Pig Farm with Fish Farm, Pig Manure as Fish Feed

Introduction: Hello friends today we are here to provide a great information on pig farm with fish farm or integrated fish and pig farming. Piggery farming is a highly profitable enterprise because, among the domestic animals, pigs are the most prolific. In India, pig farming and also pork production are in the hands of traditional pig farmers belonging to lower-income group people.

A step by step guide to pig farm with fish farm

Integrated farming technology mainly involves a combination of fish polyculture integrated with crop or livestock production. The pig manure contains 70% of digestible food for fishes besides certain digestive enzymes. It provides a nutrient base for planktons which are ultimately used by the fishes as natural food. Recently, the increasing trend of pig farming has increased the availability of pig manures which can be effectively used for integrating pig-and-fish farming.

Benefits of pig farm with fish farm (integrated fish and pig farming)

The advantages of an integrated fish and pig farming system can be given below;

• The pig dung acts as an excellent pond fertilizer and raises the biological productivity of the pond and consequently increases fish farming.
• Some of the fishes feed directly on the pig excrete which have 70 percent digestible food for the fish.
• No supplementary feed is required for the fish culture, which usually accounts for 60 percent of the total input cost in conventional fish culture.
• The pond dikes give space for the erection of animal housing units. Pond water is used for cleaning the pigsties and also for bathing the pigs.
• The integrated system cannot be adopted in all parts of India due to religious consideration but it has special significance in certain areas as it can improve the socioeconomic status of weaker rural communities, particularly the tribals who traditionally raise pigs and can take up fish-pig farming
• The fish utilize the food spilled by pigs and their excreta which is rich in nutrients.
• No additional land is necessary for piggery operations. Cattle fodder necessary for pigs and grass is grown on the pond embankments.
• Then it results in high production of animal protein per unit area and it ensures high profit through less investment.

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Reasons to raise pigs with fish farming

The pig could fit into diverse systems of management. It can be reared on kitchen wastes, industrial or agricultural by-products and also slaughterhouse offal. Pigs are voracious eater and convert agro-waste into edible and highly nutritious meat. It is one of the best feed converter and prolific amongst all domesticated livestock. With a short generation interval, a sow can make 16 piglets in a year. Dressing percentage is high (65 to 70%) in comparison to sheep- goat (45 to 55%). Piggery can generate employment opportunities for the rural population.

Suitable breeds for pig farm with fish farm

• Large and Middle white Yorkshire
• Bark shire
• Duroc
• Hereford
• Landrace
• Chester white
• Tamworth
• Crosses between exotic and indigenous pigs and pure local breeds are available.
• In Indian conditions Large and Middle White Yorkshire and their crosses could be most adaptable.

Culture practices for pig farm with fish farm

The ponds measuring about 1000 m² may be located near the house so that you can take care of the fish and pigs and can discourage poaching. Carefully check and repair the dikes. The pond must be deep enough to retain more than 1 m water depth during the dry period.

Pond preparation for pig farm with fish farm

Drain and dry the pond to remove all the weeds and fish remaining in the pond. If it is not possible to drain the pond, all the fish can be killed by applying 15 kg of bleaching powder and urea for a 1000 m² pond. Alternatively, 250 kg Mahua oil cake can be applied which kills all the fishes and acts as organic pond fertilizer. Pigs are brought to the pond before stocking the fish, so no basal application of manure is necessary.

Housing management in integrated fish and pig farming

The pigs are sensitive to adverse climatic condition hence, well-protected housing is necessary for pig farming. It must be well protected from direct sunlight, rain, and wind. The walls and floor must be strong enough to withstand the rooting habits of pigs. To give thermal comfort in hot summer days a wallowing tank may be provided in the pig house. Pigs are kept under two housing systems that are Indoor system and Open-air system. A combination of these two systems is advantageous and can be adopted in pig farming.

Pig raising in integrated fish and pig farming

The number of pigs required will mainly depend upon the pond area. The excreta of 3 pigs are sufficient to fertilize a pond of 1 000 m². So three pigs can be raised on a pond of 0.1 ha. As pigs attain slaughter size within 5 to 6 months and fish raising of Indian exotic carp is done for 10-12 months, two lots of pigs can be raised along with one lot of fish.

The pigsties are constructed on the pond embankments in such a way that washings are drained to the pond through a delivery channel. A diversion channel is always provided to divert the excreta away from the ponds as these increase algal bloom or any other abnormality. Washings of pigsties are then drained into the pond after sunrise to avoid oxygen depletion.

The pigsties can be constructed from any available cheap materials but the floor should be cemented with a slope towards the pond. Each pig is provided with a floor space of 1 to 1.5 m².

Space requirement for pig farm with fish farm

For furrowing sows an individual farrowing pen with 10 to 16 sq ft/ sow having feed and water trough guard rails and creep area must be provided. A concrete yard with feed and the water trough is sufficient for fatteners. A sow with litter requires 80 sq ft covered and 70 sq ft open area.

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Use of pig waste as manure in integrated fish and pig farming

Pigsty washings including pig dung, urine, and spilled feed are channeled into the fish pond. Pig dung is mainly applied to the pond every morning. Each pig voids between 500 to 600 kg dung/year, which is equivalent to 250 to 300 kg/pig/6 months.

The excreta voided by 30 – 40 pigs are adequate to fertilize a one-hectare pond. When the first lot of pigs are disposed of after 6 months, the size of excreta going to the pond decreases. This does not affect the fish growth as the organic load in the pond is sufficient to tide over for the next 2 months when new piglets grow to provide more excreta.

If the pig dung is not sufficient, pig dung can be collected from other sources and then applied to the pond. Pig dung mainly consists 69 – 71% moisture, 1.3 – 2% nitrogen and 0.36 – 0.39 phosphate. The quality and quantity of excreta depend upon the feed provided and the age of the pigs. The application of pig dung is deferred on the days when the algal blooms appear.

Stocking of fish in integrated fish and pig farming

The stocking rates vary from 8,000 to 8,500 fingerlings/ha and a species ratio of 40% surface feeders, 20% of column feeders, 30 % bottom feeders and 10 to 20% weedy feeders are ideal for high fish yields. Mixed culture of Indian major carps can be taken up with a species ratio of 40% surface, 30% column and 30% bottom feeders.

In the northern and northwestern states of India, the ponds must be stocked in March and harvested in October – November. Due to severe winter, the growth of pond fishes gets affected.

In the south, coastal and northeastern states of India, the winter season is mild; the ponds must be stocked in June – September months. Snd harvested after rearing the fish for 12 months.

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Feeding requirement in integrated fish and pig farming

The pigs are hardy animals and they may suffer from diseases like swine fever, swine plague, swine pox and also infected with roundworms, tapeworms, and liver flukes, etc.

Pigsties must be washed daily and all the excreta drained and offal into the pond. The pigs are washed. Disinfectants should be used every week while washing the pig – sites. Piglets and pigs must be vaccinated.

An adult boar must be fed 2 kg concentrate mixture daily. For a pregnant sow, the ration is about 2.5 kg and for lactating sow, it is 3.0 kg daily. Piglets consume 10 kg creep feed up to 8 weeks of age.

The dietary requirements are mostly similar to ruminants. The pigs are not allowed to go out of the pig house where they are fed on a balanced pig mash of about 1.4 kg/pig/day.

Grasses and green cattle fodder is provided as food to pigs. To minimize food spoilage and to facilitate good feeding without scrambling and fighting, it is better to give feeding troughs. Similar separate troughs are provided for drinking water.

The composition of pig mash is a mixture of about 30 kg rice bran, 15 kg polished rice, 27 kg wheat bran, 10 kg broken rice, 10 kg groundnut cake, 4 kg fish meal, 3 kg mineral mixture and also 1 kg common salt.

To reduce the quantity of ration and also to reduce the cost, spoiled vegetables, particularly the rotten potatoes can be mixed with pig mash and fed to pigs after boiling.

Fish and piggery management

The pig dung as an organic manure for fish culture has advantages over cattle manure. The waste produced by 20 to 30 pigs is equivalent to one ton of Ammonium sulfate applied to the soil.

The pigs are fed largely on kitchen waste, aquatic plants and also crop byproducts. At present, fish-pig integration is formed in all the developing countries.

Many exotic breeds of pigs have been introduced in the country to augment pork production. The popular pig races are the white Yorkshire, Berkshire, and Landrace.

The pigsties must provide adequate protection from adverse weather conditions. A run or courtyard adjacent to the pig house is necessary.

The size of the pig house mainly depends on the number of pigs to be reared. Floor space is provided @ 3-4 m2 for every pig weighing 70 to 90 kg. The pigsties are built at the pond sites and even over the ponds.

The washings from the pigsties containing dung and urine are either channelized directly into the pond before its application. Then the boars, sows and finishing stocks are housed separately.

Maize, groundnut, wheat- bran, fishmeal, mineral mixture give a base for concentrated feed mixture. In advanced countries, garbage is generally used to economize pork production and provided after pre-cooking when pig dung is applied to a pond.

It enhances the biological productivity of the pond and a portion of dung is directly consumed by some fish also. The excreta voided by 35 to 40 pigs are found adequate to fertilize one hectare of water. Integrated fish-pig farming is a viable and feasible scientific approach to fish production at a low cost. The net income in fish and pig integration from one hectare of the pond is Rs.2,60,000/-.

Harvesting of fish in integrated fish and pig farming

Due to the abundance of natural food in the fish-pig pond, and the fish attains marketable size within a few months. Partial harvesting, therefore, must be done three times, depending upon the growth of fish. Final harvesting may be done after 10 to 12 months.

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