Pig Questions and Answers Archive « Previous Entries T Carter: Weight Gain   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: I have a gilt that is too modern and is growing taller every day. I need to fill her up and add more fat, and at what weight do I need to start doing something? She is 150 lbs now. I also have a gilt that is the right frame but need to add more weight can you help me? Answer: Thank you for your question. It may well be just the genetic makeup of the pigs that give them this appearance. Make sure they are dewormed every month (every 30 days) with Safe Guard (over a 3 days period), Atgard, or Ivomec. If you are not already begin hand feeding (no self feeder). I suggest this diet to help your pigs: (TOTAL FEED PER DAY; DIVIDED INTO TWO EQUAL FEEDINGS): HONOR Show Chow Showpig Grower 2 lbs HONOR Show Chow Powerfill 2 lbs High Octane Power Fuel 1 lbs At about 30 days prior to your show, add 1 lb per day High Octane Champion Drive. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Caleb: Holding   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: I have a market gilt that currently weighs 162 lbs, our fair is 66 days away. She has been gaining 2.5 lbs per day and if she stays at this current gain she will be way over at weigh in. I have her on a self feeder and have taken her off as of right now. I am using the showpig grower and was wondering what kind of program I need to put her on to slow down the gain and if I should switch her to the showpig finisher. She is very well muscled and has gained a lot in the past month, 41 lbs in 19 days. Any help on this matter will be greatly accepted. Answer: Caleb, Thank you for your question and for choosing HONOR Show Chow showpig feeds. You did not mention how much the maximum weight limit is, so I am assuming 280 lbs. The pig will also lose about 5 lbs so your pig can gain 123 lbs in 66 days or about 1.85 lbs per day. For slowing down you pig to about 1.5 lbs per day feed: (TOTAL FEED PER DAY; DIVIDED INTO TWO EQUAL FEEDINGS): HONOR Show Chow Showpig Grower 2 lbs HONOR Show Chow Powerfill 2 lbs The pig should gain about 1.5 lbs per day. If you need more top shape, add 1 lb per day of High Octane Champion Drive. This should have her gaining about 1.8 lbs per day. I have also attached some information on managing weight gain and training pigs to eat. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Lindsay: Holding   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: I have a market barrow that currently weighs 190 lbs, however he cannot weigh over 280 lbs on August 16th. He is currently eating the grower L200. Do you have any suggestions? Answer: Lindsay, Thank you for your question and for choosing HONOR Show Chow. You have 86 days until your fair and only 90 lbs to gain. That is quite a long time without very much gain. I have attached articles on training pigs to eat and on managing weight gain in showpigs. The pig will probably lose 5 lbs on the trip to the show, so you can actually gain about 95 lbs. If the pig is on a self feeder, take that out of the pigs pen as you will no longer need it. The average daily gain is 1.1 lbs per day. First you have buy some time. So, I suggest feeding the below diet starting now: (TOTAL FEED PER DAY; DIVIDED INTO TWO EQUAL FEEDINGS): HONOR Show Chow Powerfill 3 lbs Feed this for the next 21 days. At that time the pig should weigh about 201 lbs with 65 days left to show. The articles should take it from there. Please take a look and let me know if you need more information. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Matt: Muscle Gain   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: I have a barrow who has good width throughout his top but lacks expressive top shape and could use a bigger rump. I would also like to burn off a little excess condition. In general my main objective is to burn fat and shape/build his muscle without increasing his weight gain (on target for show as is). He is currently receiving 6 lbs of HSC Showpig Grower T100 with no additional feed additives. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Answer: Matt, Thank you for your email and for choosing HONOR Show Chow showpig products. We have a new High Octane supplement that fits your needs exactly. High Octane Fitter 35 is specifically designed to accomplish what you desire. Fitter 35 burns fat, and increases muscle. I suggest replacing 2 lbs per day of the Showpig Grower with Fitter 35 for the next 30 days or so. Pay special attention to body condition during this time as Fitter 35 will burn fat. After the 30 days, you can reduce the Fitter 35 to 1 lb per day and 5 lbs or so Showpig Grower. If, the pig gets too lean, or it appears Fitter 35 is burning too much body fat, begin adding 1 lb per day High Octane Power Fuel. Power Fuel is 31% crude fat and will prevent the body condition loss, while the Fitter 35 continues to build muscle. I suggest feeding the Fitter 35 from now all the way through show time. Fitter 35 is NOT medicated, so you do not have to worry about feeding too much Paylean etc. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Randy: Supplement   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: What type or brand of joint supplement do you suggest giving to showpigs here in Louisiana that will be purchased in late September weighing approximately 50 to 60 lbs? Answer: Randy, Thank you for your question. Actually, I suggest a joint supplement like glucosamine and chondroitin only if the pig needs it. That is, if you have one that is not quite right in its skeletal makeup, it is a good idea to supplement natural forms of glucosamine and chondroitin sometime after the pig reaches 150 lbs or so. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Lindsay: Product   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: Last year I started using your Power Fuel product on both species and loved it. It worked wonders. I just saw that you came out with a new Product Fitter 35. My question is it better than Power Fuel? How is it different than Power Fuel? And lastly can you mix the two together. Answer: Lindsay, Thank you for your question and for choosing HONOR Show Chow show products. We actually have 3 High Octane show supplements: High Octane Power Fuel: an extruded high fat (31%) energy supplement that does a great job at adding cover, improving skin and hair, and helping to improve the overall health of the animal. High Octane Champion Drive: a pelleted high protein (32%) supplement that does a great job at adding top shape (muscle definition) And, our new product High Octane Fitter 35: a pelleted high protein (35%) low fat (2.5%) supplement that helps to burn fat and trim up show animals, and build muscle. You can actually feed all 3 together. If you do not want to burn fat, but need to increase muscle, and put more definition in muscle, then for lambs and goats feed about 4 to 8 ounces of each per day per animal. For pigs, it would be about 1 lb per day of each. To prevent Fitter 35 from burning fat, and yet have it help to increase muscle add a little Power Fuel along with Fitter 35. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist James: Product   Monday, May 24th, 2010 Question: I noticed on your website that the Sale prep had been removed. Did you quit making this product? If so what do you recommend as the first feed for newly purchased pigs? Answer: James, Thank you for your question. The old HONOR Show Chow Showpig Starter and Showpig Prep have been discontinued and replaced by the our new pig starter program. PRELUDE 209 is designed for pigs weighing 12 lbs and up, while PRELUDE 409 is designed for pigs weighing 25 lbs and up. I believe you will really like what the new PRELUDE program does for your pigs. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Phillip: Product   Friday, May 7th, 2010 Question: I would like to put more muscle on my 110 lb show pig. Can I add payload to my feed now for 20 to 30 days. Then wait to feed payload again until 20 days before the county fair? Answer: Phillip, Thank you for your question. You can feed Paylean now when the pig weighs 110 lbs, but that would be off label. That means illegal. The FDA claim says the minimum weight needs to be 150 lbs before feeding Paylean. However, we have a product that will help you. I suggest adding our new High Octane Fitter 35 at 1 lb per day to your pigs diet to help increase the amount of muscle. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Blain: Feed Strategy   Friday, May 7th, 2010 Question: This is my first year in 4H and I have two gilts. One weighed in at 131 lbs and the other at 118 lbs on May 1st. Our weight limit at fair is 230 to 280 lbs. Our weigh in for fair is July 22nd. I was told one pig was 20 lbs to heavy for this time of year and the other about 8 lbs. Would you be able to suggest a program to keep me on track to make weight? I am currently feeding 3 lbs daily of the HSC T100 grower. This was what the breeder recommended. Answer: Blain, Thank you for your question and for choosing HONOR Show Chow Showpig products. First, 3 lbs per day for your pigs (131 and 118 lbs) is not enough feed. If fed for very long, they will lose muscle, and grow slowly. I suggest feeding the pigs normally until they reach at least 150 lbs. From the numbers you gave (131 and 118 lbs and the weigh in for your county show is July 22nd), this means the pigs can gain an average of 1.70 for the heavy pig, and 1.85 lbs per day for the smaller pig. Again, I suggest to feed the pigs and allow them to grow normally until they reach at least 150 lbs 175 lbs is better. At that time, I suggest feeding the diet below: (TOTAL FEED PER DAY; DIVIDED INTO TWO EQUAL FEEDINGS MORNING AND EVENING): HONOR Show Chow Showpig Grower 2 lbs HONOR Show Chow Powerfill 2 lbs This will reduce their growth rate to 1.5 lbs per day. Once the pigs get to about 200 lbs you can feed the following diet to reduce their growth rate even further to 1 lbs per day: (TOTAL FEED PER DAY; DIVIDED INTO TWO EQUAL FEEDINGS MORNING AND EVENING): HONOR Show Chow Powerfill 3 lbs 3 lbs per day Powerfill will meet all the daily nutrient requirements of the your pig. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Melissa: Worming   Friday, May 7th, 2010 Question: We have three hogs, 2 gilts and 1 barrel. They are all around 110 pounds right now. Our fair is in July. The breeder told us to worm them now and again before fair. We have them on Honors Show Grower. What would be the best way to worm them and with what? I do not want to inject them. Answer: Melissa, Thank you for your question and for choosing HONOR Show Chow Showpig products. I suggest using our HONOR Show Chow Showpig Grower L200 Dewormer FBZ 36. This is the same feed you are currently feeding, only it contains Safe Guard as well. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist