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National Agricultural Research Institute
Copies of this leaflet can be obtained from:
Feeding Pigs on local foods
The Livestock Information Centre
National Agricultural Research Institute
Livestock Research Programme
PO Box 1639
LAE 411
Morobe Province
Telephone: (675) 475 1066/475 1248
Facsimile: (675) 475 1248
Email: [email protected]
NARI TOKTOK
LAB 006
February 2003
FEEDING PIGS ON LOCAL
FOODS
Most of the body of the pig, apart from the
bones and fat, is made up of various kinds of
complex substances called proteins. All of the
various kinds of food that a pig may eat also
contain at least some protein. The pig
converts the protein in the food into the
proteins needed to maintain the body, to grow
and in the case of breeding sows to support
pregnancy or milk production.
This conversion of food proteins into pig
proteins requires energy, which is also
obtained from the food. Food energy also
serves as fuel to enable the pig to live and do
all the things that pigs do. Since all substances
contain energy, the body itself is a store of
energy. Surplus energy from the food that is
not immediately needed by the pig is stored in
the form of fat.
Some pigs may not like to eat the protein
concentrate or types of protein meals
suggested. Also it is necessary to make sure
that each pig eats the required amount.
Therefore the meal should be mixed with other
foods or made into a soup with foods such as
the household kitchen scraps. It is necessary
to have good feeding containers that the pigs
cannot tip over or climb into and thus waste
the food.
Remember these two rules –
Do make sure that every pig gets its share of
the food.
Do not waste the protein rich food.
If you have any questions or need help, ask
your DPI, DAL or NGO extension agent. That
is what they are there for.
Most common pig foods, except commercial
feeds, have high energy content but
inadequate protein to provide for rapid growth.
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protein rich, energy rich and green leaf foods.
If the pigs are still hungry after eating the
suggested quantities, then they can be given
more green leaves.
An alternative is to feed growing pigs a fixed
amount of the protein rich food every day to
each pig and allow it free choice to eat as much
energy food and leaves as it likes. Each pig
should be given about 150g of actual protein
in addition to the protein in the other foods.
This quantity of protein can be found in 300g
of high protein concentrate, soyabean meal,
meat meals or fish meal, in 0.5 kg of the fish
meal – copra meal mix, or in 1kg of fresh fish.
This system only works if the pigs are given
enough other foods to satisfy their appetites.
Otherwise they will use some of the
expensive protein as a source of energy. Sows
feeding large numbers of baby pigs on milk
should be given twice as much protein rich
food as suggested for growing pigs.
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This is true of root crops, grains, fruits such as
bananas and breadfruit, coconuts and sago.
Pigs eating mainly these feeds will grow slowly
and become fat while still small. They may
eventually become large and fat but only after
a year or more. Foods rich in protein such as
fish or fish meal, meat meals or offals, beans
such as soyabeans, copra meal, palm kernel
meal and wheat millrun tend to be hard to get
or expensive. Any serious attempts to increase
the protein content of the food to improve pig
growth will have a cost.
Most local village or household pigs therefore
live on a diet, which has too little protein to
balance the energy. Especially suffering are
young pigs from the age of four or five weeks
when the mother’s milk is no longer adequate
for their needs, and breeding sows expected
to have a successful pregnancy and then feed
their babies adequately up to weaning. There
is a need to find ways to help the pigs to get
enough protein as well as simply enough food.
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What can be done?
Firstly the farmer should feed the pigs as wide
a variety of foods as possible. In particular,
pigs should not be expected to live just on
sweet potato or coconut alone. Many types of
green leaf are quite rich in protein and are
readily eaten by pigs. One meal of the day can
be made up of household leftovers and
wastes, stable crops, fruits, fish wastes or
coconut while the other meal can be green
leaves such as sweet potato, various legumes,
breadfruit, banana, waste vegetables or other
locally known edible leaves. Also it is known
that sweet potato mounds and gardens can
be rich in earthworms as well as containing
unharvested tubers and vines after harvest.
Pigs should be allowed access to these feeds.
Secondly for farmers in coastal villages, every
effort should be made to increase the use of
surplus and waste fish. Growing pigs need up
to 1kg of fresh fish each day while sows
feeding baby pigs need 2.0-2.5 kg. Surplus
fish at times of plenty can be chopped up and
sun dried for later use. Note that 1kg of dried
fish is about equal to 3kg of fresh fish.
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Thirdly it is possible to purchase protein rich
foods to go with the available local foods. Note
that it is no use simply adding pig grower meal
to the diet if the pigs are getting enough of a
variety of foods because there will still not be
enough protein. You will need to arrange to
obtain a high protein concentrate meal or
meals such as fish meal, meat and bone meal
or soyabean meal. A good mixture is half and
half fish meal and copra meal. Most feed mills
make a high protein concentrate designed to
go with energy rich foods and the Lae Feed
Mills would make such a meal if there were
sufficient demand.
How much to feed?
In general, pigs on local feeds can be given
as much as they will eat in two meals a day.
However, it is important not to over-feed any
expensive purchased protein foods. It is
possible to prepare feeding plans setting out
the quantities of suitable combinations of
available foods necessary to satisfy the
requirements of the different types or weights
of pig for best growth or breeding. NARI
Livestock Programme scientists can prepare
such plans for any reasonable combination of
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