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senrab
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| Joined: | Wed Sep 5th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
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Posted: Wed Sep 5th, 2007 09:45 pm |
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Hi all,
After recently completing our local fair and trying to compete with "natural" hogs, I realize that if I do not feed paylean I can't compete. I have resisted till now because I have seen the bad effects from being feed too "hot". The peglegged, labored walks and even death. I have used good stock and been penned multiple times but can't seem to break into the top of the classes since the introduction of paylean. I'm no expert but my sons animals have always been fit on show day. I really would like to know at what weights you start, how long you feed, do you use a cycle of several days on/off. The trend from the "race" pig to more of a market animal with cover is long overdue, however it will repeat the cycle given a few more years. The feed salesmen are helpful but have their own agendas. I know there are several people who have a lot of experience and I would greatly appreciate any advice.
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kgb
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| Joined: | Mon Jun 18th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 8 |
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Posted: Thu Sep 6th, 2007 07:10 pm |
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Just my two cents: The walking problems are due to unsoundness to start with, not Paylean. Paylean is a tool, not a magic potion that so many folks want it to be. You still need to start with a good hog. That is one that is sound, wide underneath, heavy boned, tall at the point of the shoulder, and has some muscle. There are other things, but that should hit the high points.
When a pig is unsound (like the "peglegged" you mentioned) Paylean didn't cause it, but it more than likely exaggerated it. If the pig is unsound and you feed it Paylean it's only going to get worse. Start with a sound pig. One that is not straight shouldered or straight through the hock. One that moves fluidly and easily with no herky - jerky movement.
Here are some guidelines that we use when feeding Paylean:
1. DON'T feed Paylean to unsound pigs- don't even buy and unsound pig
2. DON'T feed Paylean to stress positive pigs - they will probably assume air temperature prior to show time.
3. DON"T feed a higher concentration than the legal maximum of 9 grams/ton.
4. DON'T feed Paylean for more than 21 days.
5. Consider feeding glucosamine and chondroitin (something like Fluid Flex for horses) starting about 7 days prior to starting Paylean and then all the way to show (no withdrawal).
6. Only use Paylean for increased growth (it greatly speeds up growth), and for adding or tweaking muscle for more shape.
7. DON'T rely on Paylean to make your pig good, just for tweaking a good hog to make it better.
8. NEVER limit water.
Hope this helps.
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senrab
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| Joined: | Wed Sep 5th, 2007 |
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Posted: Sat Sep 8th, 2007 11:43 am |
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I appreciate the response. I realize it is not a cure all, but I had some good hogs and could not place above 5th (3 of the 4 we took were 5th) in any class. I've heard several methods of feeding it and trying to find the best way for our setup. There is no way to control it if you run a self feeder and thats what we generally do. I don't have the best setup for hand feeding individual pigs.
I have read a lot of info on the net and one piece dicussed feeding at an earlier stage and not waiting for the last few weeks. Anyone use this at the 100# weight? Most of the info on line is about using it in a production setting to finish fat hogs to market quicker. There is not a lot of info on dialing in a pig for show.
Thanks again for the info.
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PIGPERSON
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| Joined: | Mon Sep 19th, 2005 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 25th, 2007 07:45 pm |
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| My 2 cents worth. As you hand feed pigs in individual troughs they will soon learn what trough they need to go to. I fully agree with kgb. You need good sound pigs before you can feed paylean. Some of the pigs we have do not even need paylean. I truly believe it is good genetics and negative stress.
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