Farming Pigs - Importance Of Proper Food And Diet When Raising Pigs

The diet of your pig is very important for when farming pigs. Although food scraps and leftovers can be fed to your pigs, you should consider proper nutrition for your pigs to ensure they grow up healthy. Pigs have tremendous appetite and will eat anything edible you throw at them, but it doesn't mean you should settle for that. Remember that keeping your pigs healthy is your top priority when farming pigs.

Groceries and specialty stores for farming pigs sell feeds made specifically for pigs. It has all the vitamins and minerals they need to be healthy. There are commercial pig feeds and supplements that are made especially for piglet while some are best used for adults. It can be purchased easily and is affordable but you can also make a pig feed on your own, you just have to know what vitamins and minerals are important to your pigs diet and where you can get them.

o Water - Perhaps the most important thing in your pig's diet. Pigs need plenty of water and can consume about 20% of their own body weight. Since pigs don't have sweat glands like humans do, they need plenty of water to regulate body heat. Water also helps in their digestion and absorption of other nutrients.

o Carbohydrates - This is the fuel that provides energy for your pigs. Grass and hay are a good source of carbohydrates for your pigs. Sugars, such as lactose and fructose, are also necessary to keep your pigs healthy. You can get them from oats, corn and other cereal grains.

o Lipids - Also known as fats. Lipids are more efficient in providing energy than carbohydrates. Since it is a better energy source, it can help reduce food consumption when farming pigs. However, this doesn't mean you should stop feeding carbohydrates and focus on an all-lipids diet. Feeding too much lipids to save money on farming pigs is a bad idea because itcan give your pigs diarrhea. Sources of lipids are canola, corn oil and soybean oil.

o Protein - Protein is necessary for the health of your pig's blood cells, muscles and tissues. When giving your pigs protein, you should always consider quality over quantity when farming pigs; it is better to give your pigs few high quality proteins and many low quality proteins. Soybean meal is a good protein source because it has a high quality amino acid.

o Vitamin K - Is important for blood clotting and can be found in fishmeal.

o Vitamin A - Is necessary for good bone structure. It can be found in grasses and legumes such as alfalfa.