Taking the new grain into the feeding of pigs - What to remember?
Published: 2022-08-23
The summer of 2022 had a huge negative impact on grain production - especially for corn, sunflower and soybean. High yields for wheat and barley - but a very dry and heavy harvest.
With extremely high temperatures all over Europe, many fields and crops were compromised because of lack of water. The wheat and barley were with a good yield in general but more dry and heavy than usual.
Before taking the feed into use it is important to check the grinding size of the feed and use the right sieves or mill adjustments, in order to get the right size of grain particles in the final feed. This is very important due to very dry grains from the new harvest with 11-12% water content.
- The Bygholm Sieve is a very useful tool, which should not miss any grain mill. We recommend to use it every 14 days in order to be ahead and prevent any trouble related to feed grinding size. There is a very narrow line between the feed particle size, feed conversion and animal health.
Written by:
Cristian Calin Chisiu
Sales Manager, Romania
ccch@vilomix.dk
+4 0723 639424
| Sows | Piglets and growers | |
| Below 1 mm | 50% | 70-75% |
| Between 1 and 2 mm | 35% | 25-30% |
| More than 2 mm | 15% | 0% |
Very fine grinding can cause a lot of different troubles in all pig categories
- It can cause lower feed intake, diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems, sneezing (even pneumonia), stomach ulcers, etc. If the wheat is very fine grinded it becomes sticky and creates discomfort. Pigs can become restless or aggressive and start tail biting
- Fine grinding and poor fiber content of the feed is not providing a proper stratification of the feed in the stomach, so there is a higher risk that the gastric content, with a low pH, gets in contact with the white part of the stomach and induce the development of ulcers
- Pelletizing a dusty feed does not help the stomach. The fine particles will create the same problems due to not having a proper feed stratification
Very fine grinding can cause a lot of different troubles in all pig categories
- Adding coarse grinded grains to `dilute` the very fine grinded feed is not an effective solution to eliminate the problems
- Coarse grinding (not seen very often) induce a lower feed conversion and daily gain. The partial digested grains can be seen in the manure so the feed is wasted
- Whenever a recipe is changing or using new grains it is important to remember to weigh one liter of dry feed directly from the feeders in the stable so the feed adjustment can be done correctly
- It is very important to update the raw material lab analyzes and feed recipes according to the new analyzes results. The more detailed lab analyzes - the more fine feed recipes adjustments. Make analyzes at least for % of protein, water, fat, fiber (cellulose) and if possible Ca and P.
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