How to feed Vietnamese piglets at home to have more meat
Many farmers are involved in raising Vietnamese piglets. Previously, these animals were considered exotic and therefore they were rarely found in households. However, they are now as common as common pigs. Many people who are going to raise such animals are interested in how to feed Vietnamese piglets during rearing.
Features of feeding Vietnamese pigs
To properly feed small pot-bellied pigs, you need to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of their diet. People who have been raising such animals for a long time recommend giving them food in doses several times a day. In summer, they are fed twice daily, and in winter, such animals are eaten three times a day.
The diet of Vietnamese piglets should contain the following nutritional components:
- 5% fat;
- 15% fiber;
- 12% protein.
Before feeding the animals, it is necessary to determine the daily feed consumption rate. During calculations, it is necessary to build on the weight of the animal. For example, if his weight is 40-50 kilograms, then he must eat 300 grams of feed every day. The pigs need to be fed more cereals. At the same time, it is recommended to feed them more with barley, since it is he who is best absorbed by piglets. It is given ground or even lightly fried. Barley promotes the growth of animals and also accelerates their weight gain.
What is forbidden to feed
Many people consider Vietnamese pigs to be omnivores that can be fed with anything. However, there is food that is undesirable to give to such pigs. Some foods can harm their body and negatively affect their growth. Also, an unbalanced diet leads to obesity, due to which a lot of subcutaneous fat is formed in animals. Obesity is considered the main disease of Vietnamese pigs, and therefore experienced farmers advise against giving them a lot of feed, which is made for ordinary white piglets.
It is necessary to add saturated feeds to the daily diet, which contain fiber and plant components. This food should be given more often as it is absorbed faster by Vietnamese pigs. It is contraindicated to give coarse feed to such pigs, as it will be worse digested. Also, you should not feed animals with hay and straw in large quantities. This can negatively affect their digestive system.
How to feed Vietnamese pigs for more meat?
To get more meat from Vietnamese piglets, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of their feeding.
Newborn
For the rapid growth of pigs in the first weeks after birth, they should not be fed with anything other than breast milk. However, after 7-10 days, the amount of milk in the mother decreases, and therefore the pigs stop eating.
Experts recommend introducing complementary foods into the diet so that the animals do not go hungry.
In the pigsty where Vietnamese piglets are raised, feed troughs are installed. First, small and fried wheat grains are added to the diet of animals. Then corn with barley is gradually added. The grains are very useful, especially during the period of teeth emergence. They scratch the gums, making new teeth erupt faster.
Pigs should also eat more liquid food. For example, they can be given oatmeal or barley gruel diluted with water. When the pigs are 2-3 weeks old, this porridge is prepared on skim milk. Also, three-week-old piglets are given green grass and hay.
1 to 6 months
In order to get more meat from the grown pigs, it is necessary to think over the diet until the age of six months. In this case, the diet by month may differ:
- The first. Experienced farmers recommend feeding monthly piglets at least five times a day. This is necessary to improve the functioning of the digestive system. Regular feeding promotes the production of gastric juice, thanks to which food is digested much better. More wheat, barley and oatmeal are added to the diet of monthly animals.
- Second. 2-month-old piglets need to be fed less often, only three times a day. Animals are given more pumpkin, potatoes and grated beets. It is also recommended to feed piglets with wheat or rye. Every Vietnamese pig should eat at least three kilograms of food every day.
- Third and fourth. When the piglets are three months old, they begin to develop muscles and strengthen their bones. An effective diet for building muscle at this age should be high in protein. Each pig should eat four kilograms of feed daily.
- Fifth and sixth. When the pig is six months old, it should eat six kilograms of feed daily. These animals are fed with fruits, vegetables, corn and peas. They can also be fed loose or granulated food.
In winter
Many people who are planning to breed Vietnamese pigs are interested in how to feed them in winter. In order for them to gain weight faster, in winter, the amount of daily food intake increases up to 3-4 times. Instead of fresh grass, hay with dried tops is added to the diet. Pulses, which contain a lot of protein, are also added to the diet. Sometimes farmers feed them milk and yeast in winter. To build muscle mass, animals are given more bran and compound feed.
If necessary, vitamins and other supplements with useful microelements are additionally introduced into the diet.
"Liprot" is added to the food, which is preliminarily divorced with water. To do this, add four tablespoons of the drug to a bucket filled with water.
In the summer
In the summer, when the air temperature exceeds twenty degrees Celsius, the amount of the diet is reduced by a quarter. The fattening of animals in the summer is mainly carried out at the expense of fruits, vegetables and herbs. It is recommended to regularly release piglets for walks so that they do not sit in one place and do not swim with fat. If possible, they are released into the meadow so that they eat more green grass. It is necessary to drive the pigs into the barn only in the evening. You need to feed Vietnamese pigs in the summer twice a day - in the morning and in the evening.
Feed for slaughter
Many farmers raise animals for slaughter at home. In this case, everything must be done so that the reared piglets have a lot of meat. Therefore, it is necessary to add foods that contain a lot of protein to the diet. Experienced farmers advise using more concentrated feed and adding greens. You can also make your own piglet mix:
- Nutritional formula made with equal amounts of oats, peas and corn
- 40% wheat groats mixed with 60% oats;
- barley mixed with corn in a two to one ratio.
Maintenance and care
Vietnamese piglets are known for their unpretentious care. However, despite this, there are a number of points that must be taken into account when keeping such animals:
- High quality ventilation system in the barn. It is needed so that the pigs are not too hot in the summer.
- Concrete floor. Rooms where piglets are kept must have concrete floors. Thanks to this, they will not be able to dig the earth and destroy the floor covering.
- The presence of a place for walking. In spring and summer, animals should be allowed to walk. Therefore, there should be an area near the barn where the pigs could run around and, if necessary, nibble the green grass.
Conclusion
Some farming people want to breed Vietnamese pigs. However, before that, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of caring for them, as well as how to fatten them to get meat.
