Alternative Feed Rations for Grower Stage Backyard Swine

Abstract

In the Philippines, backyard swine raisers try to find alternative swine feed ingredients which are cheap and locally available. In formulating swine ration, feeds must contain adequate amount of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals. Unlike commercial feeds, locally available feed ingredients do not guarantee optimal nutrient content. This study aims to come up with a feed formulation that is economically cheaper while meeting the required nutrients of swine. To achieve the goals of the study, a survey has been conducted to determine the alternative feed ingredients commonly used by backyard swine-raisers. Various combinations of these feed ingredients are then considered and the corresponding mathematical programming formulations of these combinations are solved in order to come up with cheaper feed rations while meeting the required nutrients for each formulation.