How and what to feed monthly piglets at home
Under normal conditions, the pig itself is able to feed its children. But this only happens if the sow has enough milk. If it is not enough, the question automatically pops up, how to feed monthly piglets.
How to feed monthly piglets
To understand what kind of diet should be, you need to study the needs of a month-old pig, because at different ages, pigs should receive different amounts of certain vitamins and minerals.
Feed requirements for suckling pigs
A piglet, which is one month old, easily digests absolutely all vitamins and minerals. Fiber is not suitable for feeding small pigs: their body is simply not able to assimilate it. Feeding of suckling pigs per month should be carried out in accordance with a strict selection of the diet. What the pig eats depends on its health and weight gain.
Feed for a month old pig should be:
- High Quality;
- nutritious;
- easy to digest.
If you feed the animals with food that meets these requirements, the babies will actively gain weight. You should not feed the animals, otherwise they will have problems with the gastrointestinal tract. There is a special table in which the norm is prescribed for both a month-old piglet and a two-month-old.
At home, you should also follow these rules, because if the food is poorly digested, the pigs will begin to have problems not only with the gastrointestinal tract, but also with the rest of the organs.
Feed for suckling pigs
The piglet's diet should mainly consist of milk. But during this period, giving only milk is not enough. From day 20, you can begin to introduce potatoes, cereals with milk into the diet. You can also give a mixture of cereals. For this age, it is better to observe the following ratio:
- barley - 46%;
- oats - 30%;
- peas - 5%;
- sunflower meal - 9%;
- fish meal - 6%;
- special feed yeast - 3%;
- chalk - 0.8%;
- salt - 0.2%.
Such a mixture will fill the pig's body with all the necessary vitamins and microelements. You can also introduce greens into the diet at this age. Legumes are especially suitable for babies.
For feeding at home, you need to choose the right menu. You can purchase products that contain all the necessary substances, or you can add them to the feed yourself.
Dry food
Dry feeding is suitable for those who do not want to overwork. It consists of compound feed, bran, hay shavings and cake. Piglets can be given such food from the age of one month. This product is most often used for feeding babies. If you feed your pigs with this kind of food, they will never have stomach problems.
Dry food can be purchased from manufacturing enterprises or in specialized stores. For piglets of the first month of life, they have all the necessary nutrients.If a decision is made to prepare such food for babies at home, it is worth adding a premix to it. It is also necessary to add yeast, bone meal and other beneficial substances to the mixture. The norm of this mixture for a piglet is indicated on the package.
Bio feed
This food includes all the nutrients needed by a pig in the first month of life. It includes greens, which are loved by animals of all ages. Also in the bio feed there is a set of vitamins and microelements necessary for babies.
Piglets can be given both industrial organic feed and home-cooked. To prepare it yourself, you need to mix herbs, fruits, vegetables and premixes. For gilts in the first month of life, it is very important to give it according to the rules.
Feed additives
Feed additives are the mainstay of the diet for pigs of all ages. They are especially important for piglets in the first month of life and in fattening cases. Most often, such supplements are made by the farmer on their own at home. First you need to take different protein products, it can be milk, meat, fish and more.
Also, minerals should be included in the mixture for piglets. It can be salt, chalk, shells from eggs, and more. Such substances allow you to saturate the body of the pig of the first month of life with phosphorus, calcium and others. A month-old animal eats such food with pleasure.
Prohibited feed
Suckling pigs should be fed correctly. In order not to harm the kids, you need to know what kind of food you shouldn't give, because there are foods that can cause not just poisoning, but a serious illness. The first thing that can not be given to pigs a month is rotten and frozen foods. In the official video from farmers, you can see how a piglet loses weight and dies in three days from E. coli. It is necessary to monitor how and what the baby eats, otherwise there is a great risk that the piglet will get sick.
There are also plants that are poisonous for piglets. Among them are spurge and buttercup. These herbs can kill babies. In order not to harm the animal, it is advisable to process all feed. This will remove all harmful substances, if any.
You can not give a month-old piglet green potatoes and sprouted. Also, water from potatoes should not be included in the diet. Beets can also be dangerous for pigs, but this is only if they are overcooked.
Daily feed rate
There is a certain norm of vitamins and micro-minerals that a month-old piglet should receive per day. At home, the norm for 1 kg is as follows:
- calcium - 7 g;
- phosphorus - 6 g;
- salt - 6 g.
To saturate the body of a month-old piglet with all the necessary vitamins, you can use oats, peas, corn and other natural feed for feeding. How much of these supplements to give depends on what else is included in the baby's diet.
Animals of this age often suffer from anemia, so they need to be fed clearly according to the scheme. If you follow it, then there will be no problem with the piglet. Also, to prevent anemia, it is necessary to add a solution of ferrous sulfate to the water.
Pig fattening for meat
Fattening should be done with foods that include protein, carbohydrates and fats. You also need to feed piglets with food rich in vitamins and minerals. Protein is found in legumes and grains. It allows babies to quickly get used to adult food.
Carbohydrates are used in the diet to give babies energy. That is why it is necessary to use green feed with the addition of root crops for fattening. Only in this way will the pig get the required amount of carbohydrates. All other vitamins can be obtained by an animal with the help of various supplements. They need to be fed clearly according to the scheme so as not to lead to problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
In order to establish the metabolism of monthly piglets, it is necessary to introduce amylosubtilin GZH into their diet: it will not only improve the functioning of the whole organism, but also quickly gain weight.Also, thanks to him, the meat is very tasty and healthy. If babies do not eat well, they should be given sodium gluconate. With its help, a good appetite is developed.
Piglet feeding tips
Potatoes in a piglet's diet should not be raw. If it is decided to give this vegetable to the kids, it must be boiled well and heated. The water in which the potatoes were boiled should not be used for this, because it contains poisonous substances.
Only carrots, beets and melons can be given raw. If it is decided to cook them, the remaining water can be safely given to the piglets: it contains a lot of useful substances that play an important role in the development of pigs of any age.
You can feed animals with hay only after pretreatment. To do this, you need to take hay and steam it. Grains should be grinded by babies, because their stomachs are not yet ready to digest the whole product. It is also worth remembering the list of plants that are poisonous for piglets. The slightest dose can lead to the death of pigs.
How many times a day to feed piglets
Little guinea pigs should not only eat 2 meals a day. For normal development and growth, piglets need to eat about 6 times a day: this is the only way babies can quickly gain the necessary weight and at the same time receive all the vitamins and minerals.
Over time, the amount of feeding should be reduced to 2 times a day, but not before reaching the age of 4 months. In addition to food, babies must be given water, so you should constantly make sure that they have it.
Conclusion
It is necessary to feed monthly piglets in accordance with all the rules, because in order for them to quickly gain weight and develop normally, they need to receive all the necessary vitamins. To do this, you can use special food or prepare mixtures at home.
Large farms prefer to purchase feed. Those who keep several piglets at home most often prepare special mixtures themselves. Both options are great for the normal development of monthly guinea pigs.