Feeding Practices ~ Pigs

[jaasp]

Idaho
Berkshire/Hamp crosses x 4 adults (and littles!)

I feed 90% barley fodder that I sprout myself, the rest is table scraps/leftover veggies from garden/fruit drops/eggs

The fodder runs about 22-24% protein, healthy animals, and they don't root in their pen... so I believe they are full and happy. I have built a dedicated fodder room over the years of saving money by sprouting my own feed. It's low-labor and easy. Carcass weight at 7-8 months has been between 230 and 280 but nice a lean meat, well marbled. Excellent bacon and loins, can't believe how tender they are! Oh, my cost per pound of meat is around $.08 to produce.

 

[Tracker]

Does anybody feed only once a day?

2 x Black Giant/Hampshire x
bout 60-70 lbs/almost 5 months old
30 x 80 pen. They've rooted everything that was edible in the pen.
Feeding a local milled livestock blend 16% - smells like sorghum/molasses with a small amount of cracked corn. I've wanted to supplement with hay, but we've had a bad run of rain and hay is in short supply.

 

[babsbag]

I only fed my pigs once a day but they got A LOT of food in that feeding. I was collecting lunch scraps from a local school so they got those every night and some pig grower pellets from a local mill. Also any milk, eggs (cooked), produce, or any other scraps I had for them.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Northern Michigan

1 Duroc
The rest are all mix Hampshire, Berkshire, Hereford and a tiny bit of LBP

For feeders
We feed 5# per head per day of 18% Pig and Sow runs us $14.25/hundred# for 3 months
Then we switch to 16% Chop which runs us $10.50/hundred# for 3 months
Ends up costing us $111.38 per pig to get them to 6 months old which comes out to 0.40/# live weight and 0.58/# hang weight.

For Breeders
We feed 5# per head per day of 18% Pig and Sow runs us $14.25/hundred#
Ends up costing us $128.25 per pig to get them to 6 months old, then they are bred.

We also supplement with
shell corn
oats
wheat
powdered milk
canned veggies/fruit
goat milk
eggs
garden scraps
fallen apples
peanut butter
cereal
hay
pasture

The only thing we pay for on that list is shell corn and oats. Really we could probly feed then less pig&sow/chop because of the extra but for breeders esp we want to make sure they are getting anything we are missing.

This year we planted corn and oats which we will take to the mill and have made into pig&sow at quite a good discount.

 

[Mikethepigman]

NW Ohio wood county
Sow's/gilts/ boar/ butcher pigs/
Duroc x/ Yorkshire x/ Berkshire x/ Hampshire x
Everyone gets the same feed...
The pigs in the breeding program get ration amount as I want them to live and not get stupid huge fast lol
Piglets, even if on momma, get unlimited amounts.
Butcher pigs get unlimited amounts.form piglets to butcher weight.


The feed I use is two parts.
Corn and Kent feed lean grower.
400-100 ratio. 400lbs.corn to 100lbs. Lean grower.

I call the mill and get it all ground up 1000 lbs. at a time.

By far the best feed I've seen and the best piglets I've ever raised. plus it's a feed I can tell ppl about. The other mill I was going to, on the ticket had the numbers 2586... And 50 lbs. of it... They don't know what is, I dont know what it is. They claim it's a pig supplement... well the ticket already had the supplement on it. Any rate I use Kent feed as it's been great and kept more money in my pocket. It cost around 140$ for half ton of feed, it takes 500 lbs to feed a piglet to butcher weight. This all comes in handy when breeding and selling butcher ready pigs.

Every year around halloween I find pumpkin patches and talk to the owners and clean up the leftover pumpkins. Pigs love it!!

 

[Latestarter]

...Corn and Kent feed lean grower.
400-100 ratio. 400lbs.corn to 100lbs. Corn...

Corn and corn? Shouldn't there be two different components? Just curious, as I don't have pigs (yet)...

 

[Mikethepigman]

Oh haha I for to put the 400lbs corn to 100 lbs lean grower. Got excited to be giving my farm ideas and practices. Sorry about that.

 

[Latestarter]

No apologies required! It happens to us all Just so you know, you can go back and edit any of your posts. There's an "Edit" button at the bottom. if you click it it will open the post and you can correct and then re-post it.

 

[Mikethepigman]

Oh man sweet. Definitely gonna fix that one lol.

 

[NH homesteader]

@Mikethepigman are Kent and Blue Seal the same? I've seen the name on Blue Seal bags before...

Anyhow right now we have three little pigs. One for the freezer who is GOS/Duroc and two gilts for breeding that are GOS/Duroc/Chester White. We feed Poulin 16%. I prefer Blue Seal but we have a good deal on bulk feed so we go with it. This feed has corn in it already.

We also feed whey when I make cheese, extra eggs from the chickens, and scraps (fruit and veggies only) as well as produce from the garden seasonally. In winter they get tons of hay for sleeping in/eating. Lots of pumpkins in the fall!