Feeding Practices ~ Pigs

elevan

Critter Addict ♥
Joined
Oct 6, 2010
Messages
13,870
Reaction score
739
Points
423
Location
Morrow Co ~ Ohio
It seems that if you ask 100 different farmers you'll get a 100 different answers on just about every subject and this subject is really no different.

So let's run a thread about our different feeding programs so that we can learn from each other's methods.

Welcome to all different methods of feeding: natural, homeopathic, commercial, custom, organic, etc.

Be sure to include what state / country / region that you are in.

What specifically are you feeding?
What are you adding to supplement it?
And how does your feeding program change seasonally?




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No one is right or wrong on this thread - they are just true to their farm. This is a learn / share thread.

Learning requires questions and answers as well. So if you need clarification on someone's post please ask a question of them so everyone else can learn too.

This thread is open to civilized debate. As long as you don't state that you believe someone's feeding practices are harmful or outright wrong debating is good.

Any statements suggesting a practice is outright wrong or implied as harmful will result in you being reported.


Thank you for participating :)
 

elevan

Critter Addict ♥
Joined
Oct 6, 2010
Messages
13,870
Reaction score
739
Points
423
Location
Morrow Co ~ Ohio
Central Ohio / USA

Pig type:
Adult Pot Belly (outside)

Feeding:
Pig Pellets
Kitchen Scraps

Supplements:
None

Seasonal Changes:
None
 

AshleyFishy

Loving the herd life
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
594
Reaction score
186
Points
133
Location
Northeast Texas
Eastern Texas/ USA

Pig type:
Adult Duroc/Hampshire sow
Weanling Duroc/Yorkshire gilt
Adult mini potbelly boar
Obese rescue potbelly boar (on a diet)

Feeding:
16% Pig pellets
20% cattle range cubes as treats
Kitchen scraps
Pasture
Clabbered milk (when available)
Whole corn
Hay

Supplements:
Coconut or Corn oil

Seasonal Changes:
Winter: Free choice hay is given to all pigs. The sow and any feeder pigs are given free choice whole corn in addition to their normal ration.
 

Hollow Point

Just born
Joined
Dec 29, 2012
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
7
SW Louisiana/USA

Four blue butt sows
One Yorkshire boar
One Duroc show gilt
Three 3 month old shoats for butcher.

Rice bran, rough rice soaked in water, sweet potatoes (when in season), table scraps
 

Allison

Just born
Joined
Jul 6, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Points
7
SE Manitoba, Canada

2 tamworth feeders

16% pig feed from local guy (wheat, barley,oats)
surplus milk when I can get
pasture
 

MGF

Herd lurker
Joined
Apr 14, 2014
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Just got two show Berkshires for my boys 4-H projects.
Central MD

Free choice 803 SS pellets for the next two weeks then we will transfer them to 403 SS pellets. Don't ask me to explain, this is what the breeder (very experienced farmer who sells to 4-H kids all over our area).

We are just learning, hence me joining here.
 

big mami

Exploring the pasture
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
22
Could someone help me figure out if we need to keep feeding pellets or not? We're new to pigs, and the two 3-month-old Gloucestershire Old Spots are on 2 acres of pasture and get pellets as well as a slop bucket daily. I say we can stop the pellets so that they'll eat more pasture; my husband says we have to feed them because they're not eating much of the pasture. Who is right?
 

M.L. McKnight

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
337
Reaction score
146
Points
93
Location
Mississippi
Could someone help me figure out if we need to keep feeding pellets or not? We're new to pigs, and the two 3-month-old Gloucestershire Old Spots are on 2 acres of pasture and get pellets as well as a slop bucket daily. I say we can stop the pellets so that they'll eat more pasture; my husband says we have to feed them because they're not eating much of the pasture. Who is right?

Pigs are very smart critters, IF they can get all of the feed they need put in front of them then they won't go out looking for more. At first I mixed X amount of oats and X amount of wheat to X amount of DDG and X amount of soybean meal and X amount of cracked corn to make feed for my hogs, in addition to having them out on pasture. As I read more about the various types of forage, I found that there were tons of nutrients out in those fields that they were just laying in. I was losing money on that feed mix because they weren't supplementing it with fresh green stuff and grubs! I stopped using that feed and began using a 14% All Stock mixed with two parts cracked corn, this dropped their daily caloric intake from their feed immensely. They grunted at first but by the end of that first day they realized that they could get to liking the forage they had all around them.
I keep my hogs on pasture, toss good field hay and feed them a little of the pellet/corn mixture. I save my vegetable and fruit scraps, eggshells and old cooking oil and boil it, this gets added to their feed which adds nutrients, swells their feed and is something that they really like. IF you raise dozens or hundreds of head then this makes no sense to devote that much of your time to do, but I raise quality breeding stock and a few litters of feeders from my small herd so I have the luxury to spoiling my hogs a bit more than the average bear.
What type of forage do you have in your pasture? I have volunteer trees that come up, wild plants, legumes and various grasses. I bush hog my pasture every few months and rake everything up in a big pile; this is good for the fields, spreads the manure nicely, allows the grasses to grow back thicker and smother out the volunteer trees and by raking everything into a big pile it gives the pigs something to munch on and play in for a few days until the grasses start to grow back nicely.

"You can butter the left side of a piece of toast or the right side, the only thing that matters is that the toast ends up buttered." That might sound silly but its something an old timer told me to remember when having a disagreement.
 

Rachel Kilburn

Just born
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
3
Well I'm kind of new to this pig raising thing but what I've been feeding mine is
Poulin Pig pellets mixed with alfalfa pellets and barely, they are on pasture as well but since they have torn up most of the space it is time to move them.
 

SillyChicken

Loving the herd life
Joined
Oct 3, 2011
Messages
189
Reaction score
124
Points
148
Michigan
pot bellies

Mini pig youth
table scraps
yogurt

pasture
 
Top