04-LancMter Farming Saturday, October 28,1989
Pork
(Continued from Pag* D 2)
sooner. In their seven trials, 20 per
cent of the sows were in heat
before weaning compared to none
in the control group. The average
interval from weaning to breeding
was reduced by about 2.5 days.
The effect on the pigs was not dra
matic but in the limited nursed
group, weight gain was somewhat
lower and creep feed intake was
higher.
Most other studies show similar
results, with some researchers
even making successful matings
while sows are still nursing. But
the practicality of this routine is
really open to question. First, it
will require a lot of labor to lock
the pigs up several times a day
every day for the last week of lac
tation. Second, getting the sow
bred a few days sooner will save
only a dollar or two in total feed
costs per litter —$.20 per pig at the
most And Anally, having a sow in
heat in the farrowing house is more
of problem than a benefit—since
you’ll have to handle her different
ly than the others who would be
weaned and bred a few days later
in the breeding bam.
Split weaning
One of the suggested benefits of
this technique is to provide a boost
to small pigs near the end of lacta
tion. By weaning the larger pigs
first, their smaller litter mates get
the benefits of an extra week of
sow’s milk minus the competition
from the larger pigs. And like lim
ited nursing, the researchers argue
that the sows can be bred back
Prose
Among the first institutions to
explore this technique was North
Carolina State University in 1981.
Five days before weaning, litter
size was adjusted in the experi
mental sows. They were left with
small (3 pigs), average (8 pigs), or
large (13 pigs) litters. Sows nurs
ing small litters came into heat
about three days sooner than the
other two groups. Pig performance
before and after weaning was near
ly identical for all three groups.
A study three years later at Kan
sas State University reported simi
lar results.
But the findings of a trial com
pleted last year atthe University of
Saskatchewan did not completely
agree with the previous reports. In
the Canadian trial, large pigs were
weaned at 21 days, the smaller pigs
at 28 days. The only effect on the
sow was her weight change during
the last week of lactation. The
split-nursed sows actually gained
weight, 1.5 pounds, between
between week three and four, com-
pared to a 14-pound weight loss in
the control group.
Pigs in the Canadian study from
the split-nursed groups did not
seem to fair any better than their
contemporaries on the control
sows. For example, the large pigs
taken from the sow at day 21 did
not grow any faster than similar
pigs left on the sow. And the small
pigs, which should have shown the
best response, also could not out
perform the small pigs in the con
trol group. So the split-weaning
technique is not much to get
excited about.
SUMMARY
1. Split nursing—giving small
pigs the first shot at the udder right
after farrowing may boost survival
rates in the litter. The trade-off is
that someone must be there at par
turition. With the approval of
Lutalyse, that’s no longer imprac
tical. So for some producers this
may be worth the effort.
2. Limited nursing—allowing
pigs access to the udder only three
to four times a day during the last
week of lactation. Pulling this one
off is no small task. The juice is
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ADAMSTOWN EQUIP., INC MEYER'S IMPLEMENTS INC
Box 455, 400 N. Atrlm Woy
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hardly worth the squeezing, since
the only thing you get for your
efforts is a sow in heat a day or two
sooner than normal.
3. Split weaning—weaning the
hugest pigs about a week before
1.56 Million Pounds
Pennsylvania Trout Sold
The state’s 39 commercial trout
growers sold 1.56 million pounds
of trout valued at $4.33 million
during the 12-month period ending
August 31, according to the Pen
nsylvania Agricultural Statistics
Service.
Sales by the stale’s growers of
food-sized trout, usually 12 inches
or longer, totaled 1.04 million
pounds of 67 percent of total pro
duction sold during the period,
PASS reported. At an average of
$2.64 per pound, the food-sized
trout were valued at $2.74 million.
Sixty-three percent of the food
sized production was sold to fee
and recreational fishing establish
ments, while processors and
rjf tH
SOILERS & FLAIL SHREDDERS
A POPULAR AND VERSATILE SOIL
Management tool. Hie husky curved shanks of
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Nil FUCKER A SONS, INC
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CLUGSTON FARM EQUIPMENT
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Naadmora
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the remaining litter mates. Based
mi present experiments, this is
another routine that’s not worth the
trouble. The sows may cycle a few
days sooner, but the pigs fair no
better—whether weaned early or
left on the sow.
restaurants accounted for 19 per
cent and 11 percent of production,
respectively.
Pennsylvania growers’ sales of
stocker trout, usually six to 12
inches long, totaled 1.13 million
fish, or 514,000 pounds live
weight, during the period. At an
average of $2.94 per pound, Stock
er sales were valued at $1.51 mil
lion, with 80 percent of the volume
sold to fee and recreational
establishments.
The report noted that although
39 commercial gorwers are located
throughout the Commonwealth,
most are situated in eastern and
southeastern counties.
HLS. YEARSLEY 1 SONS
Wmt ChMMr
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SHORE TRACTOR 00.
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RD *3, Box 17*
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DEED MOTHERS EQUIPMBff
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FOBTER EQUIPMENT MIES
ElmOf
CALDWELL TRACTOR A
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Routs SI A Church SL
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