Pigs 101 (A Start)

[pigeonjake]

hi doc,

wow they are loosing some pigs round you, and at 40kg,

my wife has just sent me a batch of pics, ill post them tonite when i get back from work, there are the odd one with a mark i can see on the photo, but to me on the pics they look like the odd mozie bite, the thing is they rub them,then they become sores, what i do is just put the purple stuff onto them,

mac does worm reguler same i do when im there once a month ,

again sorry to here about your losses

jake

[ChiangMaiPigFarmer]

I just met with three vets from BKK. The master vet listened to your problem with the pigs:

If red spot look like bite and pig up around 35 kg when they get sick it is (sorry I cannot spell this correctly - sounds like - can ask you medication supply store)

sy-co-virus.

You need to vacinate your entire farm. This disease is very common in Thailand right now. It oftens comes with the new strain of PRRS from China.

Good luck,\.

[jompa67]

http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/813/pork-health-fact-sheet-circovirus-infection-in-swine

[pigeonjake]

hi boys this is a pic my wife mac has just sent me,

these pigs are just over 2 months old, if you look at the pig nearest the camera it has a mark on it, looks like a mozie bite, mac will be putting purple stuff on it,,

ive told her to put some of them mozie things you light in the ally ways, thats keeps the mozies out a little,

but ive found its just a case of keeping your eyes open and any with bites purple stuff out else they rub themselfs, make it bleed then youll find the other pigs are licking the sore so it dosnt heal,

but again im sorry this is only my thoughts,

jake

[pigeonjake]

and these are 2 females mac has picked out to have a go at breading again,,lol,

she said have big ass darling and grow very quick,,lol

bless her shes brillient

jake

[BurriAussie]

Hi fellow farmers

To prevent the mosquito and fly problems on our farm we installed a fall roof to wall screen which has proven well in the breeding shed.

The other buildings have roll up/down screens which work well but must make sure they are down by 5pm.

Works for us.

Burri

[MrChangers]

Well boys I had a cracking result from the last lot of pigs, all fed on non-manufactured food, only locally obtained items. The pig manure did not smell due to what they ate and they gained weight, not as quick but not far off. My feed costs were a large percentage less than had I fed them on manufactured food, all in all a good result.

I sold in bulk to a very nice gentleman who has bought from me before and put the money in the bank. Mrs Changers wants to have a break from the pigs for a while as she has other projects to look after. It does seem a bit strange when I glimpse into the pig pens and see what she is doing these days, but had it not been for the pigs she would not have her new projects.

I never say never but I think the days of pig farming are over, like Issan Aussie, I miss the grunting noises and scampering over to "Dad" when I walked in, time and tide wait for no man, neither does Mrs Changers.

Best wishes all,

Changers xx

[IsaanAussie]

Dont write me off yet. Just maybe one day ..... A Change(rs) good as a holiday.

[COXYATCITY]

my pakchong boar dropped dead a few days ago.this is the second boar this year.my wife phoned Surin techno.which is about 50k,s away to asked what it might have died of, he said probably,perts or something spelt like that.,which is a bacteria that .he had also lost a boar the day previous day.well i suppose that,s farming :-(

[ChiangMaiPigFarmer]

They were telling you that you most likely had PRRS

You need to vaccinate you entire swine herd immediately or face major loss of your herd.

If you cannot find vaccine contact BACO - contact information posted on www.BioTechAgriBusiness.com

[IsaanAussie]

Coxy,

I would stress CMPF's advice should be listened to and the word immediately is not soon enough. Since you have a breeding herd, if you have PRRS it will be a long process to get rid of it without losing the lot. Start studying the subject if you haven't already as there is a lot to learn on how to control the virus past the vaccinations.

Good luck mate...

[MrChangers]

Dont write me off yet. Just maybe one day ..... A Change(rs) good as a holiday.

I did mention "Never say never"

[revar]

Take prrs very serious. I just lost 100+ fattening pigs and piglets to it, resulting in a 200k loss!

The last 4 piglets are leaving tomorrow to someone who has no pigs to infect. Then it's cleaning and disinfecting time. In January the first 4 90kg sows will arrive and we will start our own herd. 2 more each month after the first piglets are born. No more outside pigs. And a closed farm with mandatory shower and visitors have to wear our boots.

Off course starting over like this also means no income for about a year. (2 -3 months for the sows to reach 120kg, pregnancy time, 5 months to raise pigs. As I said. Take it serious.

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[RedBullHorn]

PRRS...Don't Play Play...It will cost you...STRESS !

[revar]

RBH are catfish safer? Water quality, poisoning from leaching, etc. Maybe the investment is less. But not on your scale. And I just love these. Pigs. But it's no game. I made a nice profit in a few years and set some aside because I knew that prrs would happen sooner or later if you raise pigs in Thailand. Wish it would have been later.

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[pigeonjake]

novembers batch. my wife mac has just been and got,

looking good

[thedoctor]

disaster here also,

yeserday i went to do the cleaning at 7am, we have 43 at the moment different stages

the thai wife is away for a few days working,

i messed around doing some extra things them went home,about 300 meters down the track

got a shower took the bike into town for my dinner food,

picked up some pawpaw plants and then back home,

had a cupper and a rest, 3.30 went back to clean again and feed, i usualy stay until about 5.30

walked into the pig sty building ,,

i saw one pen open, the bolt was back the tractor pin that holds the bolt was on the wall,

i also wire the tractor pin so it cant come undone without pliers

7 pigs gone,,, i was about to sell them after the 1st december on my records,, about 85-90 kg x7

so im looking at about 40,000 gone iv just done my bookwork and they cost me 34,000 +

plus 4 months of work for some thieving thai to walk in cut the bolts and take

they must have been waiting for me to leave, i could see the tire marks where the truck parked in the sand

no crate marks and no scale marks on the floor only pig shit so they must have a closed in truck

i have 20 more about 70 kgs cross my fingers

but i think with all the trouble iv had before it will be the last batches that i feed,,

i just cant spend 40,000 to feed the locals, i hate the lot of them

not much else to say

[pigeonjake]

sorry to here about your loss doctor,,

they must of also known your wife was away, so i wouldnt be supprised if it wasnt someone close to you,

touch wood,(british saying) we have never had any trouble, and we have been away on holiday for a few days with mama taking care of the farm,

im not there at the moment,

but a long time ago, i told my wife to get the local gossip to come to our house, and we had a work around our place,

i had put fishing hooks on line in some trees were i thought someone hd been through to help themselfs to some fish,

then showed her some planks of wood with nails knocked through it hidden in the grass just in case someone steped over our fence,

i took them up once she had gone home, but it soon got round our village, and im sure they still think i do things like that,,lol

and believe me i would if i new someone was steeling from me,

sorry again

jake

[COXYATCITY]

They were telling you that you most likely had PRRS

You need to vaccinate you entire swine herd immediately or face major loss of your herd.

If you cannot find vaccine contact BACO - contact information posted on www.BioTechAgriBusiness.com

thanks for the advice CMPF,but they (surin techno) are saying its not PRRS,or i would have lost a lot more.than the boar,.but you have opened my eyes (the wife)and will start to work on a vaccination programme,as soon as i can ,looks like i will have to build new pens to do this,and cash is very short. thanks again

Ian

[thedoctor]

Revar

Oh 100 gone ,, sorry to hear of your loss,,

and here's me thinking my 7 stolen pigs are a worry,,

Best of luck with your future in pigs..

mike,

[RedBullHorn]

RBH are catfish safer? Water quality, poisoning from leaching, etc. Maybe the investment is less. But not on your scale. And I just love these. Pigs. But it's no game. I made a nice profit in a few years and set some aside because I knew that prrs would happen sooner or later if you raise pigs in Thailand. Wish it would have been later.

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Revar, catfishes are easier to manage but safety level are just like pigs. A lot of things to watch out for to prevent disease outbreak.

In piggery, bio-safety is rule of thumb. In fishery, water quality comes first then stocking rate is second.

Investment wise, under optimate circumstances... rearing pigs can be on par with catfishes farming and Return Of Investment are more or less the same.

It cost about ฿70'000 to rear 10'000 catfishes with a profit of ฿25'000 (per cycle) under the care of a pro farmer.

It cost about ฿5'500 for a piglet + feed. 13 pigs will cost about ฿70'000 too. Profit margin is around ฿2'000/per pig with average weight of 105kg,13 pigs work out to be around ฿26'000. This too under the care of a loving farmer.

(based on peak price at week 37th 2013, contract farms are getting ฿72-74/kg, price announced was ฿77/kg)

The main different is that farmgate prices of catfishes for contract farms only fluctuate between ฿1-2 per season under normal demand and supply. Pigs farmgate prices are too volatile, a fluctuation within a ฿20 gap makes it too risky a business for me to sustain considerably.

[pigeonjake]

you have to agree with RBH as he has done both fish and pigs,

this is why when i do retire i would like to sell our own pork, have them sloughterd ourselfs and sell,

might be hard, but i think would optimise the profits,

what im going to be looking at anyway, even if only a couple per week, while we are making a name for ourselfs, word would soon get round about good pork for sale,

sorry another pic my wife has just sent me, she send me pics a couple of times a week as she knows i miss home,,lol,

all the last lot of pigs together, she got them on monday, but they soon settle in, all together contented little pigs,

jake

[RedBullHorn]

Revar

Oh 100 gone ,, sorry to hear of your loss,,

and here's me thinking my 7 stolen pigs are a worry,,

Best of luck with your future in pigs..

mike,

Hi Mike and revar, sorry to hear about your losses...To me, even the lost of 1 pig is devastating.

The time and care we put in.... Every pig counts ! May it be 7 or hundred.

It's a sad day...

[BurriAussie]

Would like to hear from anyone supplying good proven feed for pigs, would like to support expat in the business and reduce our overheads. Win Win.

I have reduced the piglet buying price to breeding our own but feed cost's is where I need to reduce more.

Thanks

Burri.

[ChiangMaiPigFarmer]

Burrri, you ask a hard question about feed. There probably is no one good answer. For each alternative you try there will be a trade off. Attempt to look at the pro and con of each alternative AND watch your pigs as their bodies will tell you what is best.

We have tried it all. Totally mixing our own to all commercial with every variable step in between. One of the biggest concerns is teaching, and reteaching, the staff to follow formulas. Once they get use to something it is hard to change.

Several years ago we went from the big company commercial feed to a local owned mill providing feed to many of the local farms. The price was right and the service was good. Then one day I noticed in my per-methane gas plant process that there was a lot of feed stuff just passing directly through the pigs. That made me stop and really look hard at the herd. Seeing pigs every day makes it hard to see changes in the pigs but by purposely stepping back and taking a hard evaluation look I could see they were NOT good looking sows any longer. From under weight to bad body conditions to skin problems along with poorer farrowing, all of the signs were there.

I immediately went back to commercial feed and the herd improved dramatically but the drop in income was even more dramatic. The only one making any money was the feed suppliers and the staff.

I then stepped back and again evaluated what is the best and that brings us to the current process on our farm.

I purchase only 12% protein feed. I then go to a company (RPM in Hang Dong, just south of Chiang Mai) and purchase 46% soy bean protein. I feed the commercial feed and add protein as needed for each area of pig development (boar, gilt, pregnant and farrowed all get their own protein additive). The piglet still get only commercial (and expensive) feed.

This has brought our costs down and performance back up.

Sorry that I could not give you a direct answer. Also be aware that mixing your own feed may result in a much lower price that you will get when selling your piglets and finished pigs.

You need to weigh all aspects and then, well I guess then you just need to pray!

Good luck,

Randy

[BurriAussie]

CMPF,Thanks for the reply and your advise is noted well, always thought the only boy's making real money is feed suppliers.

For the first 18mths buying piglets and getting them to 90-100kg was just proving to be money out the door bar having something to do and not covering any infrastructure costs, 1000 baht profit per pig if your lucky

I will talk with the wife and see how she feels about your suggestion as her reply is always we need to feed the best for quick turnover, which on commercial feed is 4mths.

Thanks again.

Burri.

[ChiangMaiPigFarmer]

There are two thoughts on "quick turnover":

Slower takes longer but costs less (less expensive feed)

Faster is shorter but costs more (more expensive feed)

The difference is known when you calculate your net profit and think about time investment.

[MrChangers]

Gentlemen,

reading the grim news of deaths and thefts is another reason I quit while I was ahead. My numbers were small compared to most so a loss would have hit my profit hard but research paid off in the feed department. Ask the older Thais how they used to do it, research a bit more on line or library, read the the labels on the pig feed (OK so you need to learn Thai, not rocket science!), do the ground work and you can get results. As I mentioned my pigs manure did not smell, nature has some wonderful things lying around in this country, I only scratched the surface.

Keep the faith people!

Changers

[revar]

My thoughts on losses in farming due to sickness, theft and droughts. In any type of business you have good and bad years. In a good year set some money aside to cover losses from a bad one. Especially in thailand. If you raise pigs you Will get to deal with PRRS and Hugely fluctuating prices. If you are into fish you will. Get problems with water quality. If you farm crops there are droughts or flooding and insect or mice. You try minimize the risk and postpone the disaster. And learn from it. Theft is an issue in any society and business. Best way to deal with it is to sleep on the location. Dogs help but they are easy to poison. When we are away we get a trusted family member to sleep at the we farm and another at our village house.

If you don't want to deal with these things work for a monthly wage for a boss.

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[BurriAussie]

Gentlemen,

reading the grim news of deaths and thefts is another reason I quit while I was ahead. My numbers were small compared to most so a loss would have hit my profit hard but research paid off in the feed department. Ask the older Thais how they used to do it, research a bit more on line or library, read the the labels on the pig feed (OK so you need to learn Thai, not rocket science!), do the ground work and you can get results. As I mentioned my pigs manure did not smell, nature has some wonderful things lying around in this country, I only scratched the surface.

Keep the faith people!

Changers

Firstly Rever sorry about the stock loss

Mr Changers reading all this is not bad but good information to be taken and used for the better.

After IA spoke about the need for fast action on PRRS, I asked my wife what does she know about it......nothing as I do, so lots to do and learn.

While most have nothing to do while they wait for the harvest season or plant...hence they all gamble and say no more.....answer for me was to employ the brother in law,who lives on the farm direct."his loss is my loss not to be shared"5555

Agree the old hands know but some times the young buck finds a better way for all.

PS . my shit stinks

So was hoping someone has already passed the baby steps and believes in the fish feed for pigs program.