Pig raising in winter

With the rapid development of the pig industry, more and more professional households use closed pig houses to raise pigs in winter, which has played a certain role in increasing the temperature in the house, reducing feed consumption, and increasing the efficiency of pig raising. However, due to some professional households ignoring the adjustment and control of other environmental factors, some side effects are inevitably brought about, which affects the improvement of pig raising benefits.

1. Ventilation

Regardless of the size of the pig house or the number of pigs in the house, it is essential to keep the air in the house fresh and well-ventilated. This issue is especially important in high-density housing. Because of poor ventilation, a large amount of harmful gases such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide will be released at any time and fill the entire pig house, affecting the normal growth and development of pigs and causing various diseases. Therefore, ventilation should be done for about half an hour between 11:00 a.m and 1:00 p.m. every day during production. An exhaust fan can also be installed on the wall of the pig house to quickly discharge the dirty air in the house at any time. Pay close attention to the ventilation system in winter, so as not to cause strong winds or lower the temperature in the house too low, which may cause pig arthritis, colds, pneumonia, and other diseases.

2. Lighting

Sufficient and reasonable light can ensure the healthy growth of pigs, which is very important for breeding pigs. Because sufficient light is conducive to the development of bones, it has a better preventive effect on milk paralysis in lactating sows.

3. Drinking water

Water is very important to pig production. The consequence of water shortage is often more serious than that of feed shortage. Water participates in the whole metabolic process of the body. It plays an irreplaceable role in regulating body temperature, nutrient operation, digestion, absorption, and waste removal. , Drinking water in winter is about 2 to 3 times that of pigs eating air-dried feed or about 10% of their body weight. To supply pigs with sufficient and clean drinking water, water troughs or automatic drinking fountains can be set up in the pigsty, or warm water can be added to the trough after feeding. But you can't use too thin feed instead of drinking water. Feeding too thin feed will dilute the digestive juice, affect digestion, weaken chewing function, reduce feed intake, and affect normal growth and development.

4. Temperature

The most suitable temperature for pigs is 8-20°C, too high or too low temperature is not conducive to growth and development. To keep the pig house at a suitable temperature, care should be taken to keep warm in winter. The doors and windows of the pig house should be covered with straw curtains at night or on snowy days. When conditions permit, the pig house can be covered tightly with plastic film, which is beneficial to increase the temperature of the house and increase the light. Corn stalks can also be used outside the north wall of the pig house. Build a wind barrier wall, and stack haystacks to keep out the wind and cold; rice husks, sawdust, etc. can also be added on the roof of the canopy as a cold-proof layer; a half-meter-deep pit is dug on the ground, and a soft grass is laid to allow the piglets to drill inside to keep warm.

5. Humidity

The thermal conductivity of humid air is 10 times that of dry air. If the humidity in the house is too high, the heat emitted by the pig's body will increase, making the pig colder and causing diseases such as eczema. In order to prevent the pig house from being wet, the pens should be replaced with dry soil and bedding frequently, and the pigs should be trained to defecate and urinate at fixed points to ensure that the place where the pigs lie is clean and dry. In production, methods such as releasing quicklime blocks indoors can be used to reduce the humidity in the house.

6. Stress

The winter climate is cold, and pigs are very sensitive to stress. In case of stress, the growth and development of pigs will be hindered and feed consumption will increase. Therefore, to keep the pig house and the surrounding environment quiet, the breeders should wear fixed work clothes. Miscellaneous personnel are not allowed to enter the pig house to block the rat holes in the pig house. Regularly put bait outside the house to eliminate rats and prevent cats, dogs, and Rats from entering the pig house, and it is strictly forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers around the pig house; feed processing, loading, and unloading should be kept away from the pig house, which can not only prevent noise stress but also prevent cross-infection of pig diseases.

7. Density

Increasing the stocking density is conducive to increasing the temperature in the house. Generally, in winter, the number of pigs can be increased by 1/3 to 1/2 compared to usual, and the pigs are allowed to sleep next to each other to keep warm with body temperature. Because there are more pigs, there will be more heat release, and the shed temperature will be increased accordingly.

8. Feeding

Feeding raw and dry feed can prevent the freezing phenomenon of feeding wet feed in severe winter so that pigs can eat freely at any time to ensure that each pig can eat well. You can leave part of the cement floor in the pig trough or pig house to sprinkle dry material upwards and feed it 3 times a day, preferably with a little leftover food in the trough.

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