PIG PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

PIG PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

·         Systems of pig production commonly classified into

o    Small scale system

o    Large scale system

o    Integrated system

SCAVENGING SYSTEM

·         This is the most traditional system of rearing pigs in large part of the tropics and simplest and cheapest system.

·         Each family in a village keeps a few pigs, which are allowed to wander freely and pick up food. Such type of food consists of low nutritional quality especially banana, rice bran, local herbaceous plants and kitchen waste.

·         Indigenous pigs are predominating on the scavenging system, because they are adapted to local environment.

·         The productivity of pig is normally low with erratic feed supply resulting in irregular breeding of sows, high rates of piglet mortality and low growth rates.

·         A particular hazard of scavenging system is that pigs have access to source of parasite eg. human excreta, which can be transmitted back to man when he eats the meat.

·         The majority of scavenger pigs are owned by subsistence farmers.  

SEMI-INTENSIVE SYSTEM

• This type of system is also known as backyard system. Hence the pigs are confined in rearing pens and sties are mainly of simple construction.
• In this system, sometimes pigs are constrained by tethering in larger yards or paddocks.

INTENSIVE SYSTEM

• It is the most common system of large scale production.
• Units are generally capital intensive and may involve more number of animals.

Modern high performance breeds of pigs are used and provided with optimum conditions of housing, feeding and management in order to ensure maximum output.                                                                                                                               

INTEGRATED SYSTEM

• Integration of pig production with other enterprises has long been widely practical in the tropics, involving various combinations of fish farming, production of algae, methane gas production, ducks, water hyacinth and vegetable production. Such tri-commodity operation enhance the efficiency of resource use and increase output for overall operation.     

Example

• Sufficient water is available for fish ponds, pig sties can be constructed above the ponds. So that manure can drop straight into the water and fish can utilize the manure.

• If pig effluent is insufficient, ducks can be used to augment the fertilization of the ponds with the manure.