Quality Identification and Selection of Pig Premixes and Feed Additives

Pig premixes are homogeneous mixtures made by blending various additives in specific proportions. Although they account for only a small portion of complete feeds, premixes play a crucial role in the effectiveness of the final feed, serving as the core ingredient of a complete feed. Currently, there are many premix products on the market, and many users struggle to differentiate the quality of these products. Today, let’s introduce how to correctly choose pig premixes and fattening feed additives.

Why Use Premixes in Pig Farming?

Experienced pig farmers know that modern scientific farming practices recommend the use of complete feeds. However, why is premix still emphasized? The reality is that the pig industry is currently experiencing financial losses. Despite the recent increase in the pig-to-feed price ratio, the global weather disruptions and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have caused continued losses in pig farming. In particular, rising costs of corn and soybean meal make the use of complete feeds expensive. Therefore, premixes produced by farmers themselves have become more attractive.

How to Choose Pig Premixes?

The market is flooded with various premixes, many of which have quality issues such as substandard products and unreasonable formulas. Therefore, farmers should make choices based on practical needs and local conditions.

• If only energy feed ingredients are available, a full-nutrient concentrated liquid should be chosen.
• If both energy and protein feed ingredients are available, a compound premix with a 2%-5% addition rate is recommended.
• For feed factories or large-scale farms, a compound premix (1%-3%) or high-tech premix (0.1%-0.5%) produced by specialized premix manufacturers is advisable.

Farmers should choose premixes from reputable manufacturers that have strong technical capabilities, stable product quality, complete product specifications, and good after-sales service. Additionally, the premix formula should be suitable for local agricultural products.

Quality Checks When Purchasing Premixes

When purchasing premixes, it is essential to choose products from authorized manufacturers and check if the packaging is standardized. The label should contain key information such as:

• Product name
• Application stage
• Main ingredients
• Types and amounts of additives
• Usage instructions
• Production date and expiration date
• Quality standards and manufacturer details (name, address, phone number)

Visual inspection of the product quality is also necessary.

Common Nutritional Additives for Fattening Pigs

Common fattening additives for pigs fall into three main categories: amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

• Essential amino acids for pigs include 10 varieties, with lysine, methionine, and tryptophan being particularly lacking in grain, bran, and cake-based feed. Grains are low in protein but high in digestible energy, while cake meals (like cottonseed or rapeseed cake) are high in protein but need to be supplemented with lysine, which is the primary limiting amino acid in such feeds. The recommended addition of synthetic lysine is 0.1%-0.2%.
• For protein-rich feeds such as soybean meal or fishmeal, amino acids are generally balanced, and they do not require supplementation if used in sufficient quantities. However, if used in smaller amounts, supplementation with lysine or methionine is necessary.

Non-Nutritional Additives

In addition to nutritional additives, there are many non-nutritional additives, including growth promoters, dewormers, flavoring agents, probiotics, and feed enhancers like "lazy fattening" products. Growth promoters, especially antibiotics and synthetic antimicrobial agents, play a significant role in this category. Common antibiotics include tetracycline, streptomycin, virginiamycin, and bacitracin zinc. There are also synthetic antimicrobial drugs such as quinolones, iodamines, organic arsenicals, and nitrofuran derivatives, which all have growth-promoting effects.