North Dakota State University * Dickinson Research Extension Center
1089 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601-4642 Voice: (701) 483-2348 FAX: (701) 483-2005

GROWING AND FATTENING FALL PIGS

OBJECTIVES:

  1. To test several rations composed of barley and oats for growing out and finishing fall pigs in Western North Dakota.
  2. To find an economical and satisfactory shelter for pigs in the winter time.

PRESENT STATUS:
On December 12, 1952, 48 fall pigs weighing about 49 pounds were divided into four groups and placed in adjacent lots to begin a winter feeding trial. Three of the lots were fed ground rations and the fourth lot received a pelleted ration. Shelters used were 8 x 16 feet wood frames three feet high, and covered with heavy wire netting. Straw was packed above and around the frames to a thickness of about two feet and was held in place by hog wire. Trial was closed March 24.

The rations fed were as follows:

  Lot 1 Pelleted Lot 2 Ground Lot 3 Ground Lot 4 Ground
Oats 96 88 22 ---
Barley --- --- 66 88
Soybean Oil Meal --- 6 6 6
Blood Meal 1 3 3 3
Minerals 1 3 3 3
Meat scraps 2 --- --- ---
Other supplements 3 lb. per ton Vitamins - A, D, & B-complex --- --- ---
Feed consumption and gains are shown in Table IX.

 

Table IX
  No. Pigs in Lot Days on Feed Initial Weight Final Weight Av. Daily Gain Feed per 100# gain Cost per 100# gain
Lot 1 12 102 49 194 1.43 508 $21.59
Lot 2 12 102 48 141 .91 530 13.99
Lot 3 12 102 49 152 1.01 438 10.86
Lot 4 12 102 49 139 .89 477 11.54

 

The pigs in this trial were not thrifty at the outset. They had received a set-back at weaning and enteritis went through them just before the trials were started. Every pig in Lot 1 made excellent gains, acquired a good hair coat and looked thrifty at the close of the trial. Many of the pigs in the other 3 lots never made good gains. There was so much variation within the lots among the three ground feed lots that we felt the data were not too reliable. The pelleted ration was formulated in Fargo and when freight was added to the excessive charges of the feed company, there was no chance for profit left. We are using the same pelleted ration in this winter's trials, but are using our own grain. As hog prices were in the spring of 1953, the slowest gaining pigs made the most profit.

SUMMARY:

A ration of the pelleted oats averaging about 13.5% protein and containing Vitamins A, D, Riboflavin, Ca Pantothenate, Niacin, Choline chloride and B12 proved very good for bringing unthrifty pigs out of their slump. The other pigs in the trial did not respond uniformly or well.

Straw covered wire frames proved satisfactory as winter quarters for pigs.

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