eazeefix:
90kg is textbook standard in more developed countries where supporting infrastructure are on ground yes and fine but here your can breed @45-60kg becos the gilt will still be growing during pregnancy. I bred some gilts at 80kg and got nice results no farrowing issues but had to police them to avoid crushing of the piglets.

@Eazeefix. Thanks alot

lagbaja: I am into pig farming. Pig farming is one of the most lucrative arms of animal farming. Pigs are highly prolific, giving birth to an average of 10 piglets per farrow. Typically a pig farrows 2.5 times in a year. So in a year, a pig can give birth to about 25 piglets.

The biggest variable cost component in pig farming is feed cost. It accounts for about 70h% of the total cost. Your ability to source your feed in a manner that is most cost effective is your success determinant. Typically, pigs have FCR in the range between 2 and 4 depending on the breed and on the feed formulation. FCR means feed conversion ratio. It is a measure of how much kg of feed an animal will eat to produce 1kg of live weight.

This the is formula I adopt for my pigs

60% of cassava ( I buy them Fresh, break them into chips, dry and store them)
30% pkc
6% blood meal
2.5%. Oyster shell/bone meal/ lime stone
0.25% lysine
0.25% methionine
0.5% salt
0.25% premix
0.25% bakers Yeast ( probiotic)

The above feed formulation will cost you about N30 per kilo. 1kg of live pig is sold for between N280 and N300. If your pig consumes 3kg of feed to give 1 kg of meat, It means that it will cost you N90 to produce 1kg of live weight. Therefore you make a gross margin of N300 - N90= N210.

The other component of pig farming that is capital intensive is their housing. Pig housing has to be properly planed according to the number of pigs you intend to grow. You need to decide whether you want to do batch or continuos pig production.

The biggest pig farm in west Africa is at oke aro , Agege. Another one is at Gberigbe Ikorodu. Accomodation costs at this locations are very high. I will advice you to site your pig pen close to where you can get cheap land and source raw materials at low price. Eg cassava plantations.

Technology application will greatly hep you in your pig farming. Fr example using, pig ni.ppl.es (see picture below) will ensure that you deliver constant and clean water to your pigs , it will also reduce labor requirements. You also need to construct a manure allay within your pig house so that when they poo poo, you can flush it away via the manure allay ( the manure allay is like a gutter).

Love this formular Lagbaja but will like to ask if cassava peels can replace whole cassava? Those worried about piglets, weaners and growers i think it work if the lysine , meth levels are ajusted. Fortification with enzymes will make it more digestible.
Lets keep this thread alive. Ogas are too silent o!

Can u poat a picture of a true farrowing crate for we who are nt engineers. I lost 3 piglets last month to this issue.

Here are some Farrowing and Gestation crates i have constructed and presently enjoying.
It's not advisable for you to attempt to construct or use a farrowing crate without proper formal training. Misuse of crates can lead to either: Loss of piglets, Dead sow, Sow Lameness, Crippled piglets.
Even if you import or construct a good crate you need to be trained on how to utilize it!!!

Proper training and well designed crates will give you zero mortality, Early weaning of piglets, increased piglet weight, reduced diarrhea.

I have Farrowing crates for sale, they come with Galvanized steel Feeder and Drinker at a cost of 30,000 Naira per crate.
I can also train you on how to construct and utilize safely on your own. Give me a call or email: femu_2001@yahoo.com

http://no1pigfan./2014/07/18/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-farrowing-crates/

Where can I buy very small piglets (less than 4kg) regularly to use for feeding a dog? About how much would they cost (per kg)? Tnx!

Seun: Where can I buy very small piglets (less than 4kg) regularly to use for feeding a dog? About how much would they cost (per kg)? Tnx!

Per kg of pig is just #700 in. But it is very hard to see that size for sale at a cheaper price.

Seun: Where can I buy very small piglets (less than 4kg) regularly to use for feeding a dog? About how much would they cost (per kg)? Tnx!

That size will cost you 3500 naira per piglet.
A lot of pig farms are in Ota axis which you can access. Some might not be pleased you will be feeding it to a dog.

Seun: Where can I buy very small piglets (less than 4kg) regularly to use for feeding a dog? About how much would they cost (per kg)? Tnx!

..
But mine u, pork contains lots of fat. A fat dog is more likely to develop health problems. So dont feed regularly.

To all the ogas in the house,good jobs. Poultry birds have feed ration at every stage in other to avoid overfeeding or underfeeding and to avoid wastages. Do pigs have feed rations maybe based on weight, size or age? Can you help out with same?

TOLUWAYEMI: To all the ogas in the house,good jobs. Poultry birds have feed ration at every stage in other to avoid overfeeding or underfeeding and to avoid wastages. Do pigs have feed rations maybe based on weight, size or age? Can you help out with same?

Yes pigs have fixed feed rations based on their age/weight.....In Nigeria we use a lot of wet and unconventional feeds which makes it tricky to calculate.
from 20-50kg you can feed 1.85kg of dry feed per day.

FarmTech:
..
But mine u, pork contains lots of fat. A fat dog is more likely to develop health problems. So dont feed regularly.

You statements aren't true sir. Firstly you don't generalise that pork contains lots fat. That statement is false and is anti pig farming becos some people who have never eaten pork nor seen pork believe it is fatty. A well fed pig pls mind the word 'well fed' contains lean (non fatty) meat. Well fed meaning nutritionally balanced not junk. Soon we i hope we would examine the art of feeding for lean meat or carcass.
Secondly you implied fat is bad for dogs that it will make them fat, which is totally false too. I own and breed dogs on my farm I parboil dead piglets and pigs for my dogs to eat no issues at all. On the issue of fatness a dog is built to burn fatty food efficiently especially if it is an active and working dog not chained or locked up all day. An overfed dog locked up all day will become obese and suffer lots of health issues fatty food or not.
@Seun you have cheaper sources of meat maybe when we grow into serious pork processing we can generate lots of edible waste for dogs and other meat eating animals.
For those who can read between the lines, I have mentioned 2 possible topics for deliberation on this thread namely proper feeding for lean carcass and next level of pork processing.
Let's get talking.

^^^ Yea, I have been longing to ask this question, please what's the feed formula for producing lean quality pork? I am looking forward for response from the Ogas in the house. Thanks!

some breeds produce less fat.
trying to feed to achieve less fat might increase production costs. probably less feed, less pkc, more fibre, increased market age might reduce fat

Genetics, balanced feed and responsible use of feed additives can help achieve lean carcass my first attempt at sale some of my pigs were fatty. I was then advised to add salt to their feed. Still researching the possibility of choline chloride as a fat burner as applied for poultry. Will post some formulae that are said to produce lean meat.

eazeefix: Genetics, balanced feed and responsible use of feed additives can help achieve lean carcass my first attempt at sale some of my pigs were fatty. I was then advised to add salt to their feed. Still researching the possibility of choline chloride as a fat burner as applied for poultry. Will post some formulae that are said to produce lean meat.

Your research will go a long way in enhancing the market value of our pigs. I recall a forum organised by Koidijs Feeds last year where Meat Mart and other end user of pork expressed their willingness to buy for as much as 600naira. Lean meat will put a stop to importation of pork. Let's look seriously into this please

eazeefix:
You statements aren't true sir. Firstly you don't generalise that pork contains lots fat. That statement is false and is anti pig farming becos some people who have never eaten pork nor seen pork believe it is fatty. A well fed pig pls mind the word 'well fed' contains lean (non fatty) meat. Well fed meaning nutritionally balanced not junk. Soon we i hope we would examine the art of feeding for lean meat or carcass.
Secondly you implied fat is bad for dogs that it will make them fat, which is totally false too. I own and breed dogs on my farm I parboil dead piglets and pigs for my dogs to eat no issues at all. On the issue of fatness a dog is built to burn fatty food efficiently especially if it is an active and working dog not chained or locked up all day. An overfed dog locked up all day will become obese and suffer lots of health issues fatty food or not.
@Seun you have cheaper sources of meat maybe when we grow into serious pork processing we can generate lots of edible waste for dogs and other meat eating animals.
For those who can read between the lines, I have mentioned 2 possible topics for deliberation on this thread namely proper feeding for lean carcass and next level of pork processing.
Let's get talking.

..
I dont know much about pig rearing, but I know that pig meat contains lots of fat. Fat is very high in calorie. Feeding dogs excess calorie leads to obeisity, and obeisity leads to a lot of health problems in dogs.
..
U talked about a well-fed pig, but i dont think that most pigs in nigeria are well fed. Hw many pig farmers buy commercial feed for their pigs? They prefer to use byproducts.
..
I dont know about the fat content of piglets. If it doesnt contain much calorie, then it's ok. The lower the calorie, the more u can safely feed.

eazeefix: Genetics, balanced feed and responsible use of feed additives can help achieve lean carcass my first attempt at sale some of my pigs were fatty. I was then advised to add salt to their feed. Still researching the possibility of choline chloride as a fat burner as applied for poultry. Will post some formulae that are said to produce lean meat.

An easy way out of this is to target sales at 60 to 65kg size. At this stage. Lean meat is more guaranteed.

ops: @ Henry. Lol. Relax, hormeiza was just protecting himself against another data loss.
On the issue of feeding, an alternative to the use of dry cassava (peels or whole) is the use of spent grain or brewery waste. You can use it as a replacement to cassava in roughly the same ratio as specified above by lagbaja.

Using spent grain or brewery waste as alternative to Maize/cassava as postulaated by Lagbaja,do you get same result? Also, seeing that spent grains comes in wet,do you use the soaked weight of PKC or dry? With other condiments stirred in? Is using vegetables like waterleaf and waste like cassava peels,and plantain peels of any nutritional advantage?

TOLUWAYEMI:
Using spent grain or brewery waste as alternative to Maize/cassava as postulaated by Lagbaja,do you get same result? Also, seeing that spent grains comes in wet,do you use the soaked weight of PKC or dry? With other condiments stirred in? Is using vegetables like waterleaf and waste like cassava peels,and plantain peels of any nutritional advantage?

Spent grain is more of a protein source than an energy source (they contain between 20 and 24% crude protein in the dry state). Remember that the carbohydrate (energy) content of the grain is what brewers used for making their beer.

Use the dry weight of pkc for your feed formulation. Be careful with fibrous leaves like plantain leaves and peels, they are high in cellulose content and therefore are not very ideal for mono gastric animals like pigs.

Here is a sample formulation containing brewers' spent grain

excelsiorfarm: i know of inbreeding, if they are quality stock? other farms will come to u to service their females(u get paid for such services).

not a good practice, they can bring swine fever to your farm. Never borrow or lend out your boar!!!

femu:
not a good practice, they can bring swine fever to your farm. Never borrow or lend out your boar!!!

Not a good practice at all, I agree with femu on this. Rather you go for artificial insemination. It's a new concept here. I know a farm that already has it as a service.

lagbaja:

Not a good practice at all, I agree with femu on this. Rather you go for artificial insemination. It's a new concept here. I know a farm that already has it as a service.

Good idea! kindly provide their contact and cost of the service, do they sell the sperm or inseminate for you?

FarmTech:
..
I dont know much about pig rearing, but I know that pig meat contains lots of fat. Fat is very high in calorie. Feeding dogs excess calorie leads to obeisity, and obeisity leads to a lot of health problems in dogs.
..
U talked about a well-fed pig, but i dont think that most pigs in nigeria are well fed. Hw many pig farmers buy commercial feed for their pigs? They prefer to use byproducts.
..
I dont know about the fat content of piglets. If it doesnt contain much calorie, then it's ok. The lower the calorie, the more u can safely feed.

Farm tech assumption is the lowest form of knowledge, I farm pigs and raise dogs feeding high calorie diet to a dog isn't bad and doesn't cause obesity if the quantity fed is balanced or compensated with the nutrient density , what this means is that you can feed a large quantity of a dilute feed(rich in fibre) animal is satisfied but not getting sufficient nutrients or a nutrient dense diet with smaller quantity requirements and smaller poo too. Obesity is caused by consuming more than is burnt, a highly active working dog will strive on a high calorie diet aka high density diet.
Back to how to raise lean pigs .

femu:

not a good practice, they can bring swine fever to your farm. Never borrow or lend out your boar!!!

well organize farms and farmers does that, u quarantine them even before introducing and deal with reputable farms with farmers that undertake good biosecurity practices

lagbaja:

Not a good practice at all, I agree with femu on this. Rather you go for artificial insemination. It's a new concept here. I know a farm that already has it as a service.

if d breed is diseased, same will be d fluid, artificial insemination is mostly to avoid d cumbersome nature /stress of moving pigs, even other animals from one place to another . Before undertaken such practice, visit d farm/farms that undertake such practices, ask for d record of the intended boar(if they are sincere), u will be able to know any health challenges if any and deformity, understand d related health issue on d farm, treatment or biosecurity standard on such farm. Whether u bring d fluid or the boar, if diseased, d cross sows shall be host to it on d farm.

excelsiorfarm: if d breed is diseased, same will be d fluid, artificial insemination is mostly to avoid d cumbersome nature /stress of moving pigs, even other animals from one place to another . Before undertaken such practice, visit d farm/farms that undertake such practices, ask for d record of the intended boar(if they are sincere), u will be able to know any health challenges if any and deformity, understand d related health issue on d farm, treatment or biosecurity standard on such farm. Whether u bring d fluid or the boar, if diseased, d cross sows shall be host to it on d farm.

@Excelsiorfarm, this practice will lead to a breach of biosecurity. In as much as you as the buyer can do the due diligence check, you can not say the same of the person you are buying from. As a commercial practice, he must have mated the Boar with many Soars from different farms. Susceptibility to diseases becomes higher. Collecting sem.en from a professional seller eliminates the need for interaction of the stock with other pig stocks.

@femu, Astron Farms which I earlier quoted is the same farm that offers the services. they sell the se.men of their pure genetic breeds for N3500 per dose. I have not used the service before because I have 2 Boars that mates my herd of Soars and they are not of same lineage.

lagbaja:

@Excelsiorfarm, this practice will lead to a breach of biosecurity. In as much as you as the buyer can do the due diligence check, you can not say the same of the person you are buying from. As a commercial practice, he must have mated the Boar with many Soars from different farms. Susceptibility to diseases becomes higher. Collecting sem.en from a professional seller eliminates the need for interaction of the stock with other pig stocks.

@femu, Astron Farms which I earlier quoted is the same farm that offers the services. they sell the se.men of their pure genetic breeds for N3500 per dose. I have not used the service before because I have 2 Boars that mates my herd of Soars and they are not of same lineage.

u are only checking records,seeing d breed, except the farm had proof to standard or reputation sir,u can enter any organise farm, because at point of entry, they will have foot dips(disinfect) & if they choose to allow u into their pens, at point of entry into d pen(same measure is taken) & a treated overall is given, moreover pigs are not as fragile as poultry for d farmer to give excuses(especially if d farm hasn't build up a reputation of trust)

excelsiorfarm: if d breed is diseased, same will be d fluid, artificial insemination is mostly to avoid d cumbersome nature /stress of moving pigs, even other animals from one place to another . Before undertaken such practice, visit d farm/farms that undertake such practices, ask for d record of the intended boar(if they are sincere), u will be able to know any health challenges if any and deformity, understand d related health issue on d farm, treatment or biosecurity standard on such farm. Whether u bring d fluid or the boar, if diseased, d cross sows shall be host to it on d farm.

My brother dont encourage sharing of boars.
A lot of diseases have no immediate physical manifestation. How will you detect a viral disease on a boar that is a carrier.
Many farmers have lost millions due to this practice. A farm with good biosecurity won't borrow or lend boar. A good about to cross boar can be sourced at 15k

lagbaja:

@Excelsiorfarm, this practice will lead to a breach of biosecurity. In as much as you as the buyer can do the due diligence check, you can not say the same of the person you are buying from. As a commercial practice, he must have mated the Boar with many Soars from different farms. Susceptibility to diseases becomes higher. Collecting sem.en from a professional seller eliminates the need for interaction of the stock with other pig stocks.
Dont know if was banned or not couldn't comment for a while. Anyway lagbaja when u said the Astron semen is 3500 per dose is it per vial or per sow?
@femu, Astron Farms which I earlier quoted is the same farm that offers the services. they sell the se.men of their pure genetic breeds for N3500 per dose. I have not used the service before because I have 2 Boars that mates my herd of Soars and they are not of same lineage.

Dont know if was banned or not couldn't comment for a while. Anyway lagbaja when u said the Astron semen is 3500 per dose is it per vial or per sow?

@Lagbaja/Excelsiorfarm
I would like to know where your farms are. The reason for d question is because a practical training is d only way out for someone who really wants to bcom a full time pig farmer and who is not ready to waste his funds b4 getting it right. I wouldn't mind understudying you guys for a while, wouldn't want to go the way others have gone.

Thank you for your contributions so far, ,waiting for your reply.

Hi farmers,

I have taken time to read almost all the post, i have learnt alot , we hope to learn more from each other

Am a pig farmer in ilorin.. Yes, ilorin ; our farm is 2years old , we have about a 30 sow production,
with a capacity of about 70 sow unit.( still growing)

We only use A.I from PIC in SA ,to cross the breed we got from Obasanjo, we dont even have a boar on the farm.

We decided to go this route, when we noticed we bought some piglets from a farm when we started 2years ago, immediately they got to about 45kg

they simply stopped growing, even when we feed them with soyabeans and maize, the best we got was 48kg. We eventually sold them losing

money;
I took time to research and did a training in piggery training in SA from a farm that has 6,000 sow unit, and discovered it might be inbreeding problem;
In SA, at 7months weigh about 135kg averagely while a 7months old pig in Nigeria weigh about 45kg,
what we are trying to do is to bridge the gap and have atleast 80kg within 7months,

i know alot of expert here will argue that breed isnt the only reason, for the weight diff.. i also

agree but it is one of the biggest factors.

but if you are able to achieve 80kg in 7months, you wont mind to feed maize and soyabeans, eventhough they are expensive ( we dont feed that)

We inseminated my first set of sow Sept last year, and they littered early this year, some gave us as high as 19 piglets, in SA, any litter less than 14 isnt accepted for A.I, something must have gone wrong in the process


Our third set of A.I litter has started littering since last week, and we hope to wean them after 40days, and re-inseminate

10days after than. We synchronise our sow, so we inseminate them in batches

From my experience, A.I is the way to go ( some farmers might not agree), foreign breed is necessary to prevent inbreeding . We intend to re-inseminate our first batch end of August, as they will be about 80kg and ready to be served. with that, we hope to get a pure PIC breed by Jan,2015. We are still experimenting and researching, but we are happy with the result so far.

We are a breeders farm, majorly looking at serving those who want to go into piggery, Our pigs dont come cheap, because of

the cost associated with bringing in A.I into the country; but i can tell you, its worth it.

Also, let me also advice, farrowing crate is a must.

Liquid feeding is also the best way, mix your feed with water before giving it to the pigs, we mix our water with

multi-vitamins and then mix it with the feed. We also use a growth promoter instead of broiler premix

I also read post about nipples, well we have been using nipples for 2years, a sow requires about 20liters of water

when lactating, how do you serve her that? Also i noticed alot of people give there pigs dirty water; it is totally wrong

from trainning, the farmer must be able to drink the water the pig drinks, so ensure you supply clean water.

Am openned to help any new farmer, who wants to learn from my 2years experience.

dejia: Hi farmers,
I have taken time to read almost all the post, i have learnt alot , we hope to learn more from each other
Am a pig farmer in ilorin.. Yes, ilorin ; our farm is 2years old , we have about a 30 sow production,
with a capacity of about 70 sow unit.( still growing)
We only use A.I from PIC in SA ,to cross the breed we got from Obasanjo, we dont even have a boar on the farm.
We decided to go this route, when we noticed we bought some piglets from a farm when we started 2years ago, immediately they got to about 45kg
they simply stopped growing, even when we feed them with soyabeans and maize, the best we got was 48kg. We eventually sold them losing
money;
I took time to research and did a training in piggery training in SA from a farm that has 6,000 sow unit, and discovered it might be inbreeding problem;
In SA, at 7months weigh about 135kg averagely while a 7months old pig in Nigeria weigh about 45kg,
what we are trying to do is to bridge the gap and have atleast 80kg within 7months,
i know alot of expert here will argue that breed isnt the only reason, for the weight diff.. i also
agree but it is one of the biggest factors.
but if you are able to achieve 80kg in 7months, you wont mind to feed maize and soyabeans, eventhough they are expensive ( we dont feed that)
We inseminated my first set of sow Sept last year, and they littered early this year, some gave us as high as 19 piglets, in SA, any litter less than 14 isnt accepted for A.I, something must have gone wrong in the process
Our third set of A.I litter has started littering since last week, and we hope to wean them after 40days, and re-inseminate
10days after than. We synchronise our sow, so we inseminate them in batches
From my experience, A.I is the way to go ( some farmers might not agree), foreign breed is necessary to prevent inbreeding . We intend to re-inseminate our first batch end of August, as they will be about 80kg and ready to be served. with that, we hope to get a pure PIC breed by Jan,2015. We are still experimenting and researching, but we are happy with the result so far.
We are a breeders farm, majorly looking at serving those who want to go into piggery, Our pigs dont come cheap, because of
the cost associated with bringing in A.I into the country; but i can tell you, its worth it.
Also, let me also advice, farrowing crate is a must.
Liquid feeding is also the best way, mix your feed with water before giving it to the pigs, we mix our water with
multi-vitamins and then mix it with the feed. We also use a growth promoter instead of broiler premix
I also read post about nipples, well we have been using nipples for 2years, a sow requires about 20liters of water
when lactating, how do you serve her that? Also i noticed alot of people give there pigs dirty water; it is totally wrong
from trainning, the farmer must be able to drink the water the pig drinks, so ensure you supply clean water.
Am openned to help any new farmer, who wants to learn from my 2years experience.

Welcome dejia. Excellent contributions.