The healthy pigs we sell are naturally raised in our farm - the Sunshine Spring Nature Farm in Caranan, Pasacao, Camarines Sur. The farm is a 3.5 hectare agricultural lot surrounded by coconut plantations, rice fields and a forest.
The land was originally a divided into two portions. The hilly three quarters of the property was planted with coconut trees while the lower flat portion was allotted for growing rice. When we bought the land, we took down most of the non productive coconut trees and replaced them with fruit trees like Guimaras mangoes, pili nuts, almonds, and lemon trees. We also planted various vegetable, grapes and strawberries around the newly built farmhouse. The rice paddies were converted into ponds growing azolla, duckweed and water spinach (kangkong). These fast growing plants were initially used to feed the free range poultry (turkey, ducks, geese and chicken) in the farm.
The amount of azolla, duckweed and water spinach generated by 3500 square meters of pond was more than enough to feed the poultry. We realized we can grow pigs in the farm and feed it with the same plant feeds we give to our free range poultry.
The problem of raising pigs is the malodorous smell emanating from the pig pens. This is a serious concern as the pigpens will be constructed a short distance from the newly built farm house. A solution was arrived at by employing technique used in Australia and Korea.
The pigs are housed in specially designed pig pens that minimize the stress to the pigs while absorbing the nasty odours. In Australia, they used sorghum hulls, sawdust, peanut shells and hay as floor lining material that will absorb the nasty odours while providing the pigs with an environment that mimics the wild or free range. The only available floor lining material then was sawdust and this was used.
The first design of the pig pens was simple. A wallowing pool was built inside the pig pens. The foundation and outside flooring were made of concrete. The inner flooring was bare earth that was dug to a depth of about one foot. Sawdust was dumped to one foot deep bare earth. The walls were made of coco lumber constructed in such a way that there are gaps to allow a free flow of air. The roof was made of anahaw leaves.
Pigs are extremely sensitive to environmental extremes, including sunlight, wind chill and persistent hot or cold temperatures. The wallowing pool and the sawdust bed allow them to withstand the swings in weather condition. Pigs don’t sweat so they need the pool to cool them during hot humid days. The sawdust is warm and soft, ideal for cold rainy nights. Pigs are at their healthiest at temperatures in the upper-mid twenties (although piglets prefer a little more warmth).
To maintain the cleanliness of the pool, a continuous supply of water is piped in from the nearby reservoir of a small falls in the adjacent property. The waste water from the pig pen goes into the pond where azolla, duckweed and water spinach are grown. This ensures that the water gets cleansed and the organic material gets recycled back into plant material that can be used as feeds.
The sawdust are regularly topped up and replaced. The used sawdust is fed to the vermiculture in the farm for compost production. The compost is then used to fertilize the vegetables that form part of the diet of the pigs.
The land was originally a divided into two portions. The hilly three quarters of the property was planted with coconut trees while the lower flat portion was allotted for growing rice. When we bought the land, we took down most of the non productive coconut trees and replaced them with fruit trees like Guimaras mangoes, pili nuts, almonds, and lemon trees. We also planted various vegetable, grapes and strawberries around the newly built farmhouse. The rice paddies were converted into ponds growing azolla, duckweed and water spinach (kangkong). These fast growing plants were initially used to feed the free range poultry (turkey, ducks, geese and chicken) in the farm.
The amount of azolla, duckweed and water spinach generated by 3500 square meters of pond was more than enough to feed the poultry. We realized we can grow pigs in the farm and feed it with the same plant feeds we give to our free range poultry.
The problem of raising pigs is the malodorous smell emanating from the pig pens. This is a serious concern as the pigpens will be constructed a short distance from the newly built farm house. A solution was arrived at by employing technique used in Australia and Korea.
The pigs are housed in specially designed pig pens that minimize the stress to the pigs while absorbing the nasty odours. In Australia, they used sorghum hulls, sawdust, peanut shells and hay as floor lining material that will absorb the nasty odours while providing the pigs with an environment that mimics the wild or free range. The only available floor lining material then was sawdust and this was used.
The first design of the pig pens was simple. A wallowing pool was built inside the pig pens. The foundation and outside flooring were made of concrete. The inner flooring was bare earth that was dug to a depth of about one foot. Sawdust was dumped to one foot deep bare earth. The walls were made of coco lumber constructed in such a way that there are gaps to allow a free flow of air. The roof was made of anahaw leaves.
Our first pig pen measuring 15m x 3m
Pigs are extremely sensitive to environmental extremes, including sunlight, wind chill and persistent hot or cold temperatures. The wallowing pool and the sawdust bed allow them to withstand the swings in weather condition. Pigs don’t sweat so they need the pool to cool them during hot humid days. The sawdust is warm and soft, ideal for cold rainy nights. Pigs are at their healthiest at temperatures in the upper-mid twenties (although piglets prefer a little more warmth).
To maintain the cleanliness of the pool, a continuous supply of water is piped in from the nearby reservoir of a small falls in the adjacent property. The waste water from the pig pen goes into the pond where azolla, duckweed and water spinach are grown. This ensures that the water gets cleansed and the organic material gets recycled back into plant material that can be used as feeds.
Relaxed and resting on a sawdust/ricehull bedding
The sawdust are regularly topped up and replaced. The used sawdust is fed to the vermiculture in the farm for compost production. The compost is then used to fertilize the vegetables that form part of the diet of the pigs.
To be continued...
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