Pigs 101 (A Start)

[kiwi kev]

Hi tj have u researched free range farming i have 16 sows that mainly free range with ac ess to shed 4 water and shadei tried the deep litter system not knocking it but it was a lot of work your place sounds ideal 4 free range as u have a lot of qtrees4 shade

[pigeonjake]

i would loove to try free range as thats how my friend farms in the uk,

there is 2 rai of teak right at the side of us that ive been after for years but they wont sell me,, yet,,

i might be in with a chance soon, i know its sad but the blokes wife is ill, and he may need money soon,

its right at the side of me, i would just have to take the fence down, buy some more stock fence, make that 2 rai into 4 paddocks with loads of shade under them teak trees, would be great,

ill get it one way or the other,,,lol,,

www.redhillfarm.com

this is my friends place in the uk,,

[tjhorner]

Hi tj have u researched free range farming i have 16 sows that mainly free range with ac ess to shed 4 water and shadei tried the deep litter system not knocking it but it was a lot of work your place sounds ideal 4 free range as u have a lot of qtrees4 shade

Kev, Thanks for the reply. Yes, Absolutely have looked into free ranging. I think free ranging on a rotational grazing system would be ideal. My only concern/worries besides the heat/sun, which I believe could be solved with a temporary/movable shade system, would be parasite issues. I believe I read something about free ranging pigs and parasite problems in the tropics.

Tell me why the deep litter system was a lot of work, from what I have read it should be easier than pigs on a slab or slats.

Do you do a rotational grazing system? Are you familiar with it? Please share some more info on your system please.

[pigeonjake]

ill put my 2 pence worth in on deep litter,

its the way we,ll be going in the future, i think its less work, says on water big time,

as we wash down twice a day in the concreate pens, thats a lot of water, yes we have a pond for most of the pens, but some we dont and this water goes into a dyk at the side of our land,

were as with deep litter its just a washdown and detol when finnished,

we just top the pens up with fresh straw when needed, same as my mum does in the uk with store cattle,

i think it also cuts down on the smell,

i loved the idea of putting corn into the deep litter on one of the links,

we feed a bit of corn here when they are nearly done, they love it, i can feed them there feed, they will eat, then here me getting the corn out the water, (i soak it for 24hours) and there up ready, they love it, i soak it in EM nd malasis,

but im going to try and just throw some in to get them rooting more, ill try anything once,

jake

[kiwi kev]

Hi tj am very familiar with rotational grazing done a lot of dairy farming in nz when the grass is growing i shift electric fence every second day so the pigs are strip grazing a given area they get there via a race and can go back for water or at feedig timeiwas worriedabout heat and sunburn but it hasnt been a problem now that the grass has stopped growing i will give the pigs set grazing with this system which is constantly getting modified as ive only been pig farming for 12 months i can rear a lot more pigs without the great big pigsty and associated effluent problems and smell whilst improving soil fertility the grower pigs have1 paddock and growth rates and feed conversio rates seem comparable with every one else the buyers like the pork it doesent have as much fat on it with the deep litter system i had moisture problems and sourcing hay and rice hulls

[tjhorner]

Hi tj am very familiar with rotational grazing done a lot of dairy farming in nz when the grass is growing i shift electric fence every second day so the pigs are strip grazing a given area they get there via a race and can go back for water or at feedig timeiwas worriedabout heat and sunburn but it hasnt been a problem now that the grass has stopped growing i will give the pigs set grazing with this system which is constantly getting modified as ive only been pig farming for 12 months i can rear a lot more pigs without the great big pigsty and associated effluent problems and smell whilst improving soil fertility the grower pigs have1 paddock and growth rates and feed conversio rates seem comparable with every one else the buyers like the pork it doesent have as much fat on it with the deep litter system i had moisture problems and sourcing hay and rice hulls

Sorry Kev if my earlier reply sounded condescending concerning rotational grazing. While I have experience crop farming and livestock rearing from the midwest USA, I have zero experience with neither deep litter systems nor rotational grazing.... let alone true natural farming. I truly appreciate you sharing your experiences here.

Good to hear that your FCR are similar to others in your area, and most importantly that your buyers like the end product!!!!

Do you use a dewormer or had any worm/parasite problems?

Questions concerning your paddocks... Is it native grasses? Do you plant anything special from time to time? I would think one could seed a good variety of legumes, sweet potatoes/tubers, and a variety of grasses. If managed correctly, one would think you could reduce your feed grain input without much impact on your weight gains. And in your case, create a higher quality end product (leaner hog).

For those out there that are interested in managed rotational grazing of hogs, here is a good website of a farm: http://thebarryfarm.com/tag/rotational-grazing-pigs/

[tjhorner]

i loved the idea of putting corn into the deep litter on one of the links,

we feed a bit of corn here when they are nearly done, they love it, i can feed them there feed, they will eat, then here me getting the corn out the water, (i soak it for 24hours) and there up ready, they love it, i soak it in EM nd malasis,

Jake, Here's a great video of a what you are talking about.

[kiwi kev]

Tj your reply was not condecending its basically native grasses have not had trouble with worms have tried brodcasting corn but results werent great broadcast pak bon grew well in the wet season and the pigs really liked it dont know if it has much nutrional value will try some brassica if i can find seeds or turnips

[thedoctor]

Sold my last 6 today

here 4 month and 6 days ,, 94kg,99kg,104kg,110kg,112kg,117kg

i bought 7 in this lot but one died and the 94kg one got sick, and it was a slow grower,

bht per kg,,, was 58bht that was the highest i was offerd

now i have no pigs and its cleaned out and disinfected dont know if ill start again in the near future

regards Mick

[revar]

our 100% lw got her second litter . 7girls and 3 boys of good size. no deadborn or mummies:-)

[thoongfoned]

wife was out visiting some friends (who have pig farms) and they were all moaning about loosing (deaths) a lot of piglets, one farm lost over ten percent last month, they would normally lose two - three percent... now that its "cold" here we are using a lot more heat lamps, so this will help for a cheap electric bill this coming month.... lol

got a grumpy second parity mum giving birth as I write, she is also lazy (push out her self) so its assist all the way me thinks with this one, got two other births penciled in for today. just finished unblocking the large soil pipe into the bio gas thingy, I get all the good jobs......

[revar]

finaly found csf vaccine. But al info.is in thai lol.

As I understand it u vaccinate at around 45 days old wirh a second shot after 4 weeks.

do you need to give sows new shots after a certain period? if so , when.? can you vaccinate when they are pregnant? do u use the same dosage as for a 45day old piglet? and last if u got some 80 to be sold soon, do they have a risk.of getting infected ifu vaccinte the others?

[thoongfoned]

hi, this is what the company does: when we get the gilt she will be all upto date with vaccines. SFV. FMV. PRV. ARV. these are indecated on the pigs card. the age of pig will be 8 months approx and 140kg approx. then all the adult pigs in the farm will be updated vaccine wise every 45 days ish. i do not let them vaccine any earlyer then 40 days at a time, from last vaccine, what ever it would have been.(pigs farm will all be 95 percent pregnant or with litter, all get done at the same time.......... after vaccine we do not shower the pigs for three days. dosage is set by the company and is the same for all of thailand, so have no idea here. thats all i know (sorry not alot) but these things are out of our control so i just go with the flo, try the people who sell you the vaccine.

[thoongfoned]

night time births I love em. trying to spot when a mum will be out during the night for the past couple of months now, not bad at telling now, just wish I could pin point the hour that I have to get up to start checking......... spent three and a half hours "helping" watching a sow last night, run the battery out on the lab top..... they were coming out steaming last night (sub 18c in the farm last night) still has been helping with the still born numbers and will help with born alive numbers for the next month or so while it is "cold" if the piglet was to go to the wrong side of the mum its body temp would fall very quickly........... got loads of heat lights on in the farm now, keeping all under 7 days old under lights and extra bedding ect to go the extra mile in keeping them warm, some at this age still all pile up on top of each other under 200 watts of heat in the night time to keep warm! even had the fixers (welders) make some extra lids for the boxes yesterday, got 40 mums with piglets as of now giving milk, and a few boxes with "weaned" piglets ready to go tomorrow if we weigh them today (I hope). the farrow area is full! not looking forward to the electric bill this month, what we have saved in the cooling of the day time we have lost in the heating for the piglets.........

[thoongfoned]

yes piglets to be weighed today, just got the call.............

[nutterz64]

Now have two piglets from the same litter with prolapsed rectums. Nothing we have had to deal with before. I have done some basic research and it appears that this is rare in lactating piglets but not unheard of. Apparently treatment is by way of pushing back in and retaining it with a purse string or mattress suture.... whatever they are. Looks like I have to Google some more and find out how to do this. If any of you have had this please let me know what did and did not work.

Cheers

[thoongfoned]

never seen this in piglets, how are old they?

had a mum that was due on the 2 jan that had this happen the other day, afew days later her intestines started coming out the other hole, off to the sauauge maker........ have seen adult pigs have this happen then in time it gets sucked back in, natural no strings ect.

good luck sounds like you have the right info already.

if you have some of that purple stuff (palm voilet) spray that on it could help the tissue, thats what i always do with the mums anyway.

[revar]

isolate the pig since others may bite it off and the pig will die.

if its small just push it back if it doesnt get sucked backed in.

this may take a dew hours.

If its big or keeps comming back u haeto make the anus smaller with a purse string suture. get the pig standing up and sew around the anus in a ring. when the two end meet. pull them together until.the whole is the size u want. knot enfds together. googe purse string suture as image.

I use the string removed from food bags.

[nutterz64]

Thanks Revar and TF. These are quite large at over 1 cm long. The piglets are only 18 days old. Off to the Ampur to buy a proper needle....

[Robert24]

Whats the going rate now for 100kg pigs where you guys live,

yesterday we were told its down to 56bht here near Roi-Et thats not CP or betagrow it market buyers

some call them Sharks"

where the best site to find the going rate,, iv tried 333, but it wont load on my computer

yasomoo.net looks like its closed down or gone to facebook

regards mike

Not sure if your question was answered but I look up the price on the following website:

http://www.thaiswine.org/สถต/Dashboardสถตสกรไทย/ราคาลกสกรขนและสกรมชวตรายสปดาหรายเดอน/tabid/291/Default.aspx

If you sell more than 100 pig at a time, bigger dealers pay you market rate as per this website.

but agree with the other comments, smaller local dealers take a huge margin from the market price which isn't fair in my opinion.

[chrisudon]

hi , I are farming in udon thani district and have 4 100% landrace pedigree boar piglets for sale, .breeding from betagrow sow and boar ponchanter stud ,,,,, offered for sale at 45 days old at 4,500b , or 6 months for 16,000b with all main shots done ,, PRRS,PARVO,SWINE FEVER,,,,please write to [email protected] if interested ,,, thankyou chirs

[trojanhorse]

Hi i am looking at buying pig feed from a mill preferably as the price in or near Surin is quite expensive any contacts would be appreciated.

Also on a note we were offered 50 baht per kilo at the end of Jan for our pigs, considering that the price was 80 baht per kilo in Sept last yr, any ideas why the price is so low?

[revar]

lol its not . they trying to scrxxx u. 63bath now for village pigs.farm pigs are higher

[nutterz64]

Trojanhorse, We got 58 baht at the end of December. Not sure what is on offer now but the thaiswine.org website is showing 66 baht for the Isaan area at the moment. Village market buyer yesterday gave us 65 baht for a single pig. He is not a regular wholesale buyer as he has his own pigs but has a shortage so occasionally buys off us. Ditto Revar's comments.

Price dropped in July/August as it traditionally does but the recovery has been slow. We are told that there are just too many pigs available at the moment.

cheers

Peter

[bazmlb]

The new supply contract with Russia should drive the price up a fair bit

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/784891-thailand-begins-exporting-pork-to-russia/

The Russian market reportedly demands pork equivalent to about 10 million pigs annually.

[IsaanAussie]

Nice thought but I think not. The contract requires a standard of slaughterhouse and all sorts of quality control. Big Players only. Plus for the last few years prices have been high and the industry has expanded producing a glut of pigs when the seasonal demand is low. The current Russian order is only for a few hundred pigs. Better to follow the trade between neighbouring countries under ASEAN liberalisation. Cross border trade is much higher.

[bazmlb]

Nice thought but I think not. The contract requires a standard of slaughterhouse and all sorts of quality control. Big Players only. Plus for the last few years prices have been high and the industry has expanded producing a glut of pigs when the seasonal demand is low. The current Russian order is only for a few hundred pigs. Better to follow the trade between neighbouring countries under ASEAN liberalisation. Cross border trade is much higher.

Big players only? if they start sending their pigs eslswhere who will fill that hole?

only a few hundred pigs - the open trade agreement states 10 million pigs annually.

[thoongfoned]

I can remember reading last year sept ish time that cpf were going into business in Russia in a very big way..... the big Dutchman were going to supply all the bits and pieces. high tech stuff.

the big two here cpf and betagro have been spreading their operation to the neighboring countries for some time now. cpf is by far the biggest in spreading its farms around to different counties.

[revar]

we got the luxury delivery room ;-)

[thoongfoned]

very quite on here so I will add my 2 cents worth......... year on year we have had better results in almost all areas, not a lot but at least the farm is not going backwards. ie more piglets born alive more piglets weaned better insemination percentages. this is based on my figures, waiting the "official" ones from the company, we always differ, only by a bit but still....... (less then 1 percent usually) still looking for improvement but this will always be the case.... still not close to the 30 weaned per mum per year but this is a big mile stone!

put some money back into the farm this year replacing old of very worn materials in and around the farm, trying to make the environment that little bit better.... the workers are still doing a good job and turning up each day, so it cannot be all that bad working in the farm.

always trying to find the perfect food formular for the mums, think I have it right or just get lazy then I see problems here and there that could be from toooo much or not enough, usually too much. at the mo happy with the condition of the piglets that are being born and the condition of the mums.

bonus time (money) for us and the workers this coming month feb, I know how much we have but still keep the crew guessing. get two bonus a year if the work is good, a very good incentive!

just flushed the gas pit through (gets blocked from time to time and then stops producing the bio gas that we run the tractors on) a lovely job that I wish I could farm out........ both aeration pits are almost full which is surprise because we have used very little water over the past month. just opened one of the dams so that the overflow can feed the freshly cut sugar cane.

had a better year last year to the one before? anyone else out there pay the farm tax to the local amper, its done on size of covered farm.