All of your pig talk got me in TROUBLE!

[Mini Horses]

In trees roosting -- they may get more than one. Birds are pretty limited on the roost, daze like. That's one reason why if something gets into coop you lose so many. All pros/cons and some results just depend on predators in area. Owls can be vicious. Everyone works within their own circumstances.

Love the pigs...glad DW is so "onboard" My DH just never complained about anything I brought home, a real partner in it all. I was spoiled.

As to the scraps...I threw them in and they ate. If it was more than they wanted then, sleep and repeat. Mine also loved that I cut grass into a bagger and dumped it in to them. Chomp, Chomp! I kept an area that I'd mow a strip just for that. I don't use chemicals, so no issues. I generally got a truckload of veggies/breads/etc. and used it over the course of 5-7 days for chickens & pigs. Here I use a feed to supplement and it makes me feel they are getting vit/min needed -- n case. Mine were not overly fat. They love pumpkins. Pigs are very smart. They will respect hot wire if trained young. Also, remember they can't sweat & so need to have a mudhole & shade to cool as they don't do heat well.

 

[Baymule]

If you give the pigs corn, sour it first. Straight whole corn doesn't digest real good. We just took our 2 to slaughter and they were fed soured corn. Cover the corn with water and soak several days. I kept 8 buckets going, fed twice a day. I poured water from the soured bucket into the day's fresh bucket to get it going faster.

 

[Matt n Lee]

In trees roosting -- they may get more than one. Birds are pretty limited on the roost, daze like. That's one reason why if something gets into coop you lose so many. All pros/cons and some results just depend on predators in area. Owls can be vicious. Everyone works within their own circumstances.

Well the roosting in the trees isn't a new thing they have been at it for months, but I hear you on the owls and they are around here. I already told the wife the day I wake up and a single one is missing, back in the coop they go.

If you give the pigs corn, sour it first. Straight whole corn doesn't digest real good. We just took our 2 to slaughter and they were fed soured corn. Cover the corn with water and soak several days. I kept 8 buckets going, fed twice a day. I poured water from the soured bucket into the day's fresh bucket to get it going faster.

I got some cracked corn today. Ill start some soaking, but I don't have many scraps for them right now....do you think they would be ok eating just pumpkin for a couple of days? If not ill need to give them organic chicken feed or dry corn.

 

[Latestarter]

They should do well on the chicken feed until such time as you get regular hog feed. Also, I was told/warned that because they can't sweat, they have no real way to rid themselves of excess salt, so you want to be careful feeding them salted food scraps. So best to avoid if possible. Guess you have to wait till you process to make that salted pork Pig people? input please?

 

[Sara Ranch]

@Matt n Lee - when I gathered food scraps from neighbors, I just mixed it in with the feed. Sometimes, there was enough to give them all scraps for the meal. No bones. Nothing sharp they could hurt themselves with. And no pig by-products. (Some may disagree with this, and that's ok. I personally won't feed an animal it's direct relative. So pigs don't get any pig products. Cows don't get any cow products. Etc. The one exception is chicken eggs to chickens. That is rare that I do that.)

I fed the piggies twice a day. (They seemed happier with this twice a day feeding.) They LOVED fresh garden goodies!

The feed was often a supplemental to make sure they had enough of the right minerals and all.

 

[Mini Horses]

You have trees....they love acorns. Extra hay? mine would eat it when fresh grass wasn't provided. Many weeds are tasty to them. Any fruit trees around? Excess dropped fruits, even over ripe is excellent. They are very versatile & not picky.

This past Spring, my pigs were gone & walking thru their area to see what I needed to do for renovation, I found a lot of free volunteer tomato plants & some vines that turned out to be butternut squash. Transplanted to my garden. I got over 100# of squash from those 3 vines. Win/win. Tomatoes were both cherry & slice varieties.

 

[Baymule]

Pigs need lysine, an essential nutrient. If you feed a hog feed, it will have lysine. You can also feed them boiled eggs, shell and all, or some milk or milk products. And no salty foods. @Latestarter is right about that.

Plant turnips now. They will grow through the winter and pigs love them.

 

[Matt n Lee]

great info in here. I will do my best on the salted food, but we are from South Louisiana, any scraps I get will be spiced in one way or another. I agree about no pork products for them. Im the same way about giving animals the same species as meat, but everything LOVES chicken eggs even our sheep when they find one out in the field. quick update video on the pigs waking up from their first nigh ton the farm.

 

[Baymule]

Cute piggies!

 

[Sara Ranch]

Keep learning and keep doing your best. You got this!