How to make compound feed for pigs with your own hands at home, composition and proportions
Piglet growers often face challenges in choosing the right feed. It is not necessary to buy it in stores, as you can make it yourself. However, before that, you need to familiarize yourself with how to make compound feed for pigs at home.
What can you make compound feed for pigs
Before preparing food for pigs yourself, you should familiarize yourself with the components that may be included in its composition. During the creation of compound feed, you can use the following ingredients:
- Cereals. They must be added to compound feed, as they contain a lot of carbohydrates. The maximum amount is found in corn grains, oats and barley.
- Oilcake or meal. They contain a lot of vegetable fat and proteins. Thanks to these components, the piglets will build muscle faster.
- Bran. They are added to saturate the feed with fiber. It is needed for the normal functioning of the intestines and the digestive tract.
- Fish and bone meal. Such components are added to the feed for saturation with animal protein. Flour is recommended to be mixed with milk waste or whey.
- Premixes. Rich in minerals and vitamins that piglets need to grow quickly, strengthen their immune system and build muscle.
Preparatory stage
Before you start preparing a combination feed, you need to carefully prepare. Particular attention should be paid to the parameters with which the diet is compiled. These include the following:
- Nutritional value. Food for adults and small pigs should be nutritious. It should contain fiber and protein, which will make the feed not only nutritious, but also useful.
- Mineral components. The feed mixture should be rich in elements such as S, P, Fe, Na.
- Grinding. Cereals in their usual form are poorly digested by animals and therefore need to be ground. There are coarse, medium and fine grinds. The crushed kernels should be given to young piglets. Large grains are suitable for adult animals.
- Granule diameter. Granulated feed is often added to nutritional mixes. Granules with a diameter of 10 millimeters are suitable for adult animals, and 5-7 millimeters for small ones.
How to make compound feed with your own hands?
The nutrition of adult pigs and small piglets is different and therefore it is necessary to figure out in advance how to make compound feed for them.
For piglets
Some people think that feeding piglets is necessary from birth, but this is not the case. In the first week of life, they should eat only breast milk. However, it must be said that it contains little copper and iron. Therefore, if necessary, animals are given special preparations.
After a week and a half, feed is gradually introduced into the diet of piglets. First, dry corn with corn kernels and pea flour is added. Then a mixture made from sunflower meal and alfalfa is added to the diet. Cooking proportions are one to two.
At the age of one and a half months, the pigs are given more cereals. However, before that, they are fried to make them tastier and smell good. Then gradually green grass and beets are added to the compound feed.
For adults
In adult pigs, adipose and muscle tissue is actively developing. Therefore, their daily diet should include components that contribute to the growth of these tissues. Piglets' feed should contain oats with barley, premix and mineral concentrate. You can also add more meat flour and milk waste to the feed. Instead of oats and barley, you can use corn or wheat grains.
It is very important to give piglets a daily ration of compound feed every day. They are given at least three kilograms of combined feed per day. However, if the animals are fattened for slaughter, the amount is increased to 4-5 kilograms.
Conclusion
Some farmers are engaged in the preparation of feed for piglets on their own. However, before doing it, you need to understand the features of feeding piglets.
