Pregnant sows are raised in order to get as many young animals as possible. Nutrition in the process of growing them is important. A proper diet is important not only for the health of pigs and piglets: it also reduces the risk of complications dangerous to the animal. In addition, proper nutrition of the sow is the key to the full course of the lactation period.
Features of the diet at different stages of gestation
The period of gestation (pregnancy) of pigs lasts 112-115 days. Animals at different stages of gestation require a special diet.
In the so-called low maturity (the first 12 weeks of pregnancy) the embryos are poorly developed, therefore, it is not necessary to significantly increase the amount of food consumed.
Immediately after conception, you need to slightly reduce the amount of feed. At the initial stage of pregnancy, pigs should be fed moderately. The daily feed rate for them should not exceed 2-3 kg.
IN high period (from 13 to 16 weeks of gestation), the fruits begin to actively develop, because animals require a much larger amount of food compared to the usual diet.
The proportions of feed should be changed gradually, avoiding stress. Change of diet should be made in 3-5 days. A sharp change in food can cause spontaneous abortion and impaired labor.
The amount of food consumed must be controlled, since the farmer's goal is to avoid obesity, which increases the risk of complications during childbirth and after them.
4 days before farrowing, the rate of all feed consumed by a pregnant sow is reduced exactly 2 times. Such an action will reduce the burden on the digestive system, as well as reduce premature milk production. A decrease in the norm of food consumed will also beneficially affect the animal’s appetite during the period of feeding piglets.
During the second period of pregnancy, a pregnant sow should gain from 25 to 40 kg of weight.
Sow ration at different stages of pregnancy
For each period of pregnancy in pigs, there is an optimal diet structure.
Lactation Feeding
In the first period of pregnancy, the pig should eat:
- concentrated feed (40-60%);
- succulent feed (30-40%);
- roughage (10-35%);
- animal feed (5-8%).
At the first stage of pregnancy, the sow should be given more fiber so that it sates faster and does not feel hunger. It is recommended to moisten products slightly with clean water. Also, mineral additives and table salt are added to the main feeds.
In the first stage of gestation, calcium supplementation is important. In this case, chalk gives a good effect.
In the low-growing period, such feeds as KK-53 and PK-53 are used. Feed is given in the form of wet mash. On one part of the feed take 3 parts of water.
Frequency of feeding - 2 times a day.
Highly Mature Feeding
In the second period of gestation, the diet of sows includes concentrated feed (40%) and roughage, as well as juicy food (the remaining amount of the general norm). The second type includes:
- cake;
- potatoes;
- beet;
- carrot;
- melons;
- barley;
- corn.
During the second stage, KK-54 and PK-54 compound feeds are used.
Part of the concentrated feed in the period before farrowing reaches 75%, juicy and rough - 25%. Also, before farrowing, dairy and sour-milk products, fish and meat waste are introduced into the pig’s diet.
Immediately before the farrowing sow, it is necessary to give in full products that contain vitamin A (silage, wheat bran, carrots). Also in the diet of animals at this stage should be added hay or grass bean flour.
Frequency of feeding - 3 times a day.
At this stage of pregnancy, pigs are also given chalk (20-30 g per day), limestone (20-30 g) and table salt (40-45 g). In addition, fish oil, ground shell rock, protein and vitamin concentrates (PROCorm) are added to the diet.
Features of feeding by season
In the summer, the diet of pregnant pigs is enriched with various greens. Also at this time of year they can be fed with fresh beans, peas and lupins. They contain a lot of protein, which is necessary for pigs that are expecting offspring.
In summer, the diet looks like this:
- hay flour - from 800 g to 1.5 kg;
- succulent feed - from 2 to 3 kg;
- meat or fish waste - 150-300 g;
- serum - from 2 to 3 l;
- various concentrates.
In the summer of pregnant sows, you can walk in the fresh air so that they freely enjoy the root crops and fresh green grass.
In autumn, pregnant sows are given a lot of processed vegetables. Potatoes must be boiled. In no case should you give pigs frozen or decayed feed, hard cake, sunflower husk.
In winter, carrots, wheat bran, and silage are necessarily added to the diet to supplement vitamin A deficiency.
Food must be fresh, not frozen, not rotten, not moldy: fungi present in fermented mixtures damage the placental layer of the fetus and can cause abortion in sows.
Feeding methods
There are two main ways of feeding pregnant queens:
- Combined. In this case, in addition to compound feeds, basic feeds are used: greens, grass and corn silage, hay. The combined method provides high-quality and fast saturation.
- Feed. Feeding pregnant sows with compound feed without including the main feed. In this case, saturation is much more difficult to achieve. So that sows do not develop stress against this background, you need to ensure that the feed is enriched with wheat bran, chopped straw or hay.
The danger of overfeeding and especially feeding obese pregnant sows
Excessive feeding of pigs that will soon give birth to piglets is dangerous with consequences such as:
- complication of the birth process due to weak labor;
- the loss of piglets due to the large weight of the sow, which presses with their own body;
- low fecundity;
- impaired appetite in a sow, which affects its weight and lactational ability.
To “relieve” the digestive tract of sows, you should increase the proportion of plant components and slightly reduce carbohydrates. Care must be taken not to achieve the opposite effect - exhaustion.
Low-energy feed can cause the birth of low weight piglets, as well as lead to infertility of young females.
Daily requirements for sow feed
The norms of the various components that are present in the diet of pregnant sows depend on their weight and age.
For pigs under the age of 2 years, the daily feed rate is as follows:
- A mixture of concentrates. In winter, 1.3 kg in the first half of pregnancy and 2.2 kg in the second. In the summer, for the first half of pregnancy, this figure will be 1.6 kg, for the second - 2.5 kg.
- Tubers or gourds. In winter - 8 kg for the first half of pregnancy and 6 kg for the second. In the summer, this food is not necessary to include in the diet.
- Hay flour. In winter - 1 kg in the first and second periods of pregnancy. In the summer, it is not included in the diet.
- Legumes In winter, pregnant sows are not included in the diet. In summer, in the first half of pregnancy, the norm will be 10 kg, in the second - 7 kg.
- Meat or fish waste in the diet in both winter and summer for any period of pregnancy is 100 g.
- Milk waste in winter and summer in the first half of pregnancy reaches 1 kg, in the second - 500 g.
- Protein. For young sows in the first half of pregnancy, the amount of digested protein should be 405-415 g in winter and 490-495 g in summer.
Sows older than 2 years require a slightly different diet:
- A mixture of concentrates. In winter, 700 g in the first half of pregnancy and 1.2 kg in the second. In the summer, for the first half of pregnancy, this figure will be 1.2 kg, for the second - 2 kg.
- Tubers or gourds. In winter - 9 kg for the first half of pregnancy and 7 kg for the second. In winter - 1.3 kg in the first and second periods of pregnancy. In summer, in the low-growing period, the norm will be 10 kg, in the high-growing period - 8 kg.
- Meat or fish waste in the diet in both winter and summer for any period of pregnancy is 100 g.
- Milk waste in winter and summer in the first half of pregnancy reaches 1 kg, in the second - 500 g.
If you determine the energy threshold of the feed, then in the first 84 days of gestation, sows are given food at the rate of 1.2 feed units per 100 kg of live weight. In the last month before farrowing give 1.5-1.7 feed units for the same weight.
Compliance with all daily standards in the construction of the diet of a pregnant sow will help to avoid malnutrition and obesity, as well as ensure the normal birth of a pig.
In addition, read how to make a feeder for pigs with your own hands.
Vitamins and Minerals
The food of pregnant sows should be enriched with various mineral supplements and vitamins, a deficiency of which they may experience during pregnancy.
Pigs need such supplements (the amount is determined for 100 kg of live weight):
- calcium - 12 g in the first 84 days and 13-14 g in the last 30 days;
- vitamin B1 - 2.6 mg;
- Vitamin E - 41 mg;
- sodium - 2 g;
- crude fiber - 40 g;
- Vitamin B5 - 81 mg;
- Vitamin B3 - 2.3 mg.
Drinking mode
Low-sowing and deep-sowing sows weighing 120-150 kg experience a different need for water. For one head of low-pregnant uterus, 8-12 liters per day is required per day, for one deep-pregnant sow, 10-15 liters are needed.
Water should have a certain temperature and not exceed 10 degrees. Cold water can cause a miscarriage.
On large pig farms, it is required to regularly monitor the pressure of water in the drinkers. Optimally, if 2 liters are typed per minute.
Pregnant pigs should have constant direct access to water so that they can drink whenever they want.
Pregnant sows require a special, well-ordered diet. The food must contain the required amount of nutrients. Direct access to clean water by pigs must also be arranged. When feeding a pregnant pig, one must not allow its exhaustion or obesity.