Pig Production: the basics

This guide covers topics such as how to get started in pig production, animal welfare, health and nutrition, breeding and farming, pests and rodent control, environmental concerns, and marketing your pigs. It includes three case studies from the industry.

This book will be a help to anyone interested in keeping pigs for personal enjoyment through to starting out in commercial farming.

Table of contents:

• Starting in pigs
• Pig breeds and breed standards
• Siting the piggery
• Indoor or outdoor piggery
• Provide fencing for pigs
• Provide water for pigs
• Pig nutrition - a diet fit for a pig
• Rule 1: Provide more than just pasture
• Rule 2: Process cereal grains
• Rule 3: One diet does not suit all
• Rule 4: Formulate diets to suit the need
• Rule 5: Cool water is available at all times
• Rule 6: Do not feed 'prohibited pig feed' (swill) to pigs
• Rule 7: Check for hazardous substances in feed and beware
• Manage manure and effluent
• Marketing your pigs
• Pig health
• Parasites
• Reproduction failure
• Diarrhoea
• Respiratory disease
• Nervous behaviour
• Salt poisoning
• Leg and movement problems
• Skin diseases
• Vertebrate pests
• Rodent control for outdoor piggeries
• Case study: The accidental pig farmer
• Case study: Bred free range
• Case study: Indoor farrow to finish piggery