How to Optimise Pork Production

By Dr Duncan Houston

Getting pigs to grow well takes more than filling the feeder. Water supply, temperature, disease, flooring and competition within the pen can all affect how efficiently pigs turn feed into saleable pork.

The aim is healthy pigs that reach the right market specification with good survival, suitable carcase quality and a production cost the business can sustain.

Whether you run a commercial piggery or a smaller outdoor enterprise, improvement starts with identifying where performance is being lost.

Quick Answer

Optimise pork production by feeding balanced diets for each growth stage, maintaining reliable water access and providing comfortable, well-ventilated accommodation. Prevent disease, minimise feed wastage and monitor growth, feed conversion, mortality and carcase feedback together. Choose genetics and sale weights for your market, and protect welfare throughout rearing, handling and transport.

Start with the buyer’s requirements

Before setting growth targets, establish what your buyer wants. This may include a particular carcase weight range, backfat measurement, lean yield, quality standard or production system.

A heavier pig does not automatically earn a better return if it falls outside the specification or costs too much to finish.

Set farm-specific performance targets. Genetics, nutrition, health, housing and market requirements all influence what is achievable.

Track these measures by batch:

Measure	Why it matters
Average daily gain	Shows how quickly pigs gain liveweight over a defined period.
Feed conversion ratio	Shows how much feed is used for each kilogram of liveweight gain.
Days to target weight	Helps identify slow growth and plan accommodation.
Mortality and removals	Reveals losses that surviving pigs’ growth figures can conceal.
Carcase results	Shows whether pigs meet weight, fat and quality specifications.
Cost per kilogram sold	Connects biological performance with financial performance.

Review these measures together to identify where batches are falling behind.

Compare groups of similar genetics, sex, starting weight and production stage. A nursery result and a finishing result describe different parts of the system.

Understand feed conversion correctly

For growing pigs, feed conversion ratio, or FCR, is usually calculated as:

Kilograms of feed used ÷ kilograms of liveweight gained.

For example, a batch using 2,500 kg of feed to gain 1,000 kg of liveweight has an FCR of 2.5. A lower figure generally indicates less feed used per kilogram gained.

However, measurements must use the same basis. Whole-herd feed use per kilogram of carcase sold includes costs that a grower-only liveweight calculation does not.

Feed delivered to a pen can also include wastage. Keep feed records, stock movements and weighing methods consistent, and examine mortality alongside FCR.

Feed for each production stage

Pigs have a single stomach and need a formulated balance of energy, amino acids, minerals and vitamins. Pasture, vegetables or a pile of grain alone are not a balanced production ration.

Requirements change as pigs grow. Phase feeding means adjusting the diet to the animal’s stage, rather than feeding one specification throughout its life. The programme should account for weight, genetics, sex, feed intake and lean growth potential.

Common ingredients have different roles:

Feed component	Useful role	What needs attention
Wheat, barley, maize or sorghum	Supply much of the dietary energy	Nutrient content, processing and contamination
Soybean meal, canola meal and other suitable protein sources	Supply amino acids	Digestibility, quality and appropriate inclusion rates
Added fats or oils	Increase energy density when needed	Rancidity, total dietary balance and effects on carcase fat
Fibre-containing ingredients	Support a diet suited to the pig’s age and production stage	Excessive dilution can limit growth in finishing pigs
Pig-specific vitamin and mineral premixes	Balance nutrients missing from the ingredients	Accurate formulation and mixing

Use a pig nutritionist to formulate home-mixed diets and review major ingredient changes. Check stored grain and feed for spoilage, mould and contamination. Suspect feed may need laboratory testing.

Balance amino acids, not just crude protein

A high protein percentage does not guarantee efficient muscle growth.

Pigs need the correct supply of digestible amino acids, including lysine. The relationship between amino acids and available energy matters. When the balance is wrong, adding more protein can increase cost and nitrogen excretion without correcting the limiting nutrient.

Properly formulated diets can use specific amino acids to meet requirements without unnecessary excess crude protein. This needs nutritional expertise, particularly with variable ingredients or young pigs.

Reduce feed wastage before buying more supplements

Walk the pens during feeding and inspect the equipment.

Check for feed spilling into manure channels, poorly adjusted feeders, bridging in hoppers, leaking delivery systems and spoiled material collecting in corners. Confirm that each diet reaches the correct silo and group.

Adjust feeders so pigs can obtain feed easily without excessive spillage. Restricting access too far can reduce intake and increase competition.

Feed lost onto the floor still appears on the invoice. Correcting preventable wastage can improve the measured cost of growth without changing the ration.

Make water access reliable

Check every drinker daily. A full storage tank tells you little if a blocked nipple prevents pigs from drinking.

Drinker height, flow rate and the number of drinking points must suit the pigs using them. Watch for queues, repeated unsuccessful drinking attempts and smaller pigs being displaced.

Test water quality where salinity or contamination is a concern. Protect exposed supply pipes from heating in the sun, and maintain a backup plan for pump or supply failure.

Water medication also needs veterinary oversight and correctly calibrated delivery equipment. Sick pigs may not drink the amount assumed in a dosing calculation.

Design housing around the pigs

Provide sufficient usable space for pigs to rest, move and access feed and water. Reassess stocking as the pigs grow.

Comfortable accommodation needs dry resting areas, appropriate flooring, ventilation, suitable lighting and a predictable daily routine. Dust and poor air quality deserve attention even when the building feels comfortable to a person standing in the passageway.

Check conditions at pig level. Avoid draughts over young pigs while maintaining fresh air.

Fans, ventilation controls and alarms need regular checks, with a practical response plan for power failure. In mechanically ventilated buildings, equipment failure can quickly become an animal welfare emergency.

Manage heat before growth drops

Pigs have very limited ability to cool themselves by sweating. Hot conditions can reduce feed intake, and heat during handling or transport can be dangerous.

Use shade, insulation, appropriate airflow and reliable drinking water. Where suitable, properly designed drip or spray cooling helps pigs lose heat as water evaporates.

Cooling must suit the climate. Adding mist to a humid, poorly ventilated shed can make conditions worse. Avoid wetting feed or leaving bedding persistently damp, and check that cooling still works during peak demand.

Watch for panting, pigs spreading out, reduced feeding or difficulty coping with movement. Reduce unnecessary handling during hot periods.

Young pigs and sows need different temperatures

A newborn piglet needs a warmer resting environment than its mother. Heating the entire farrowing room to suit piglets can leave the sow too hot.

Provide a suitable warm creep area for piglets while maintaining conditions that allow the sow to eat and rest comfortably. Recently weaned pigs also need protection from chilling and draughts.

Temperature management should follow the animals’ needs and behaviour, not one thermostat setting used for every age group.

Outdoor pigs need planned land management

Outdoor production still requires balanced feed, dependable water, shelter and daily inspection.

Choose land and accommodation that allow drainage and safe movement. Maintain dry sleeping areas and manage wallows so cooling opportunities do not create persistently filthy resting or feeding areas.

Rotate suitable areas where practical, manage manure and protect watercourses. Keep feeding points and high-traffic areas in good condition. Housing and paddock design should support cleaning, hygiene and disease control.

Maintain secure boundaries and prevent contact with feral pigs. Outdoor access does not remove biosecurity risks.

Protect piglets and the weaning transition

For breeding enterprises, finishing performance starts with piglet survival and early growth.

Prioritise prompt colostrum intake, warmth and a well-fed sow. Review sow body condition and lactation intake, because both influence how well she supports the litter.

Arrange a veterinary iron supplementation programme for piglets to prevent iron deficiency anaemia.

At weaning, provide an appropriate starter diet and easily accessible water. Check that piglets actually begin eating and drinking, then change diets through a planned programme.

Look closely at quieter pigs, hollow flanks, diarrhoea and uneven growth. Repeatedly transferring small pigs into younger groups can disrupt disease control; establish a separate recovery strategy with your vet.

Prevent disease with consistent pig flow and biosecurity

Where practical, use all-in, all-out management: a group enters an empty, prepared room and leaves together. Clean, disinfect and allow accommodation to dry before the next group arrives.

Keep movement through production stages in one direction. Repeated mixing of ages and sources can help infections persist.

Build a veterinary health plan covering:

• Vaccination appropriate to the herd and local disease risks.

• Quarantine and health assessment of incoming stock.

• Parasite control based on the production system.

• Visitor, footwear, clothing and equipment hygiene.

• Rodent control and secure feed storage.

• Daily identification and care of sick pigs.

In Australia, swill feeding is banned. Do not feed household or catering waste containing meat or contaminated by it. Use lawful, suitable ingredients from reliable sources and prevent pigs accessing discarded food.

Treat feet, legs and injuries promptly

A pig that struggles to stand or reach a feeder cannot perform well.

Lameness may arise from damaged claws, joint infection, trauma or developmental joint disease. Inspect affected pigs promptly rather than assuming every case needs the same treatment.

Review slippery surfaces, sharp edges, damaged slats and flooring that traps or injures feet. Breeding animals may need individual claw assessment and, where indicated, trimming by trained personnel.

Provide a suitable recovery pen with easy access to feed and water. Your vet should guide pain relief, treatment and humane decisions when recovery is unlikely.

Reduce aggression and tail biting

Pigs need opportunities to explore, root and manipulate suitable materials.

Provide safe enrichment appropriate to the pigs and the housing system. Clean straw or other suitable materials may be useful, but account for biosecurity, storage and compatibility with effluent systems. Keep enrichment accessible and maintained.

Keep groups stable where practical. If tail biting occurs, protect injured pigs, arrange treatment and investigate feed and water access, stocking, temperature, ventilation and enrichment.

A damaged tail is a welfare problem that needs action. Simply removing the injured pig leaves the cause unresolved.

Choose supplements for a measurable purpose

Ask what each addition is intended to achieve and whether it is already included in the feed.

A properly formulated premix or amino acid addition addresses a nutritional requirement. Enzymes such as phytase can help improve the availability of phosphorus from suitable ingredients, but the ration must account for the enzyme’s contribution.

For probiotics, organic acids or other additives, ask for evidence in pigs of a comparable age and health status, using the specific product and dose.

Agree how you will judge the result: growth, feed cost, health events or survival. An additive should not distract from a broken drinker, poor ventilation or untreated disease.

Use genetics and carcase feedback together

Select genetics suited to your market and management system. Growth and lean yield matter, alongside physical soundness and, in breeding herds, maternal performance.

Meat quality also depends on factors beyond growth rate, including genetics, diet, handling and chilling. Review processor feedback for weight variation, fatness, bruising, condemnations and quality concerns.

Ask your vet and processor to review patterns in respiratory lesions, abscesses and trimming losses alongside your on-farm health records.

Protect welfare and meat quality at dispatch

Use calm handling, secure footing and suitable loading facilities. Only load pigs that are fit for the intended journey, and plan for weather, transport conditions and delays.

Coordinate feed withdrawal with your vet, transporter and processor. The relevant interval includes the total time from the last feed until slaughter, and excessive fasting has welfare and production costs.

Stressful handling can adversely affect pork quality. Familiar groups, patient stockmanship and a well-organised loading process help protect the value of the pigs you have raised.

Check treatment records and applicable withholding periods before dispatch.

What does poor growth mean?

Pattern	Possible explanation	Next action
A whole pen suddenly eats less	Water or feeder failure, heat, feed change or disease	Check shared resources immediately; seek veterinary advice if the cause is unclear.
Growth slows across successive batches	Nutrition, stocking, environment or persistent disease	Review records, feed and facilities with your vet and nutritionist.
A few pigs fall behind	Competition, injury, lameness or individual illness	Examine and provide appropriate care promptly.
Coughing, diarrhoea, fever or rising deaths	A potentially significant herd health problem	Contact your vet the same day, urgently if severe or rapidly progressing.

Your vet may recommend feed testing, faecal samples, other laboratory tests or post-mortem examination. The pattern across pens and ages helps determine where to investigate.

When is this an emergency?

Call a vet immediately for severe breathing difficulty, collapse, inability to stand, serious heat distress or sudden unexplained deaths.

Blisters on the snout or feet, unusual skin discolouration or a rapidly spreading illness also need urgent advice. Stop unnecessary movements and mixing until advised. In Australia, suspected emergency animal disease can be reported on 1800 675 888.

Keep affected pigs safe and minimise stressful handling while help is arranged. Do not send unfit pigs for transport.

A practical improvement plan

1. Establish your baseline: collect batch weights, feed use, deaths, treatments, sale results and costs.

2. Inspect the system: check feeders, drinkers, flooring, stocking and conditions at pig level.

3. Find the main constraint: use your vet, nutritionist and processor feedback to identify where improvement is most likely.

4. Make a targeted change: record what changed, when and who is responsible.

5. Review comparable batches: measure health and welfare alongside growth and financial return.

Use automated feed, water or temperature alerts where available, but assign someone to investigate them. A warning only helps if it leads to action.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Feeding the same diet to piglets, finishers and breeding animals.

• Chasing growth while overlooking mortality or carcase penalties.

• Assuming more crude protein always means more muscle.

• Overcrowding pens as pigs get heavier.

• Treating repeated illness without investigating the underlying cause.

• Buying additives before checking basic feed, water and environmental management.

How quickly should pigs grow?

There is no single target for every farm. Compare pigs of similar age, weight, genetics and sex, and agree realistic targets with your vet and nutritionist.

What is a good feed conversion ratio?

It depends on the production stage, diet and calculation method. Compare like with like and assess FCR alongside feed cost, survival and the value of pigs sold.

Can pigs produce good pork on pasture alone?

Pasture can provide enrichment and contribute some nutrients, but it should not be assumed to meet a growing pig’s requirements. Use a balanced ration designed for the animals and system.

Are heavier pigs more profitable?

Only when the additional sale value justifies the extra feed, time, space and risks of missing market specifications. Use your buyer’s requirements and actual production costs.

Choose one clear improvement, measure its effect and use that result to guide the next decision. Consistent daily care gives pigs the best opportunity to grow well and reach market in good condition.

ASK A VET™ supports informed animal-health decisions. Have your growth records, feed details, treatment history and carcase feedback ready when discussing production concerns with your pig veterinarian, so the next steps address the needs of your herd.