How Much Should I Be Feeding My Pigs?

[MikahMom]

I just picked up my 2 Yorkshire gilts yesterday -- hurray!!

I have them on a complete starter-grower feed (they weight about 40lbs ea) and according to Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs they are to be fed 1 lb of the starter-grower a day. But my sweet little Rose and Blanche still seem to be really hungry! Is this enough for them or should I be giving them more? Also, does anyone have a good plan on how to build a nice trough w/dividers so they don't argue over their feed? Thanks!!


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Proud owner of 2 Shire Horses, 2 Yorkshire Gilts, 3 Nigerian Dwarf Goats, 24 Australorps, 1 Irish Wolfhound and 2 Australian Shepherds!

 

[jhm47]

I would suggest that you get a self-feeder that will allow them to eat as much as they want, whenever they want. They will not overeat, and they will increase their intake as they grow. This will largely eliminate the problem of them fighting over their feed.

Pigs are called pigs because they eat like pigs. If you limit the amount of feed that they are given daily, they will continue to fight each other over the tiniest scrap of food. Just imagine having a hundred, and trying to limit their feed. It would be a squealing, fighting chaos, much like Walmart on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

oh hey jhm47! always good to see you

i was gonna say that the old timers say to feed 2 or 3 times a day, as much as they will eat in 20 minutes. that should let you gauge how much to put in their feeders... if they free range they will do just that all day unless they are sleeping. if they are very young, remember that "little and often" is a good course of action.

we use the black tubs from TSC - the hard platic-kinda stuff. but you'll need a couple sizes to keep up with the growth.

happy pigging!

 

[jhm47]

Back around 40 or so years ago, we raised several hundred pigs each year. We always used a self-feeder on our younger pigs, or else there were some that always got pushed aside by the bigger, stronger ones. We did hand-feed our big sows when they farrowed. We had wooden troughs embedded into our building that were impossible to tip over, and these worked quite well.

When our children had 4-H pigs, they would take them to the fair, and use the round shallow feeders for their pigs. The pigs wasted far more feed than they ate. They would overturn their feeders immediately, and fight over the mess that they left on the floor. In my visits to the state fair, I have noticed that pig behavior has not changed a bit. The messy things spread their feed all over the floor, and then lie down in the resulting mess.

FYI: My older son had grand champion market hog at our fair five years in a row. Also was near the top for rate of gain, and carcass merit several times at the state fair. Miss those exciting times!

 

[Waddington]

I wish I could find the site that had the idea for the trough I just made. Anyways, it was a divided trough like you were looking for. A foot of length for each pig, had plywood as the bottom and back, and was angled in the front (kind of a half 'v' trough). The one I made was about a foot high and 15 inches wide, then I put slots in to form the V side. The slots are big enough to hold a 2x4 or 2x6, so I can build it up as the pigs grow so they will have more food capacity.

Hope that helps!

 

[freemotion]

They will argue over the feed no matter what....each one always will want to see of the other has something better and will push him/her out of the way to get it. That is why two pigs will fatten faster than one alone will.

Do you have them on pasture or confined? If on pasture, you can feed them twice a day as OFG and I are doing, and they will spend the day finding the rest of their food in the dirt of their field.

Right now I am giving my weaners some milk or whey mixed with either pellets or bread and household scraps in the small rubber flat feed pans from TSC, and whole corn soaked for a few days to ferment a bit and then scattered on the ground for them to find. They are big enough to be let into their larger pasture this week. They found an amazing amount of stuff to eat in their small grassy (formerly grassy!) pen right from the start. They are eating far less than the books say because of this, and are fat and sassy and growing like weeds.

It all depends on your situation.

 

[MikahMom]

We built a pen for the girls that is 32x48 -- has grass in it at least for now LOL We can't let them free range due to the horses and that our outer pasture only has barbed wire so then would be able to get under that which we don't want of course. Big Daddy's area is 16x32 and also has grass temporarily The have plenty of shade during the summer from two large pecan trees and we also made a wallow area for them.


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Proud owner of 2 Shire Horses, 2 Yorkshire Gilts, 1 Duroc Boar, 3 Nigerian Dwarf Goats, 24 Australorps, 1 Irish Wolfhound and 2 Australian Shepherds

 

[chunkydunk]

That should be fine. But (now this is just my 2 cents worth) you might want to split it in half. That way when they clean out one side you can move them over and sow something in the other. That way whenever they clean out the other side you can move them back and theyll have forage.