smo said:
why take them off self feeder?
Its the same as with people...I am sure you have all heard of the human diet plans that tell you to eat several smaller meals throughout the day rather than eat a few big ones. Contrary to popular belief the key to successful human dieting is not to starve yourself, but rather to not let yourself get hungry. By eating more smaller meals a day we actually generally eat less. The same goes for animals. With a self feeder that always has feed, the pig is never going to let himself get hungry, so eats more out of necessity or habbit than hunger and typically doesnt eat as much. However if you hand feed them twice a day they will get hungry before the next meal comes around, and just like humans when they are hungry they eat more. Just like you, if you get really hungry before a meal you tend to eat more at that meal than if you were not hungry.
For most pigs they are going to convert most grower and finisher type feeds at a 3:1 ratio, which means that for every 3 pounds they eat they are going to gain about 1 pound. This of course is not exact or universal, just a good average. My ideal is to purchase and put on feed a pig that is the right age and size to eat about 6lbs a day thus gaining 2 lbs a day and coast right into their end point show sitting right where I want them weight wise. I think pigs look fresher and better when they coast in at a steady rate of gain like that. I find that the ones I have to push or hold never seem to do as well.
I didnt notice where you were from, but if you are suffering from the miserable heat we are having down here and you are getting 2lbs a day gain then you are doing really really well. When I do need to get a pig to eat more I top dress with a fat supplement and wet the feed, I dont want the feed to be slop, but I want it moist. My fat supplement of choice is Sumo from Sunglo, I swear this stuff is like crack to pigs. I mix a little in when I wet the feed and then top dress with it, if the pig stops before finishing I can generally sprinkle a little more on and get them to keep eating. At Ft Worth this yr I had a gilt that I swear cleaned up more than 10 lbs in one sitting before going in the ring, she was full as a tick and when I sprinkled more Sumo on she put her head right back in the feed pan.