The pig is one of the oldest domesticated animals. Pigs are omnivores and are highly social and intelligent animals. Majority of the breeds we now know are descended from the Eurasian Wild Boar (Sus scrofa). A typical pig has a large head with a long snout which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and by a disk of cartilage at the tip.
Domesticated pigs, called swine, are raised commercially for meat (generally called pork, hams, gammon or bacon), as well as for leather. Pork is one of the most popular forms of meat for human consumption, accounting for 38% of worldwide meat production
Nutrient Requirement in Pigs
Carbohydrates
Pigs can utilize crude fibre to a lower extent.
The utilization of fibre by the pigs depends on the age of and weight of pigs and characteristic of non-fibrous portion of the ration.
For growing and finishing pigs 5-6% crude fibre level in their diet is recommended.
In sows, 10-12% level of CF in diet can be well tolerated.
Fats
When high fat diets are fed to pigs there is deposition of excessive fat inside the body.
Pigs fed on rations containing 0.5% fat, make a satisfactory gain and stores normal amount of body fat.
However, the practical level of fat inclusion is higher than this i.e. about 4%.
Proteins
In pig feeding, it is important to provide good quality protein in the ration.
All essential amino acids should be present in right quantity and proper balance.
Even if one essential amino acids is lacking or is in excess it will cause marked reduction in the feed intake which will affect the growth and production
A combination of animal and vegetable protein in pig diet will provide all essential amino acids in proper proportion.
Protein requirements of pigs express as % in the feed is given below:
S.NO Class of pig % of protein in diet
1. Pre-weaning pigs (creep feed) 18-22
2. Weaned pigs 16
3. Growing pigs ’45 kg body wt’ 14
4. Breed gilts 15
5. Sows 14
6. Breeding boars 14
7. Lactating sow 15
Minerals
If swine is fed on concentrates alone calcium is more likely to be deficient. Whereas if they are fed only on pasture, phosphorus deficiency results.
The recommended calcium and phosphorus levels for swine diet are as below:
Category of pig Weight Ca % P %
Growing & Fattening Pigs (5-10 kg) 0.80 0.60
(10-45kg) 0.65 0.50
(45-90 kg) 0.50 0.40
Gilts & Sow bred 0.75 0.50
Lactating Sows 0.60 0.40
In practical swine ration it is routine practice to add 0.5-1% limestone and 0.5% di-calcium phosphate/bone meal.
As per the NRC, 0.5% common salt is recommended in rations of all classes and ages of pigs.
Iodine need of pig is 0.2 mg/kg diet which should be supplied in the form of iodised salt.
Piglet anaemia is seen in piglets, housed in concrete floors under intensive farming system. The condition is called as “thumps”. Anaemic piglets are listless and flabby with wrinkled skin and unhealthy looking hair coat. At birth, piglets contain 50 mg iron. The daily requirement is 7 mg and about 1 mg is supplied in daily sow milk consumed by the piglet. This deficit of 6mg/day will exhaust the body stores within a week if iron is not provided. This condition can be prevented by giving iron orally or by injections. Iron dextrose 100 mg on third day of birth followed by 50 mg on 21st day prevents anaemia. Painting the udder of the sow with a paint of ferrous sulphate causes intake of iron when the piglet suckles its mother and helps prevent thumps.
Requirement of copper is 6mg/kg diet.
Requirement for Manganese is 10mg/kg diet.
Requirement for zinc is 50mg/kg diet.
Vitamins
Vitamin K is synthesized in the intestine of the pigs by micro-organisms in adequate amount and hence has no practical importance.
Deficiency of vitamin B-complex may arise under practical conditions in pigs raised on feeds like cereal grains without much inclusion of green forage. Liberal supply of good quality legume fodder hay, dairy products will take care of vitamins of B-series.
Vitamin C is synthesized in the body and hence not of practical importance.
Feeding of piglets
The piglets need to consume 250-300 ml of colostrum (586-628 KJ/I00 ml) to remain in energy balance.
Piglets can sustain exclusively on sow’s milk for 7-10 days only. They are helped to suckle about 8-10 times a day. Hence at the age of 7-10 days piglets should be supplemented with concentrate feed which is kept in creep or trough in a separate pen to prevent access of the sow, therefore, this feed is also called creep feed.
The creep feed should be more palatable ration, higher in protein and supplemented with antibiotics and lower in fibre content, than do their mother.
Lack of iron and copper salt in milk of sow results in suckling piglets as piglet anaemia.
Add small amount of iron and copper in pig’s diet @25 mg iron and 5 mg of copper per day per pig and also provide clean soil in the shed.
Feeding of Gestating Sows
Feeding extra allowance of grains by about 500 to 700 grams before breeding season is called flushing. This is done to increase energy level in diet for increasing ovulation rate in gilt and sows, so that they may gain body weight from 0.5-0.7 kg daily from 1-2 weeks before breeding season.
Pregnant sows require ration that is fairly high in minerals and vitamins in order to produce large litters of healthy pigs.
The nutritional needs of pregnant sow may be supplied by feeding grains, mixed concentrates, milk products, hays and silage and by providing adequate pasture.
The animal should not be permitted to become fat. An overweight condition reduces the number and health of pigs farrowed.
The full term pregnancy time in swine is about 114 days. The ration should be of high quality and properly supplements with 15 percent proteins, minerals, vitamins, and antibiotics.
The ration may be fed to pregnant sow at the rate of 2 kg per day, which may vary according to the condition of the pregnant sow.
Proper feeding of pregnant sow will result in a large litter size and healthy piglets at birth. About 25-30 percent lucerne may be included in ration.
Grinded sorghum grains may be substituted for corn, oats or barley in the ration. Rye may be fed in small quantity but it cuts down the palatability. Supply of green succulent grasses is always advisable.
Feeding of Lactating Sows
Milk production by sows becomes important to piglet growth on around 8th or 9th day of lactation.
Sow’s milk contains about 81% water, 5-6% fat, 6-7% protein, 5-6% lactose and 1% ash. Therefore, the sow must receive feeds containing these nutrients in sufficient amounts to produce the milk required by the litter.
Ration for sows during lactation will depend upon nutritional need of piglets, however 2.5-3.6 kg ration per day will be enough for 8-10 piglets.
Gain in weight of suckling piglets is directly proportional to producing ability of the mother. The condition of the sow, the number of piglets nursed and the type of pasture available influence the amount and kind of ration which should be fed.
The ration should contains green pasture, vegetables, protein rich concentrates, all the amino acids and fatty acids essential for the sow, and highly bioavailable vitamins and minerals.
Nutrient Requirement in Pigs as per NRC, USA
The following table gives the nutrient requirement of diets of Growing pigs
Growing Pigs Allowed Feed Ad Libitum (90% dry matter)
Body Weight (kg)
3–5 5–10 10–20 20–50 50–80 80–120
Average weight in range (kg) 4 7.5 15 35 65 100
DE content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400
ME content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265
Estimated feed intake (g/day) 250 500 1,000 1,855 2,575 3,075
Crude protein (%) 26.0 23.7 20.9 18.0 15.5 13.2
The following table gives the nutrient requirement of diets of Barrows and Gilts
Barrows and Gilts allowed Feed Ad Libitum (90% dry matter)
Body weight range 50–80 kg Body Weight
Lean gain (g/day) 300 300 325 325 350 350
Gender Barrow Gilt Barrow Gilt Barrow Gilt
Average weight in range (kg) 65 65 65 65 65 65
DE content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400
ME content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265
Estimated feed intake (g/day) 2,750 2,400 2,755 2,400 2,755 2,400
Crude protein (%) 14.2 15.5 14.9 16.3 15.6 17.1
Body weight range 80–120 kg Body Weight
Lean gain (g/day) 300 300 325 325 350 350
Gender Barrow Gilt Barrow Gilt Barrow Gilt
Average weight in range (kg) 100 100 100 100 100 100
DE content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400
ME content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265
Estimated feed intake (g/day) 3,280 2,865 3,280 2,865 3,280 2,865
Crude protein (%) 12.2 13.2 12.7 13.8 13.2 14.4
The following table gives the nutrient requirement of diets of Gestating sows
Gestating Sows (90% dry matter)
Body Weight at Breeding (kg)
125 150 175 200 200 200
Gestation Weight Gain (kg)
55 45 40 35 30 35
Anticipated Pigs in Litter
11 12 12 12 12 14
DE content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400
ME content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265
Estimated feed intake (kg/day) 1.96 1.84 1.88 1.92 1.80 1.85
Crude protein (%) 12.9 12.8 12.4 12.0 12.1 12.4
The following table gives the nutrient requirement of diets of Lactating Sows
Lactating Sows (90% dry matter)
Sow Post farrowing Weight (kg)
175 175 175 175 175 175
Anticipated Lactational Weight Change (kg)
0 0 0 -10 -10 -10
Daily Weight Gain of Pigs (g)
150 200 250 150 200 250
DE content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400 3,400
ME content of diet (kcal/kg) 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265 3,265
Estimated feed intake (kg/day) 4.31 5.35 6.40 3.56 4.61 5.66
Crude protein (%) 16.3 17.5 18.4 17.2 18.5 19.2
Nutrient Specification for Pigs as per BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)
The following table gives the nutrient of various categories of pig feed as per Bureau of Indian Standards specification
S. No Nutrient Pig starter or Creep feed Pig growth meal Pig finishing or breeding meal
(i) Moisture content (Max %) 11.0 11.0 11.0
(ii) Crude protein (Min %) 20.0 18.0 16.0
(iii) Crude fat or ether extract (Min %) 2.0 2.0 2.0
(iv) Crude fibre (Max %) 5.0 6.0 8.0
(v) Total ash (Max %) 8.0 8.0 8.0
(vi) Acid insoluble ash (Max %) 4.0 4.0 4.0
(vii) Metabolizable energy (Kcal/kg), Min 3 360 3170 3170
Guidelines for Swine Feeding
Good pasture can be used to replace 10-20 and 20-25 percent concentrates for growing and fattening pigs and pregnant sows respectively. When pasture is used to replace the concentrate mixture for swine, it is advisable to restrict the level of concentrates by hand feeding because pigs will not reduce the concentrate intake if these are self-fed.
Pig is non-ruminant so cannot utilize fibrous fodders efficiently.
Swine ration should have more concentrate and less roughage.
Feed conversion ratio in pig is most efficient (1:3) and hence needs less feed per kg gain and feed costs about 75 percent of total cost of rearing.
Energy plays an important role for meat type pigs and expressed in digestible energy or metabolizable energy per kg of daily ration.
Pigs can very well utilize the kitchen garbage and feed wastage and converts inedible feeds to edible meat as pork very efficiently and quickly.
Green forages of succulent type are helpful for economical rearing of pigs.
Authors
Lonkare S.M. and Biradar P.B.
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Udgir, Maharashtra
