Feeding our feeder pigs vs 4H pigs?

[TMC]

So we have 6 pigs in the barn. From three different breeders. Three we will raise as 4H pigs and the other three we will raise as feeder pigs.

So I have been doing all sorts of research and am still confused. We are able to seperate the pigs so I think we are going to go with commercial food primarily for both, for the feeder pigs I will supplement with our own hardboiled eggs and veggies from the garden and farm stands.

Everyone tells us to be careful about what we feed the 4H pigs so they make weight, if not one of my kids can't do the fair, but nobody around here seems to want to give away their secrets, or for that matter many of the basics. We've only had them a couple of days, we bought regular 16% feed and that seems to be wrong, they are about 6-8 weeks old, weigh about 40 lbs. They are in the barn and won't be out on pasture for a while. Should we let them self feed or hand feed? Starter grower the whole time?

I really appreciate everybodies help. When we started chickens I positively lived in backyardchickens.com and now chickens are a breeze. Pigs can't be as difficult as they are making it.

Just to make you laugh, we picked up our pigs in rubbermaid containers, the last breeder thought we were crazy, I thought that she wasn't going to let us buy the pigs..... They came home to a really nice new barn, she just thought we were such newbies. Which we are, but the rubbermaid bins did the trick.

Thanks!

 

[jhm47]

First of all, I don't think you'll be hauling them OUT in rubbermaid containers! LOL!

The 16% feed is fine for all of them. Hard boiled eggs won't hurt the 4-H pigs either, but I'd limit the veggies. I don't know when your fair is, but ours used to be in August, and when we got pigs born in February, they would sometimes get too big (290 - 320 lbs) by fair time. We used to self feed them, but whatever works best for you is fine. Our son had grand champion at county level 4 years in a row, so we had a pretty good run. Back then, there would be 50 - 60+ pigs shown, but now there are around 20 or so.

 

[TMC]

First of all, I don't think you'll be hauling them OUT in rubbermaid containers! LOL!

The 16% feed is fine for all of them. Hard boiled eggs won't hurt the 4-H pigs either, but I'd limit the veggies. I don't know when your fair is, but ours used to be in August, and when we got pigs born in February, they would sometimes get too big (290 - 320 lbs) by fair time. We used to self feed them, but whatever works best for you is fine. Our son had grand champion at county level 4 years in a row, so we had a pretty good run. Back then, there would be 50 - 60+ pigs shown, but now there are around 20 or so.

Thank you, our fair is also in August. They were born in end of January and beginning of February. I am still online reading and am really confused about the protein levels. The recommendations are between 16% and 22%. This is really the 4H pigs I'm worried about. The feeders will get there when they get there, but the fair pigs need ready in time. Thanks, we are open to any and all advice. We're learning as we go along.

What was your son's special tricks to win grand champion? SSHHHH I won't tell anybody.......

 

[jhm47]

If your pigs were born in January, your only problem might be that the pigs might be TOO big in August, provided that they are from good growthy bloodlines.

My son's "trick" was to very carefully select the best, meatiest feeder pigs available and then take very good care of them. We were fortunate that we had a large commercial hog operation near us that liked to see us win as much as possible. They got good advertising from it. We fed only commercial feeds, and If I remember correctly (this was 20 years ago), we started them out on a 18% ration, and at about 80 - 90 lbs we went to a 16% ration. Since yours might get quite large by fair time, you might stay with the 16% ration all the way through. We were careful to worm them regularly. If you plan to allow them to be out on pasture, they will need regular worming. Pasture is good, as it allows them to exercise and build muscle, which is what the judges want. Good luck!

 

[spifamily]

Our fair is in June and we like them to be born late November. They get a high quality starter feed until they are 100lbs. Then we switch to a high quality 20% grower until fair. If they are heavy we keep switch them to a finisher feed until they are done. We give them as much feed as we can for the first 100#'s. Then we weigh every two weeks, to figure out their daily gain. On the bags of feed are guidelines for how much feed/pound of gain. Also your feed store should be able to share a wealth of info. Look at the feeds website as well.