**3.6 Feeding practices**

Locally available feed resources such as rice bran, maize, wheat, coconut, taro (*Colocasia esculenta* and *Colocasia antiquorum*), tapioca, kitchen/ hotel waste, vegetable waste and poultry offal are fed to the indigenous local pigs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands [4]. In general, feed, fodder and soil of these Islands are deficient in minerals particularly Zn and is limiting factor for the growth of the pig. Age at puberty, age at first conception, age at first furrowing, litter size at birth, individual and total litter weight at birth, litter size at weaning, individual and total litter weight at weaning and weaning percentage are found significantly increased in pigs treated with 80 ppm zinc as zinc sulphate in Andaman local pig and its crossbred. Similarly, the fortnightly body weight gain (kg), total weight gain (kg) and the average daily weight gains (ADWG) are significantly higher in Zn supplemented Andaman local pigs and its crossbred [6].
