Good pigs are made, and it’s all about feeds and housing

-Records should be able to help you monitor the growth of weaners as well as proper feeding of animals.

-Pig rearing remains a lucrative venture with promising future. Apart from pork, pigs are also kept for bacon. The products fetch significantly higher prices in the market compared to the commonly consumed beef.

-However, the quality of the products is still an issue to re-visit; calling for a number of production factors to be enhanced.

It all begins with breeds.
Common pig breeds that do well are Large White and the Land Race.  In detailed selection, go for gilts that are healthy, have strong legs with the body and thigh muscles well-developed. 

Such kinds of breeds are likely to have higher feed conversion efficiency, high growth rate to market weight and attract premium price.

Housing: Pigs are best managed when housed. Most importantly related to end-result products.  Housing of pigs protects them from harsh environmental conditions and diseases like African swine fever. Pigs frequently suffering from diseases are most likely to give poor quality products.

Hygiene management:  Pigs are generally dirty animals?
No.  Pigs, like at Egerton University, are well-trained to dung in the dunging area.
Taking into account a good drainage system will also save you the mess. Poor sanitation
offers good conditions for bacterial multiplication that lead to different illnesses.

Diseases and parasites
control:  Parasites are a menace to pigs. They contribute to slow growth rate, therefore, pigs cannot attain market weight corresponding to their weights. Internal parasites like worms for example, compete with the pigs for nutrients.  These can be eliminated through deworming to let the pigs get the best out of what you feed.

In case of disease outbreaks, seek veterinary help as soon as possible.  Strictly observe the withdrawal period in case of any treatments.  Products with residues are likely to face quality tests if bought by commercial processors dealing with pig products.

Feeding:  A good feeding regime should provide the nutritional needs of pigs depending on age, weight and stage of production.  Commercial pig meals are very expensive but really contribute to faster growth rate as well as provide them with balanced nutrients.  In an effort to minimise cost with least disturbance on availability of nutrients, ingredients can be sort in the now expanding market to formulate your meals at home.
They include maize bran, cotton-seed and pre-mixed vitamins. Alternatively, feed them on cheaply available stuff classed in energy sources like maize, cassava, sweet potato roots and vines; protein sources like milk and milk by products and minerals, vitamins
and water.

-Avoid feeding pigs directly on leftovers.

Lastly, records will help you do the decision making and make adjustments where necessary. Proper records should be able to monitor the growth of weaners as well as help achieve feeding and market efficiency.

Source: Daily Nation
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Duck farming guide

Duck farming is very popular and absolutely a lucrative  business. Ducks are highly available around the world. There are numerous meat and egg productive duck breeds available throughout the world.

-All the present domestic ducks around the glove come from the wild birds. Those wild birds wonder
around the world, and some of them have been domesticated as a good source of food. 

Ducks

-Almost all those wild birds are from mallard species. Incidentally, all hen of the world comes from
red wild hen. You might know that, ducks are aquatic organism. Some people think that, duck without water and pond without water are the same. Even, some people think, ducks can’t live without water. But it’s totally wrong.

-You can not imagine pond without water, but duck can be raised without water.

-Thousands of ducks can be raised without water by keeping them inside house, in the same way you
raise chickens or other types of poultry birds.

-But, keep in mind that, in case of raising ducks without water ‘your ducks
will lay unfertilized egg’.

-That means you can’t hatch the eggs for producing ducklings. If you want fertile eggs, male ducks
and water are essential. You can easily raise ducks without water, they just need water for reproduction or mating purposes.

Goat Farming in Kenya

Goat Farming in Kenya

Commercial dairy and meat goat farming in Kenya are growing fast and contributing much to the national income, economic growth and better human nutrition source. In the past few years, goat farming has become very popular with small scale farmers in urban and densely populated areas of Kenya. I have included here, the benefits and other necessary steps for starting goat farming in Kenya.