By Dr Taddeo Assimwe Barwogeza
Depending on age and condition, give pigs a daily ration of 2-3 kgs per day.
Pigs feed formula:
| Ingredients (kg) | Creep (20-22% Proteins) | Grower (14-16% Proteins) | Sow and Weaner (11-13% Proteins) |
| Maize bran | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Fish meal | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Cotton seed cake | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| Lake shells | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| Bone Ash | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Salt | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Vitamin mineral mix | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
NB: Water should be available to ease digestion, excretion and circulation. Water requirement is 10-20 litres per day depending on size and weather. Feed allocation is as shown below:
| Stage: | Weight of Pig (Kgs) | Feed per pig per day (kgs) |
| Grower stage: | 20 | 1.0 |
| 30 | 1.3 | |
| 40 | 1.6 | |
| 50 | 1.8 | |
| Finishing stage: | 60 | 2.0 |
| 70 | 2.4 | |
| 80 | 2.8 | |
| 90 | 3.0 | |
| 100 | 3.2 |
N.B: Maize bran
Provide energy for normal body functioning. May also use cassava, sweet potato yams and avocados.
Fish meal
Provide proteins for growth and body repairs. May also use blood meal.
Vitamins
These help in building immunity. May use sweet potato vines, elephant grass, dodo etc. Introduce feeds to piglets 10 days after birth.
When the sow is pregnant, feed 3kgs per day for the first 21/2 months of pregnancy. Increase gradually by 0.25kgs in the 11th week up to 0.75 kgs in the last week. This is referred to as
steaming up.
In lactating, the amount of feed given will depend on the number of piglets in the liter. In addition to the 3kgs daily ration, give 0.25 kgs of feed per piglet.
For example, if they are 08 piglets, a sow will be allocated
3kgs + (08 X 0.25) =
5kgs per day.
