Got my piggies :-) What to supplement?

[CountryFried]

Built the pen this morning and picked up the pigs this evening. Was dark when we got home, so they're in our chain link fence right now, because my dingbat son put the wood on the wrong edge of the combo stock panels I bought, and he was worried the pigs might fit through the bigger squares right now. I bought a solar charger for now, if it isn't hot enough, I'll go get the Parmak from Jeffers (they're local for me, who knew?) and invest in some batteries and a charger. I'm a bit confused on what kind of battery a 12v actually is. I thought it was the size of a car battery, but the 6v Rayovac I saw at Tractor Supply made me think maybe not? Anyway, I'll deal with that down the road if I need a more powerful charger.

My pigs are roughly 25lbs each, and the guy I got them from is just getting back into breeding feeders to sell. He said he had them on grower feed, but he's been giving them fermented(?) corn lately and supplementing. He said just soak the corn in water overnight to ferment it. If I do that, what do I supplement with? Right now, I have a bag of the Purina Sow and Pig, 16% protein, but I'll be going to see what they have at the local co-op this week. The Purina is all TS had in at the time and I didn't have time to catch the co-op before they closed today.

And my son works for a pizza place and frequently brings home cheese or cheese and pepperoni pizzas that are left at the end of the night. I'm guessing the cheese pizza is fine, but what about the pepperoni? Should I pick the pepperoni off, or just not feed that one at all? TIA for advice, I did pick up the Storey's book about pigs today and I'll be reading it, too.

 

[freemotion]

I'd give them the pepperoni....they don't need to have cardiovascular health into old age, after all! I ferment my corn for a few days, until it is a bit bubbly. They go nuts for it.

Can't help you with the supplementing...Mine are on pasture and get their own supplements from the soil. I feed them whatever veg/fruit scraps I can get my hands on. They prefer wholesome food to bread, but I bet mine would like pizza. The will eat a few of the more highly flavored breads, like onion bagels and raisin bread.

 

[TheSheepGirl]

Pig feeds generally have all of the vitamins and minerals that the pigs need, so you shouldn't need to suppliment them.

As for the pizza, they'll be fine. We feed our pigs pretty much anything and haven't found anything they didn't like. We have fed them peperoni pizza before as well.

 

[CountryFried]

I'd like to get away from the actual pig feed, if possible. (Unless it's loads cheaper at the co-op, it was like $15 at TS)

I'm trying to learn about their food needs, and protein seems to be the big thing, I guess I need to learn about people food to figure out where I could supplement that from? I know corn has protein, is it enough if I feed them the fermented corn and then supplement them with household scraps?

 

[jhm47]

Corn (whether fermented or not) does not have near the adequate protein that pigs need. This is why most commercial feeds contain soymeal and added lysine to balance out the corn. Corn is basically a source of starch, or energy, and it's relatively cheap.

Lots of people on this site think that giving their pigs access to a small pasture will provide all the necessary vitamins and minerals to allow their pigs to grow and thrive. This is not true. All areas of our great country have varying amounts of minerals in the soil. For example, in beef cattle, there are areas of the country that are very deficient in selenium. These cattle require supplementation in order to maintain their health and growth. Other areas have far too much selenium, and these cattle require a mineral/vitamin mixture that does not contain selenium. The same is true for pigs.

In my opinion, you will be ahead in the long run (and your pigs will be healthier and grow faster) if you feed a well-balanced commercial feed. I know that there are some here who abhor anything "commercial", and they claim that their pigs taste better, and are happier if they don't feed store bought feeds. However, I believe that pigs that are fed commercial feeds, and are allowed access to pasture will get adequate nutrition and exercise that will improve the texture and taste of their meat. Of course, it's always OK to feed small amounts of treats, but do it sparingly, so as not to adversely affect their nutritional needs. Pigs are like children. They will eat lots of things that taste good to them, and ignore things that are actually good for them. We don't allow our children access to ice cream and candy at all times, so why would we do it for pigs? JMHO

 

[Shootingstars]

I feed my pig the commercial pig food but not much of it. I also feed it fermented corn, lots of veggies from the garden and all the windblown fruit. I give him commercial feed in the morning and then let him let the other stuff all day when he wants. If I run out of the free goodies then I just give him more pig feed. My objective here is to have delicious bacon at a minimal cost.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey countryfried!

here's a thread about supplementing and how we handle it.

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5827

we did the math and it works out for us.

HOWEVER

just household scraps probably would not be enough at their young age. some of us go beyond "just scraps" and get out there and find food for our pigs. Freemotion is a master at this. you have to have a plan and work that plan for it to work.

for instance, we have free milk from our goats and tons of eggs (always hard boil for pigs) so we supplement in a lot of different ways. given enough pasture they will keep themselves fed and entertained... but jhm is just right. just corn at that age isnt enough.

we finish our pigs on corn and what we can get from the garden, our orchard friends, eggs etc. this works for us but you have to decide for yourself. if you are keeping for breeding then you may want to take another approach. but for one season pigs? eh.. good enough is good enough. ours take a bit longer to grow out but thats ok.

jhm - its not that we abhor commercial feed.. we're just cheap!
;-)

 

[Shootingstars]

I have a question about feeding raw eggs to pigs, how come one can't do this, I have in the past and he eats them right up. Is this not healthy?

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

pigs will eat anything they can smell so sure they'll eat 'em...and love them.

however raw eggs have a protein inhibitor (for pigs not sure about any other stock or people) so you're kinda defeating the purpose by not cooking them.

its one more step but really not that big of a hassle. this morning i took up all the eggs i could find, put them in a big pot, covered with cold water, brought to a boil, and let them simmer for about 15 mins. then i just turned off the heat. as soon as i haul my lazy tuckus off this chair i'll cool them in cold water, let them set on the counter for a while and go and throw them at... i mean.. to the pigs.

 

[Shootingstars]

pigs will eat anything they can smell so sure they'll eat 'em...and love them.

however raw eggs have a protein inhibitor (for pigs not sure about any other stock or people) so you're kinda defeating the purpose by not cooking them.

its one more step but really not that big of a hassle. this morning i took up all the eggs i could find, put them in a big pot, covered with cold water, brought to a boil, and let them simmer for about 15 mins. then i just turned off the heat. as soon as i haul my lazy tuckus off this chair i'll cool them in cold water, let them set on the counter for a while and go and throw them at... i mean.. to the pigs.

You are funny, I don't mind the extra step, just didn't know I needed to do it, thanks!