional properties, usually contain up to 16% water and up to 15% fiber.
By the content of protein and carbohydrates, such feeds are divided into two groups:
- Protein Contain 20-25% protein. Seeds of peas, soybeans, legumes, oilcake, meal.
- Carbohydrates . With a content of 60-70% starch. Oats, corn, barley, wheat, millet.
Combined cheap feed
The most popular type of feed. It is a mixture of grain raw materials, foods high in protein, vitamins and trace elements. All combined feeds are divided into three types:
- full-time;
- concentrates;
- balancing feed additives.
The selection of the diet depending on the type of fattening: granular or hydroponic compound feed, pig farm, crusher
Depending on the goals pursued, there are 3 main types of fattening:
- meat;
- bacon;
- for bacon.
Fattening in order to obtain meat is used on young animals of any breed. To do this, use potatoes, corn, barley, animal feed. Pigs for meat fattening need a sufficient amount of mineral additives, the consumption is high. The secrets of using the pig feeding rate table are described in this article .
Bacon fattening is applied to the best-developed pigs and neutered boars of precocious breeds. Fattening begins at the age of 4 months. Such a process is divided into two periods:
- In 1 period, pigs feed on fodder, providing high weight gain and quality bacon. You should also add mineral top dressing.
- In the 2nd period, animals must be given what: barley, peas, potatoes, beets, succulent grass of leguminous plants, milk waste.
Fattening pigs for fat is done in two ways - with the preparatory period and without the preparatory period (intensive). The basis of this type of fattening is potatoes. In addition to it, concentrated feed, mineral top dressing are used.
Learn how to cut a pig from this material .
Video
This video shows how to properly feed piglets.
conclusions
- Proper nutrition is the basis of health and long life not only in humans, but also in animals.
- You should carefully select a diet for animals. This will allow you to achieve your goals in a short time.
- The pig diet on the farm is very rich, so it will not be difficult to choose products for a balanced, efficient diet.
- Feed can be purchased ready-made (cheap granular, extruded, hydroponic, extracomplex, pig complex, for cattle. Vega bmvk, Tsest, Purina / Purina) and make your own homemade of boiled potatoes, eggs, crushed, brine, etc.
- Pigs also need vitamins and mineral supplements. Especially during periods of growth, pregnancy and lactation, for example, you can make a yeast (yeast), add baking powder to the feed.
- Feed should be selected in accordance with the breed, age and individual characteristics of the pigs.
Also read how much feed you need to grow a pig at this link .