Pig farming is a worthwhile venture 

Pork and other pig products account for more than 30 per cent of meat products consumed worldwide. This gives Ugandans the opportunity to get into this in-demand product and make some profits this year. 
Pig farming is profitable if you are prepared to handle the challenges that come with pig farming and grow your pigs to reach the required market standards at minimal costs. 
In this article, we look at what needs to be done to be able to make pig farming a worthwhile venture. 

Benefits of pig farming
According to the Chinese zodiac, pigs are seen to represent happiness, fortune, and virility. In as much as you are not Chinese, pigs could as well bring you fortune and happiness in your life. There are a lot of farmers out there making a good income from pig farming and I really hope this article brings you closer to being one of them. 

Pigs have very high feed conversion efficiency. This is especially important if you do not have a lot of animal feeds in your farm. Pigs gain more live weight from a given weight of feed than the other livestock. 
Also, pigs can consume a wide variety of locally available feeds such as grains, forages, and non-meat kitchen leftovers and convert them into valuable nutritious meat. 
Pigs are very fertile with a shorter generation interval than other livestock. A sow can be farrowed twice in a year. It can give birth to up to 12 piglets in each farrowing. 

Factors to consider
Before beginning a pig farming venture, there are some things you should look at before actualising your plans. Ignoring some factors may lead to untold losses in terms of time and money.

Availability of water
“Water availability is a factor that comes first. Pigs consume 10-50 litres of water in a day. Any shortage will lead to reduced productivity, diseases, or even death,” says Andrew Mukasa, an agronomist at Royal Piggery in Matugga.
“You should ensure that there is enough water supply that will serve your herd. I recommend a three-day water reserve at all times be available to the pigs,” explains Mukasa. Water is also essential to maintain sty hygiene to prevent the spread of any diseases.

Feeding
Pigs are omnivores hence you can mix their feeds with a range of other ingredients to produce a balanced diet. 
The availability or affordability of such feeds hugely influences the profit margins you intend to achieve in the running of your pig farming business. 
If possible, you are advised to plant your own forage and try as much as possible to practice feed mixing yourself as ready pig mix feeds are quite costly.

Housing
You are going to require a strong built-in structure to house your pigs. The house should be divided into pens of various sizes depending on the growth stage of the pigs. Any overcrowding in the pig pens will result in losses due to fast-spreading diseases such as diarrhoea. The sty should also be easy to clean in order to maintain hygiene at all times.

Breeding
You can also get into the pig business by starting a breeding farm. However, if you are a new farmer, you should first start by rearing small pigs to help you learn about the desirable pig traits. You will also need a lot of capital in order to purchase very high-grade pigs and high quality feeds to kick-start your business.
Pig housing
Housing is key in the growth and development of your pigs. The location of the pigsty is also important. The golden rule is, a comfortable pig is a healthy pig and a happy farmer. Some factors you should consider in terms of location are:

Your pigsty should be away at least 8-10 metres from your house unless a pig’s bleat is music to your ears. The site should be elevated to avoid flooding by rainwater.  Your chosen site should be close to your electricity and water source and should also enable you to easily collect manure.
Your sty could be constructed with wood or cement depending on the availability of the resources. 
Cement floors could make it easier for you to clean but it may be colder for younger piglets to stay. This may require you to purchase sawdust for cubicles that will host piglets. 

Space requirements
Depending on the stage of growth of your pigs, the optimum space required for healthy pig development varies. When looking at the spacing of the pigs’ pens, divide the pigs into five categories. If you have many pigs, you can build more pens for pigs within a category to reduce competition and fights among the pigs. These categories include:
Weaner piglets - Each piglet requires 0.3-0.5 square metres of space. The place should be warm to protect the health of the young piglets.

Fattening pig- These are pigs that are being prepared to be sold for slaughter. Each pig will require 0.5-1.0 square metres of space. Ensure that you place enough feeding troughs depending on the number of pigs in the pen.
Breeding boars- These are pigs specially selected to improve the quality of your herd through breeding. Each boar will require 6-8 square metres of space. The pen should be particularly strong and high to avoid ‘prison breaks’ among  gilts and sows that are on heat.

Pregnant sows- each sow will require 1.5-2.0 square metres of space. If possible, each sow should be allotted its own pen to maintain a conducive quiet environment.
Lactating sows- Lactating sows require up to 6sq metres of space depending on the number of piglets lactating. You should allot each lactating sow an individual pen with provisions for a farrowing pan, a piglets nest, creep feed for the piglets. Due to the fragile state of the piglets, you should also add provisions for heating and cooling the pen.
 
Breeds 
You might have seen various coloured pigs roaming around in your village shopping centre and struggled to identify the specific breed. This may be difficult because the stray pigs may have bred over the years with several other breeds meaning most of the roaming pigs are crossbreeds. 
However, for confined pigs, it is easier to identify the breed due to its characteristics and colour. Some of the most common pig breeds include;

Large white  
This breed is preferred by most farmers. This is because of its unique features. Their head is usually moderately long. They have erect ears and their face is slightly dished. They usually have longer legs compared to other breeds. Its robust body can withstand different climatic conditions and performs very well. The large white breed sows are known to produce between 10-12 piglets. 
Duroc-Jersey
This breed has a hard skin and a thick fur that is reddish in colour. It possesses good attributes for both growing and rearing. In addition to that, they produce very good bacon. Its forequarters are light and it has small lop ears. 

Landrace pigs
The Landrace breed is known for their white skin, forward drooping ears, and their straight snout. They do well in both confined and outdoor farms. This makes them great for a farmer starting to practise who still has not established the structures. 
Hampshire
The Hampshire, originally from the US, are large, hardy, black, and white pigs with very lean pork. They usually have a black head and shoulders. 

Breeding your pigs
Breeding your pigs enables you to improve your pig grade to one of better quality. A good boar and gilt contribute greatly to the quality of your herd. While selecting a good boar or gilt for breeding, you should consider:
Heat detection in pigs
Detection of heat in pigs is very essential. Early detection will enable you to source the boar in time to mate the gilt. This is because you only have a three-day window during which the gilt is on heat and can mate. Some of the early heat signs include:

The gilt will be restless.
There will be a white discharge from your gilt’s genitalia.
The gilts genitalia will swell and turn red.
The second stage during the three-day period is the service period phase. This phase will last for about 40-60 hours. 
How to induce heat
Sometimes, your gilt may have matured but may not show any signs of heat. 

If this happens, do not panic. There are a few things you can do to try and induce heat in the gilt or sow. Some things you can do include:
Try gently stroking the gilt’s genitalia with a freshly cut pawpaw stalk in the morning for a week.
You can also make use of the pheromones in the boar’s urine by spraying the gilt’s pen with boar urine every morning.

Teeth trimming 
It is necessary to trim the piglet’s teeth to keep them from biting and injuring the udder which may lead to infection. Piglets are born with very sharp teeth which may in turn cause pain to their mother and may prevent the sow from allowing the piglets to suckle.
“You don’t have to be a dentist to do this easy task. All you need is a teeth trimmer and strong guts to go ahead. You should then hold the pig in a comfortable position and roll back its tongue. Using the teeth trimmer, cut off only the top points of the teeth. Always be careful not to injure the piglet,” says Mukasa.

Care for new piglets
New-born piglets are very fragile and vulnerable to many risks. It is especially important to take good care of them to ensure the survival of the whole litter.
Caring for new-born piglets is usually a huge challenge for every farmer, even the experienced ones. However, do not worry. Here are some tips to help you care for your new-born piglets.
A few minutes after birth, the navel of each piglet should be dabbed with an iodine solution to prevent tetanus and inflammation.

You should also ensure that the piglets are able to suckle as soon as possible after birth. 
The weaker pigs should be assisted if necessary. Suckling encourages the sow to let her milk down. Just like humans, the first milk is rich in colostrum and it protects the piglets against diseases. 
If the sow’s milk appears to be little, you can add cows’ milk to supplement. You can also use mashed bean porridge with a little sugar to feed the piglets.