The Dependence of Piglet Productivity on the Method of Feed Preparation and the Feeding of Piglets

Abstract

The article investigated the productivity of piglets and the efficiency of their rearing in relation to the type of feed preparation and the type of feeding, and the influence of these factors on growth intensity, piglet survival rate, feed costs and feed costs for rearing a piglet on farms in the Kingdom of Denmark, using data from the consultancy Svine Rådgivningen's open source evaluation analysis of DB-Tjek pig farms for 2021. It was found that preparing feed from own raw materials in the farms' capacities had no influence on the growth intensity of piglets during rearing and feed conversion during this period. At the same time, these farms had 9.15% lower costs per 1 kg of piglet growth, which contributed to a 1.05% reduction in the cost of a piglet at the end of rearing compared to farms feeding piglets exclusively with purchased feed. It was shown that the growth intensity of piglets did not depend on the feeding method, while liquid feeding contributed to a 4.99% improvement in feed conversion, resulting in a 3.03% reduction in the share of feed costs in the rearing of 1 animal. In addition, liquid feeding enabled a 0.67% reduction in the proportion of veterinary costs per animal. The feeding method was found to have a probable influence on the preservation of the piglets and the conversion of the feed during their rearing, but no significant influence on the intensity of the animals' growth and the feed costs of their rearing. At the same time, the method of feed preparation had no significant influence on any of the indicators studied.