Pigs are omnivores which means they are happy to eat a wide range of foods (plant and animal products). Despite this, pigs also have specific nutritional needs that are unlikely to be met by only feeding household scraps.
In a commercial setting pig diets are finely tuned to maximise growth at different life stages. For most backyard pig owners, simply keeping your pigs healthy is the primary concern. Feeding a balanced pig pellet is the best way to ensure there is sufficient essential nutrients in your pig’s diet.
In addition to pellets, grass and household scraps are great sources of fibre and behavioural enrichment for your pigs. However, you do have to be cautious when feeding food scraps to pigs. The feeding of ANY meat product or anything that has had contact with meat products, without heat treatment, is prohibited. Heat treatment means to be kept boiling (at 100°C) for at least an hour with regular stirring. MPI has set these requirements for pig feeding to prevent the introduction of exotic diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) to New Zealand. FMD is a severe disease of cloven-hoofed animals (pigs, cows, sheep, deer, alpaca and llama). New Zealand has never had a case of FMD before and an outbreak would have serious effects on animal welfare and our economy. The virus can survive in meat products and travel on the wind for hundreds of kilometres. It may seem like the risk from your few backyard pigs is low but once a pig becomes infected, they can shed huge amounts of virus before showing signs of infection meaning an outbreak could be well underway before detection. As a pig owner it is your responsibility to reduce the risk of an FMD outbreak. If you are unsure if your food scraps contain meat or have been in contact with meat (e.g. restaurant scraps) they MUST be heat treated or discarded.
Summer health issues for pigs
Despite the saying ‘sweating like a pig’ pigs can’t sweat! This means they rely on shade and water to keep cool in the summertime. Exposure to excessive sun or heat can cause sunburn, heat stroke, and dehydration. When pigs have been dehydrated and then drink too much water too quickly, they can get ‘salt toxicity’, unfortunately this is often fatal.
Signs that pigs are over heating or not drinking enough include:
Preventing heat stroke and dehydration:
The risk of sunburn is highest for white pigs. Provision of shade is the most important part of prevention, but wallows can provide mud for a natural ‘sunscreen’. If your pigs don’t choose to stay in the shade or wallow enough to cover themselves well, you can apply an animal safe sunscreen such as Filtabac. If you are concerned your pig has already been sunburnt, Filtabac can help prevent further burning.
