June 25, 2008

Farmed pigs and wild pigs have different feeding patterns but the preferred feeding method for the former is three meals a day, according to a research published in open access journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.

The natural feeding behaviour of pigs is to search for food throughout the day, eating between 10-12 meals per day. This pattern was tested on farmed pigs in the hope that they would fare better than those fed with the traditional three meals, according to the study's lead author Eva Persson from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

The test, which involves 360 pigs, revealed that the method did not yield a better result. In fact, pigs fed three times gained over 100g more per day than the pigs fed more frequently.

Persson said increased daily feeding occasions among group-housed pigs resulted in a poorer daily weight gain and an increased number of stomach problems.

Competition among pigs for prime feeding positions is a problem too, as it leads to poorer performance.

The authors noted that more feeds mend smaller ratios each time and it is possible that each feeding occasion in the study did not offer enough feed to satisfy the hunger of all the pigs.