Interactive lesson

Feeding pigs, step by step

Interactive lesson: a ration from your own grain, peas, roots and whey, the premix, what a pig must never eat, how much to feed and how to measure growth with a tape.

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The whole lesson as text

1. What a pig needs

Maize is not a ration: a pig on maize alone grows fat, not meat.

Maize is not enough — Maize has a lot of energy, but only roughly 8.5 % protein. A ration of maize alone is no good even when the pig eats its fill.
Protein by stage — Roughly 16 % protein in the ration from 25 to 60 kg, then 13 % to slaughter. Roughly 1.2–2.2 kg of ration a day, then 2.3–3.2 kg.
Water all the time — A fattening pig drinks 5–10 L of water a day. Water must always be available.
Change gradually — A change of feed always takes 5–7 days. Each day replace a little of the old ration with the new.

Why: A pig has a simple stomach, like a person, and uses fibre poorly. It needs concentrated feed with enough protein, especially lysine, which maize has very little of.

A fattening pig from 25 kg to slaughter eats roughly 300 kg of grain and meal.
Piglets up to 25 kg get bought-in creep feed or their mother's milk up to 6–8 weeks.

2. Grain from your own fields

The basis of the ration is your own grain: maize, barley, wheat and oats.

Grain is the basis — Maize, barley, wheat and oats make up roughly 50–70 % of the ration. You buy only what the homestead can't produce.
Barley for meat — Barley is the best grain for firm back fat and meat, up to 40 % of the ration. Maize up to 60 %.
Coarse meal — Grind grain coarsely, roughly 2–3 mm. Pigs digest whole grain poorly, and grain ground as fine as flour causes stomach ulcers. Grind 1–2 weeks ahead, because meal goes rancid.
Dry, no mould — Dry grain to roughly 13–14 % moisture and store it dry and ventilated. Mouldy maize causes abortions and small litters in sows, and liver disease in fattening pigs.

Why: Grain gives energy and makes up roughly 50–70 % of the ration. How you grind and store it decides whether the pig digests it and whether it's safe.

Too much maize gives soft, yellow back fat. Maize up to 60 % of the ration, barley up to 40 %.
If you suspect poisoned grain, ask a vet.