Suggestions for improving pig efficiency

Here are some tips from the UK Pig Association to improve the efficiency of raising pigs on their domestic pig farms. Let us take a look at how they differ from our focus on pig production.

First, production

Record feed conversion efficiency at each stage of production to make better decisions in the process of investing (eg new pig houses, thinking systems or cleaning systems). These recorded information can help you determine which investments have the highest returns, which increases the efficiency of your investment.

Find out how many kilograms of pigs your production facility can produce, and try to get close to this best yield in production. How many litters are needed to reach this output. If the number of births is not enough, the low utilization caused by the space surplus will accompany a group of pigs until they are out.

Make sure the drinking water supply is adequate and clean. Check the water flow rate, the height of the drinker, and keep the drinker clean, especially the bowl drinker.

Timing control lighting - electricity is costly!

Send your staff to the BPEX Knowledge Exchange Training Class to learn.

Second, health

Use more vaccines. The price of live pigs is rising, and the cost of vaccines is fixed. The cost-effectiveness of immunization is high, and the damage caused by mortality is increasing.

A set of herd monitoring/recording procedures is used. If you don't know what the initial state of the farm is like, you can't measure any improvement.

Thoroughly clean all facilities, including windows, fans, air intakes, skylights, etc., to ensure that these facilities are functioning properly. This will ensure that the function of the entire pig house is well played.

Consider setting a goal under possible conditions and implementing a strategic medication - for the diseased animal, rather than aimlessly. This is best discussed with veterinarians and feed companies. This may require investing in a drinking water delivery system. However, strategic drinking water is usually more economical than feed administration.

Develop a comprehensive biosafety plan that covers all aspects of your production system and implements them. This can interrupt the underlying pathway of disease transmission through human or mechanical media. High health level = high efficiency.

Join the UK Housing Health Program.

Third, the feed

Increase the single-volume, preferably the whole truck truck (up to 27 tons) to order the feed. If you need a larger silo, you can consult your feed supplier and they will help you.

Discuss with veterinarians and feed companies to reduce the type of medicated feed.

Reduce feed waste in the farm - check the operation of silos, augers and hoppers. Check the trough to ensure that the material space is appropriate, the location is appropriate, and the type matches the pigs that are kept. The current average feed waste rate is 10 to 20%.

The investment uses a liquid feeding system with by-products as feed ingredients to reduce feed costs.

Also consider the effects of feed ingredients on pigs – for example, the proportion of rapeseed meal added, the effects of soy, peas, and lactose levels on piglets – and the effect of feed formula on feed intake. Gut health is very important for productivity.

Fourth, slaughtering

Achieve a thorough and accurate prediction of the number of heads.

For changes in the situation of the farm, such as the increase or decrease of the breeding herd, the slaughterhouse should be notified in time.

Try to ensure that the trucks delivered to the pigs are fully loaded and improve transportation efficiency. To achieve this, a batch delivery technique can be used to increase the number of pigs per batch.

Breed the pigs, try to meet the requirements of the slaughterhouse, and increase the proportion of the best. It is reasonable to set the grading rules for the slaughterhouse.

Live pigs are delivered on time, quality and quantity. This will greatly facilitate the slaughterhouse to develop production plans, thereby reducing the cost of slaughter.