There are some basic factors that one must consider when running a pig farming business which will in return make his/her pig farming business successful.

Here on this article, we are going to be regarding those factors as the basic pillars of a successful pig business.

Some of these factors include the following:

Genetics
Feed
Management.
Now let us discuss about them one after the other below:

1. Genetics
This plays a vital role in commercial pig production and once it goes astray then the farmer’s profits and income suffer.

A pig farmer no matter how good can’t do more than the animal’s genetic potential for production. Improvements in production can be achieved only by selecting from those breeds that can be manipulated through breeding and management to tap their optimal potential for improvement. There are very many breeds of pigs but am going to mention those having significant influence on market generally.

Breeds can be basically classified into two major groups; we have maternal and paternal breeds.

Maternal breeds: are well known for their good mothering ability, fertility, large litter size and include Yorkshire aka large white, Landrace whereas

Paternal breeds: They have good carcass quality x- tics, high growth rate, good muscling ability among others and include Duroc, Hampshire, Berkshire, spotted etc.

The choice made by farmers for those breeds primarily depends on the pig enterprise that he or she intends to venture in; breeding vs fattening.

Unfortunately, most farmers start as breeders and ends up fattening due to their poor planning in addition to rearing poor quality pigs.

2. Feed
This is a single item on budget that accounts for the largest percentage of the total cost of production that’s 60-70% and if not managed well, it can even go up to 80%. Therefore, correct feeding should be practiced. Different stages of pigs require different quality and quantity of feeds.

Pig feeds/ ration include creep feed, Weaner feed, Grower feed, Sow and Weaner feed, lactation feeds, Fattener feeds etc. For example, during flushing period, sows should be given feed rich in energy and low in protein. This is done to increase on the ovulation rates which in turn increase the litter size.

Note: Adding 200g of glucose to Sow’s feed daily between weaning until services increase the litter size keeping factors contact.

3. Management
This is also Paramount for the successful pig business. Farmers should take care of their pigs before they should expect a lot from them and management entails a lot including daily cleaning of their houses, proper feeding and watering, disease control and prevention to mention a few.


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