Reproductive and productive performances of crossbred Andaman local pigs under small holder production system at Bay Islands, India

Abstract

The present study appraises different traditional feeding practices followed by farmers and effect of dietary zinc supplementation on the reproductive and productive performances of crossbred Andaman local pigs. In the 1st experiment the effect of three feeding practices were evaluated and in the 2nd experiment the effect of supplementation of 80 ppm Zn on growth of weanling piglets were evaluated. The locally available feed ingredients like rice bran, taro (Colocasia esculenta) leaves, broken rice, broken wheat, maize, and coconut cake were used in different proportion for feeding. The different reproductive parameters like the mean age at puberty, age at first conception and first farrowing and various litter traits varied significantly (<0.01) among the three treatment groups. In the next experiment the effect of Zn supplementation on post weaning growth performances of piglets were studied. In treatment group (n=5) 80 ppm Zn was supplemented along with normal farm diet whereas in control group (n=5) normal diet was given. The experiment continued for three months. The results showed that the sow receiving the ration made up of coconut cake, broken rice or maize performed better than the sow receiving ration made up of colocasia leaves and rice bran in respect of reproductive performances. Similarly, inclusion of 80 ppm Zn in stater ration enhanced the daily body weight