lagbaja, thank you so much. I have bookmarked this thread.

i am a farmer in embrayo, am intrested in this business but so unfortunate for me i fell in the wrong hand . but i no it will soon be ok. . am having a problm in feeding formula can someone help me out

koolsammie:
Does anyone know where obasanjo piggery the farm is in ibadan?

Obasanjo farms is in ibarapa. You can call this number for assistance locating them.
08129901118.

@ Atmfarm: sorry about your loss. Feeding has been discussed extensively. Check the last 3 pages.
If you have more specific questions though, feel free to ask. I'm sure there are lots of people willing to help.

This thread is awesome

justi4jesu: Niceeee...more grease to your elbows and may all your labour yield fruits

For the records i love pork meat pepper soup with unripe plaintain

hmnn., ladies and pepper soup! Weldone oh. Lolz

henrimoto: hmnn., ladies and pepper soup! Weldone oh. Lolz

lol...Mr Henricar how u dey...u don quote me enter this thread again...

ops: @Targus. Wow! Apologies for my earlier post then. All I can say for now is well done! When I growup, I wanna b like u

grow up ke? Are you still a ...... Lolz

@Henrimoto.
Dunno wat ......is so I can't say yes
But as far as Targus' farm is concerned, I'm still a learner o

lagbaja:

Yes you can replace cassava with maize or wheat. My advice is that you learn the pearsons's square formula. With that, you can use available feeds within your environment to achieve cost effective formulation with the desired crude protein and metabolic energy requirements for your pigs.

Here is a link:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/livestk/01618.html

..
A more complicated and better option is Linear Programming. With this, you can formulated feed to get a combinatn that will not only satisfy nutrient reqs, but will give u the cheapest combination.
..
And least I forget, there are also free software that will do the linear programming and all calculatns for you free of charge! Just google it. One of them is winfeed.

FarmTech:
..
A more complicated and better option is Linear Programming. With this, you can formulated feed to get a combinatn that will not only satisfy nutrient reqs, but will give u the cheapest combination.

I believe this thread should be made as user friendly as possible. Those into research know where to go so if anyone has a proven formula and u want to share feel free and share. Let's answer questions with simple and usable answers. Someone asked about pen construction and drainage and a slated pen was posted and I believe a simple guide on appropriate gradient on floor construction would have sufficed. I posted my farm photo so as to register as a hands on farmer, I acknowledge the support given me by femu. I want this thread to be a real supportive and mentoring one.

koolsammie:
Where did u get dis breed from?
Does anyone know where obasanjo piggery the farm is in ibadan?

I got them locally the ones i got from obasanjo are still grownig. When choosing pigs choose for purpose for instance if buying weaners for fattening the criteria for selection is quite different from buying weaner to raise as breeders. I will leave the gurus to expound on this.

eazeefix:
I believe this thread should be made as user friendly as possible. Those into research know where to go so if anyone has a proven formula and u want to share feel free and share. Let's answer questions with simple and usable answers. Someone asked about pen construction and drainage and a slated pen was posted and I believe a simple guide on appropriate gradient on floor construction would have sufficed. I posted my farm photo so as to register as a hands on farmer, I acknowledge the support given me by femu. I want this thread to be a real supportive and mentoring one.

This is one of the reasons why we are where we are in pig production. I have visited several farms and noticed the operational deficiencies due mainly to bad design and planning. Piggery is a serious business and should be done professionally to achieve optimal results cost effectively. There are different categories of people in this forum. Small, medium and big players. While I talked about slated floor, I also gave alternatives.

Slated floor is a model used all over the world. Local improvisations are possible at low cost. It is almost impossible to think of an annual production capacity of up to 2000 finisher pigs and upwards without factoring in the use of slatted floors. For example we are currently using slanted floors with overhead showers but we have started designing ours slatted floor slabs from concrete and wire mesh. It is the best method to achieve dry floors, less water consumption, improved health and less labour. It is in fact cheaper than the slanted floors when you factor in the operational costs associated with the latter. I posted pictures of my farm with my pigs using the water nip.ples. Making people aware of it will help them think futuristic.

Make you contributions and move on. Your criticism should be constructive.

lagbaja:

This is one of the reasons why we are where we are in pig production. I have visited several farms and noticed the operational deficiencies due mainly to bad design and planning. Piggery is a serious business and should be done professionally to achieve optimal results cost effectively. There are different categories of people in this forum. Small, medium and big players. While I talked about slated floor, I also gave alternatives.

Slated floor is a model used all over the world. Local improvisations are possible at low cost. It is almost impossible to think of an annual production capacity of up to 2000 upwards without factoring in the use of slated floors. For example we are currently designing ours from concrete and wire mesh. It is the best method to achieve dry floors, less water consumption and less labour. I posted pictures of my farm with my pigs using the water nip.ples. Making people aware of it will help them think futuristic.

Make you contributions and move on. Your criticism should be constructive.

I am sorry my coment came out as a destructive criticism that was never my intention I look forward to seeing the outcome of your research on slat floors. I want u to bear in mind most of the members viewing this thread are startups or about to start so I was only trying to keep them in mind. I started my pig adventure just June last year so believe me I really desire to add to my knowledge I have fallen prey to fake manual sellers who glean off the Internet and sell as original intellectual products.

@ eazeefix thanks.

@lagbaja what's your strategy for removal and disposal of the waste under the slatted floor?

There are design factors to be considered when employing modern tech.they have some important disadvantages especially in our context....

I know a poultry farmer that lost 500 birds, due to consumption of hot water from drinking nip.ples, the water was hot as a result of the afternoon sun.
Nip.ples can get blocked with dirt and the animals will have little or no water.
If a nip.ple system is employed and the workers get used to not bothering about water for the animals they might not know on time when the tank is empty.
Only very committed workers will bother to shower the pigs at intervals especially when Oga isn't around.

Nip.ples and sprinklers/showers work best when the owner is always around or in a computerised environment.
Its the way forward but only with a good design, loyal work force and automation.

femu: @ eazeefix thanks.
@lagbaja what's your strategy for removal and disposal of the waste under the slatted floor?
There are design factors to be considered when employing modern tech.they have some important disadvantages especially in our context....
I know a poultry farmer that lost 500 birds, due to consumption of hot water from drinking nipples, the water was hot as a result of the afternoon sun.
Nipples can get blocked with dirt and the animals will have little or no water.
If a nipple system is employed and the workers get used to not bothering about water for the animals they might not know on time when the tank is empty.
Only very committed workers will bother to shower the pigs at intervals especially when Oga isn't around.
Nipples and sprinklers/showers work best when the owner is always around or in a computerised environment.
Its the way forward but only with a good design, loyal work force and automation.

Slatted floors are placed on top of the manure allay which is similar to a gutter. If the lenght of the inside of a pig house is 10ft in length for example, you can make the slatted floor to be about 4ft width. The pigs are intelligent animals and chooses where to sleep and where to poo. The pigs poo on the slatted floor. The manure dries up, crumbles and empties into the underneath gutter/ manure allay. The manure allay empties into your soak away pit. This way, smell is contained within the farm. Labour requirements for cleaning poo is also eliminated. You can have an overhead shower to bathe your pigs which in turn empties into the manure allay and flushes it away.

On your second question, technology is mearnt to make life easier and reduce your costs. In our context, it is even more compelling to use technology because our staff are mostly unreliable. Your poultry farmer friend must have had a bad design. If your overhead tank is about 2000litres, I wonder how long it will take before the water is hot enough to kill his poultry birds. Blockage of channels is eliminated by ensuring that your tank is tightly closed and by installing a filter at the exit of the tank. They cost about N1000.

Will you stop using a car because you saw an accident on the road yesterday ?, Technology makes life easier so long as you take precautions and follow the design rules.

@Seasoned Pig Farmers in the house... What will happen if I do in-breed of my pigs, since I don't want to dilute the Blood line?

olushowunm: @Seasoned Pig Farmers in the house... What will happen if I do in-breed of my pigs, since I don't want to dilute the Blood line?

Before my ogas begin to condemn inbreeding let just add my little take on this important question inbreeding is a valuable tool in the hands of an expert to stamp a desired type on your animal thereby achieving your bloodline. You have to be ruthless in your selection becos both good and bad features will be thrown up ( very few pigs might selectable) but I believe in it's value in establishment of your boar line which I believe it the most important line becos the boar will stamp the type on a variety of sows (even mediocre ones) becos your targeted genes are concentrated in the boar. There is no way you won't require fresh lines in your breeding becos sooner than later you will encounter bottlenecks. There is a difference between breeding pigs for market and breeding breeder pigs. I hope there will a robust knowledge based discussion on this interesting as this thread matures. Looking forward to learning more from our ogas.

lagbaja:

Slatted floors are placed on top of the manure allay which is similar to a gutter. If the lenght of the inside of a pig house is 10ft in length for example, you can make the slatted floor to be about 4ft width. The pigs are intelligent animals and chooses where to sleep and where to poo. The pigs poo on the slatted floor. The manure dries up, crumbles and empties into the underneath gutter/ manure allay. The manure allay empties into your soak away pit. This way, smell is contained within the farm. Labour requirements for cleaning poo is also eliminated. You can have an overhead shower to bathe your pigs which in turn empties into the manure allay and flushes it away.

On your second question, technology is mearnt to make life easier and reduce your costs. In our context, it is even more compelling to use technology because our staff are mostly unreliable. Your poultry farmer friend must have had a bad design. If your overhead tank is about 2000litres, I wonder how long it will take before the water is hot enough to kill his poultry birds. Blockage of channels is eliminated by ensuring that your tank is tightly closed and by installing a filter at the exit of the tank. They cost about N1000.

Will you stop using a car because you saw an accident on the road yesterday ?, Technology makes life easier so long as you take precautions and follow the design rules.

I did poultry for 8 years before converting to piggery do not underestimate how hot tank water can be during the heat season between Nov and Feb. Now back to the issue at hand, before I started my farm I visited several farms in my area and most had less the 20 animals in total and used rough wood to construct makeshift structures and make their money. Most guys I believe are after handy ready to use info. The 2000 pig farm though achievable but beyond the scope the naira land group.

eazeefix:
I did poultry for 8 years before converting to piggery do not underestimate how hot tank water can be during the heat season between Nov and Feb. Now back to the issue at hand, before I started my farm I visited several farms in my area and most had less the 20 animals in total and used rough wood to construct makeshift structures and make their money. Most guys I believe are after handy ready to use info. The 2000 pig farm though achievable but beyond the scope the naira land group.

On your hot water tank, there are so many ways to address the problem, one simple way is to cover the top with wood to shield the sun. I have been using nip.ples on my farm from inception and have never had any such experience.

On the information made available here, if they are not useful to you, they are to others. Having a 2000 production per annum pig farm does not mean having 2000 pigs on your farm, it simply means having enough herd to produce about 40 pigs for sale per week which translates to about 2000 per annum. I have already given the formula that will help you determine your herd size to achieve it.

Piggery is not a hubby, it is a business, having 50 pigs on your farm is a very good way to start, particularly in the circumstance of limited funds, however it is not the destination. A focused reinvestment will sooner than later take you to the destination. We have a huge market to supply. I do not have the precise market size for pig in Nigeria, but I know its huge. For example, There are approximately 400 commercial producers and 19 stud breeders in South Africa. It was estimated that 2.4million pigs weighing 2 million tones where slaughtered in 2011 in South Africa. Pig meat has the potential to bring down the high cost of other animal protein sources such as chicken and beef because they do not compete with humans for feeds like chicken does with corn and soya.

Lagbaja, i need information on sourcing of Camborough breed . You can reach me n superoloye @email.com Thanks

Sorry . I mean superoloye @gmail .com.Thanks

Ayoolu: Lagbaja, i need information on sourcing of Camborough breed . You can reach me n superoloye @email.com Thanks

You can contact Astron farms Mokoloki town, km 21-Sagamu/Papalanto Road,- Ogun Sate, for your Camborough breed. The contact is 08053331212.

it's important for us to examine both sides of any suggestions in order to get the best and help beginner farmers.
the issue of hot water when using nip.ples isn't to be underestimated in agriculture... the solution, you have just stated after we examined it.
when we suggest brewery waste and cassava we must let beginners know inappropriate use can lead to mortality.

@lagbaja what happens to the soakaway when it gets filled? I once did 60ft and it got filled in 2months from poo alone.

my issue with pure foreign breeds include:
they select what they eat
some don't come on heat
higher rate of dull boars
can easily die under stress
lousy mothers.

What we need to focus on is cheap feeding and processing.
so far farrowing crates have been the most justifiable investment on my piggery, i hardly lose a piglet in the first 7 weeks
some of our predecessors in agriculture made the mistake of over investing in nonessentials and couldn't sustain the biz when hit with challenges or need to reinvest.

I am so loving following this thread, am learning a lot already. Thanks to all the contributors. Keep them coming.

femu: it's important for us to examine both sides of any suggestions in order to get the best and help beginner farmers.
the issue of hot water when using nip.ples isn't to be underestimated in agriculture... the solution, you have just stated after we examined it.
when we suggest brewery waste and cassava we must let beginners know inappropriate use can lead to mortality.

@lagbaja what happens to the soakaway when it gets filled? I once did 60ft and it got filled in 2months from poo alone.

my issue with pure foreign breeds include:
they select what they eat
some don't come on heat
higher rate of dull boars
can easily die under stress
lousy mothers.

What we need to focus on is cheap feeding, processing and Artificial insemination, my friend is currently producing a minimum of 14 piglets per litter. he once had 19 piglets but lost a lot because of crushing. now he plans on using farrowing crates.
so far farrowing crates have been the most justifiable investment on my piggery, i hardly lose a piglet in the first 7 weeks
some of our predecessors in agriculture made the mistake of over investing in nonessentials and couldn't sustain the biz when hit with challenges or need to reinvest.

Oga mi sir i actually bought material to contruct my own farrowing crates but thot my efizi was too much would appreciate if i could see its installation. Some of my sows are lousy mothers thinking of evicting them from my breeding program but if these crates can work then I would really appreciate it.

ops:
@ lagbaja; That seems pretty cheap. Ready to cross gilts are usually sold @ a premium. N15,000 divided by N300/kg is 50kg. How big was your. "About to cross"large white? I usually cross from 90kg above or am I waiting too long?

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:
Oga mi sir i actually bought material to contruct my own farrowing crates but thot my efizi was too much would appreciate if i could see its installation. Some of my sows are lousy mothers thinking of evicting them from my breeding program but if these crates can work then I would really appreciate it.

crates are very helpful during farrowing and afterwards. i will send you a pix when i go to the farm

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.

very true.

femu: it's important for us to examine both sides of any suggestions in order to get the best and help beginner farmers.
the issue of hot water when using nip.ples isn't to be underestimated in agriculture... the solution, you have just stated after we examined it.
when we suggest brewery waste and cassava we must let beginners know inappropriate use can lead to mortality.

@lagbaja what happens to the soakaway when it gets filled? I once did 60ft and it got filled in 2months from poo alone.

my issue with pure foreign breeds include:
they select what they eat
some don't come on heat
higher rate of dull boars
can easily die under stress
lousy mothers.

What we need to focus on is cheap feeding, processing and Artificial insemination, my friend is currently producing a minimum of 14 piglets per litter. he once had 19 piglets but lost a lot because of crushing. now he plans on using farrowing crates.
so far farrowing crates have been the most justifiable investment on my piggery, i hardly lose a piglet in the first 7 weeks
some of our predecessors in agriculture made the mistake of over investing in nonessentials and couldn't sustain the biz when hit with challenges or need to reinvest.

@femu, I feed my camborough breeds same feed as my other breeds and their response has been fantastic as stated earlier. The most important criteria is ensuring that you have a balance ration in terms of crude protein, crude fibre and metabolic energy and essential vitMins and nutrients.

Almost all My large whites ( bought at oke aro from a farmer who had previously brought form obasanjo farms) got pregnant at first attemp.

I bought my pig nipple at a cost of N800 a piece from aliexpress. I used an agent I found on nairaland. Chrisvicmall precisely. They delivered in. 7 days. You only require 2 of nipples per pen of 10 pigs or piglets. What investment is better than that.

Here is the link to buying the nipples. They sell them in lots. In this case 5 pieces per lot.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5pcs-1-2-inch-1-2-SS316-stainless-steel-nipple-drinker-waterer-for-pig-drinking-small/973786415.html


On use of farrowing cage, you seem to finally agree on my initial suggestion for use of a slatted floor and manure allay which is an Integral part of a farrowing cage.

On feed, that was where I started from. can u pls Suggest a balanced feed ration that will cost N30 to N40 per kg to counter the one I previosusly suggested.

On soak away pits, a well designed soak away pit has 2 chambers, the septic tank and the soak away pit just like you have in homes. The absence of either will cause a total failure. The septic tank is designed to drain away the water. The soak away holds the semi solid manure after draining the water content through its walls. the base and if possible the sides should not be concretized so that water can sip away and leave u with the solid material which in turn is manure and can be sold to farmers.

lagbaja:

@femu, I feed my camborough breeds samfeed as my other breeds and their response has been fantastic as stated earlier. The most important criteria is ensuring that you have a balance ration in terms of crude protein, crude fibre and metabolic energy and essential vitMins and nutrients.

Almost all My large whites ( bought at oke aro from a farmer who had previously brought form obasanjo farms) got pregnant at first attemp.

I bought my pig nipple at a cost of N500 a piece from aliexpress. I used an agent I found on nairaland. Chrisvicmall precisely. You only require 2 of nipples per pen of 10 pigs or piglets. What investment is better than that.

Here is the link to buying the nipples. They sell them in lots. In this case 5 pieces per lot.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5pcs-1-2-inch-1-2-SS316-stainless-steel-nipple-drinker-waterer-for-pig-drinking-small/973786415.html


On use of farrowing cage, you seem to finally agree on my initial suggestion for use of a slatted floor and manure allay which is an Integral part of a farrowing cage.

On feed, that was where I started from. can u pls Suggest a balanced feed ration that will cost N30 to N40 per kg to counter the one I previosusly suggested.

On soak away pits, a well designed soak away pit has 2 chambers, the septic tank and the soak away pit just like you have in homes. The absence of either will cause a total failure. The soak away is designed to drain away the water. The septic tank holds the semi solid manure? the base and if possible the sides should not be concretized so that water can sip away and leave u with the solid material which in turn is manure and can be sold to farmers.

Am not tackling you o. you have made beneficial contributions, however am just expressing caveats for beginners, people with limited funds and pensioners.

My impression of pure foreign breed pigs is formed by my experience and interactions with different farmers over the years.
You haven't told us your weaning weight, farrowed litter size, weaned litter size and weight at 6months to justify the investment on foreign breeds.

Slatted floors are good let's see how your implementation proceeds. How easy will it be to extract the manure from the soakaway for sale to farmers?how attractive will it be to extract for the buyer,do you pump or pack it?
The farms I have observed doing this have a dedicated vehicle dat pumps this waste and sprays it on their farmland.

You made an important contribution on generating maggots from pig waste to feed fish, I have also practiced it but gave up for some obvious reasons. I look forward to more exposure on generating maggots efficiently from pig waste.

I have no reason to criticize your feed formula it is good, feed formuation depends on your locality.
Farmers in ilesa hardly pay for Brewery waste, just transport cost. In Ota, it is a different story. In Ota, Cassava peels almost cost nothing.
In Oyo, maize is pure water. I used to get bloodmeal for free etc......

After constructing my pens, I went to ilesa to visit farmers. I was amazed at what they where able to achieve with limited financial resources.
Infact a farmer constructed a 15 room pen and didn't spend a kobo on roofing. The idea he used is very smart.
We are all learning!!!

Here is a simple farrowing crate that could be constructed by local welders.

Hi, healthy pigs for sake at Atan Ogun state.. Contact me on my mobile for grower , winner and matured pigs 08037988642