Pig farming business in Nigeria

Pig farming business is very lucrative not only in Nigeria but in the world. This is due to their high rate of production. A pig(sow) can farrow(birth) up to 15 offspring at once and with their gestation period of 3months, 3weeks and 3 days, one sow can have 45 piglets in a year, giving the pig farmer a very high return rate on his investment. This makes pig farming one of the most profitable agricultural businesses to start in Nigeria today.

Pig Farming Business Guide
Male pigs are known as the boar, while the females pigs are known as the sows and the little pigs known as the piglets or the farrows. Group of pig is called a herd and pigs time of maturity is seven months.
Starting a pig farming business in Nigeria requires lot of determination and preparation. With good feed formulation and good management, a good live weight can be achieved within seven month of rearing.
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1. Location-: The first thing you need to take care of is finding a suitable location for breeding your pigs. Please, do not try to do this at home. Why? The reason is because pigs can be very smelly and you will be sure to receive a lot of complaints and protests from your neighbors because of the smell and noise your piggery would generate.
So instead of causing great discomfort to others, look for a farmland for your piggery. Just one plot of land would be enough for a small scale piggery but if you are opting for a large scale pig farming business, make sure you purchase a land that is large enough to allow for spacing, grazing and feeding.

2. Housing-: The shelter that you would build for your pigs is known as a pig pen. This would keep your pigs safe from the elements of weather and other diseases or contamination. You may build your pen with iron or concrete depending on which one you prefer and find more affordable. When constructing your pig pen, ensure that you build a proper drainage for the pigs where all the wastes can pass through.
You should also make sure the drainage is kept clean at all times to avoid insects, pests, diseases and contamination. Pigs love playing in water, so you should consider building a water pool in your pig pen for them to play in and stay healthy. The water in the pool should be changed regularly and kept clean at all times. You can also allow the pigs to come out of the pen and play outdoors sometimes but be sure to guide them closely, so that they don’t wander off.

3. Piglets-: To start your piggery, you would need healthy piglets which you can get from other pig farmers around you. Ensure that the piglets you buy are healthy and have been well taken care of. You should also ask for their vaccination history records to be sure that they have taken their vaccinations up to date. You would need both male and female pigs. The number of piglets you need to purchase would depend on the size of your pen because pigs can multiply very quickly. Pig farmers start with as low as one each (male and female) or as many as 50 each depending on the scale of pig farming you want to go into.

4. Contact a Veterinary Doctor-: You should engage the services of a veterinary doctor who would act as a consultant for your piggery. The duties of the veterinary doctor would include giving the pigs the right vaccination regularly, checking up on the pigs from time to time to ensure that they are in good health, offering nutrition advice and treating the pigs when they fall ill.

5. Pig Feeds and Feeding-: Pigs can eat most of the things that human beings can eat which means that you may not have to start worrying about getting some special feed for them. However, it is important to pay special attention to their nutritional needs. They need to be fed a balanced diet with classes of food like protein for body building, carbohydrate for growth and strength, vitamins, minerals and fiber.
You should also provide them with clean water all the time. I already mentioned that pigs love water and this includes their drinking water. They would also play in and mess up their drinking water, so you should opt for a water supply system that cannot be messed up by the pigs and ensure that they are checked upon and their water is changed regularly.

6. Pig Marketing-: Pigs can be sold live to meat sellers or used to make sausages and bacon. You can approach other pig farmers for assistance on how to sell your pigs. Pigs are usually sold per kilogram so the bigger your pigs, the more money you would earn.