For a long time in the past, fattening pigs only with boiled vegetables from the garden, flavoring them with bran with compound feed, and mowed grass. Protein-mineral-vitamin supplements (BMVD) are used not only on large farms, but also in private courtyards for fattening piglets. When these additives are added to the feed, piglets quickly gain weight, they are active and do not get sick. At the same time, feed saving is at the level of 30%, because piglets eat less and grow faster. With a balanced diet, this is possible. Also in industrial breeding, various growth stimulants for pigs are used.
Is it dangerous to grow piglets using stimulants for pig growth and feed vitamin supplements? Does the meat become tasteless or, on the contrary, with an unpleasant aftertaste? Does such an accelerated pig breeding affect the content of substances harmful to humans in meat? So I would like to figure out what we eat, buying pork.
Stimulants and dietary supplements for the rapid growth of pigs
Each owner wants to achieve the greatest economic benefits in raising pigs for meat. And this means that pigs, eating food, absorbed it as much as possible and gained weight. I wish animals were not sick, they would not need to be treated and spent on the services of a veterinarian. This applies to any farm, if you have one fattening pig or several hundred - it is not so important. Anyone interested in profitability and high payback, otherwise it makes no sense to do this at all.
Now, when fattening pigs, various growth stimulants and just dietary supplements are used. Pig growth stimulants are given to piglets at injections, orally, as well as with food or water. Supplements are a complex of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Bioadditives are simply added to dry food or a cooled mix.
Bioadditives (BMVD)
In the past, pigs were fed on public farms with commonly available feeds. Many potatoes were grown. Cooked potatoes, crushed, added bran, flour or crackers and then a little water and salt. Such porridge was fed to piglets on rural farmsteads. In summer, grass was abundantly introduced into the diet, in winter, fresh fodder beets, carrots and hay. Pigs grew greasy, gaining weight tight.
Now almost every owner of a pig feeds his BMV pets. Fortunately, you can buy them in any market and in the store. Most often in packages of 600 grams BMVDs are sold for fattening "Borenka", for sows "Piggy mother" and many other premixes that are less common. The cost of such a package in bulk and retail ranges from 40-90 rubles. For one piglet per day, approximately 1.5 tablespoons are needed, respectively, the package lasts for 1.5 months of fattening per head.
In large farms, bioadditives are also used, only they are bought much cheaper, most often ordered from the manufacturer.
When supplementing feeds, it was noticed that they act as stimulants for pig growth. The constant high demand for these supplements is the best proof that they really work. Piglets gain weight well, do not get sick. This is especially noticeable if one is given bioadditives and the other is not. Bioadditives are absolutely harmless, there are 30 percent of the active substance, and the rest is bran or fodder chalk with a small amount of salt, the shelf life is 18 months. Food is better absorbed with them. And, accordingly, feed consumption per kilogram of growth is reduced.
Growth stimulants for fattening pigs
Growth stimulants are widely used mainly in large farms. Their introduction into the diet of animals or in the form of injections requires more stringent control than dietary supplements. These drugs should not allow overdose, and also in some animals an allergic reaction can occur. But in general, they do not accumulate in the body and do not affect the taste of meat. It was even noticed that the quality of meat is only improving. The meat of pigs fed with growth stimulants can be safely eaten, it is harmless. What growth stimulants are currently available for pigs? A large number of stimulants, they are divided into hormonal and non-hormonal.
Hormonal growth stimulants
Hormonal drugs as stimulants for pig growth are steroids and anabolics. Female and male hormones (androgens) cause increased muscle growth in pigs. Hormonal stimulants are administered to pigs in two ways, but all this is a growth stimulator for pigs in injections.
Sinestrol is injected into the subcutaneous fold of the ear. The drug resolves within a year. For 8 months, it actively affects the body, 4 months is still excreted and has an effect on pig growth.
"Retabolin" or "Laurobolin" is administered intramuscularly 2 times a month. These drugs are 2 times cheaper than Sinestrol, but there is more work with them.
When using hormonal drugs to build pig muscle mass, very good results are achieved. At 2 months, piglets add up to 800 grams per day, and by the end of feeding - up to 1200 grams.
But with all the optimism of using hormonal growth stimulants, many doubt that it is safe for people. In many countries, the use of such drugs is prohibited, and the price of them bites. On average, Sinestrol can be bought for 6,000 rubles, and Retabolin for 3,000 rubles.
Although this is a moot point, it is known that hormones break down completely when cooking food in a hot way, which means consumers are not threatened.
Non-hormonal growth stimulants
Non-hormonal growth stimulants include: feed antibiotics, enzyme (tissue) phosphatides, natural acids, azobacterin and BMVD, as mentioned above. Non-hormonal stimulants, unlike hormonal ones, are legal and are widely used in animal husbandry. In addition, they are relatively cheaper than hormonal and more affordable, and the effect of application is almost the same.
Feed antibiotics
Feed antibiotics are added to feed or water to animals. In industrial pig farms, feed is already supplied with the right dose of feed antibiotics. If the dry food does not contain them, then the drugs are added to the water. Their main advantages are that they do not allow the development of pathogenic bacteria. Piglets are healthy, beneficial amino acids are not spent on the fight against pathogenic microflora. Therefore, all the food eaten goes to the growth and development of the body. Per unit of feed consumed, the weight of the piglet is added 10-15% faster than those who do not receive antibiotics. For quick fattening of piglets feed antibiotics are used, intended for animals, it should not worry consumers of meat.
Phosphatides
Phosphatides are obtained from vegetable oils by purification. They are composed of fatty acids, polyhydric alcohols and phosphoric acid. Phosphatides are added to piglets in feed. They look like thick fish oil. This growth stimulator also works to build muscle mass, it is of organic origin and is absolutely harmless.
Succinic, citric and glutamic acids are also used as a bioadditive . 30 milligrams of acid per 1 kg of live weight of the pig is dissolved in water and added to the feed. Acids are desirable to change.
During the entire feeding, azobacterin can be given. It delivers nitrogenous substances and vitamin B12 to the pig’s body. Azobacterin promotes rapid growth and muscle gain. Due to azobacterin, muscle gain is increased by 12%.
Growth stimulator "Nucleopeptide"
Growth stimulator "Nucleopeptide" (for pigs) is an enzymatic preparation. It is produced from the tissues of organs of slaughtered healthy animals. Basically, the spleen serves for this. "Nucleopeptide" contains peptides, nucleotide bases, nucleosides and other biologically active substances.
When using the "Nucleopeptide" pigs gain good weight, up to 25% more than the control group. Moreover, the drug is used for both cattle and poultry farms, as well as for such domestic animals as cats and dogs. This drug helps well in delaying the physical development of animals, improves skin and coat, enhances immunity. It is important that this drug can be used with all other additives, it almost never causes allergic reactions and helps to remove toxins from the body.
For pigs to increase weight, the drug is administered subcutaneously in the neck, calculating the norm according to the weight of the animal. No more than 30 ml of substance is introduced into one place. The course goes like this. First they give injections for 3 days in a row, and then every 15 days for 3 months. 10 days before slaughter, the injection is stopped.
"Nucleopeptide" is the safest and at the same time effective growth stimulator for pigs. Its price is also much lower than the cost of hormonal drugs, and its benefits are the same. The cost of Nucleopeptide (100 ml vial) is 250 rubles, and five 5 ml vials are 400 rubles.
Growth Stimulator Reviews
It was described above what growth stimulants are for pigs. Reviews about them are mostly positive. In pig farms, enzymatic additives and BMVD are widely used. Other muscle-friendly muscle building stimulants are also used. This provides a return on business such as pig farming, and it is also an opportunity to protect the livestock from infections and diseases.
Consumers buying meat on the market, of course, regard these stimulants with some doubt, more from the fact that they simply have little information on this topic. But the prices for industrially grown pork are much lower than in a private farm, so they are always willing to buy it. And in order to reduce the cost of its production and to have reasonable prices for such a necessary product, stimulants are necessary. All understand and agree.
Private traders raising pigs not for sale, but personally for their own use, are actively buying BMVD. They are all happy with the result. In addition, meat, in which there are enough vitamins, minerals and other useful substances, is always only beneficial.