Curious if anyone knows, or can point to a resource for, how much a red wattle pig will eat. This would include both weaners/feeder up to 200 lbs, and also full-grown breeding stock. They would be kept in rotated pens, 16x32', and primarily milk/veggie fed. Obviously in this discussion is how big they get, full-grown, so that info is needed too. Thanks!
Red Wattle size and Feed Requirements
- Thread starter bubba1358
- Start date
M.L. McKnight
Overrun with beasties
I have a Red Wattle sow and was told that she was going to grow a bit slower than the more popular breeds but I haven't found that to be the case at all. The only real difference I can see between her and my other girls in terms or body structure is that her shoulder is a bit smaller. I bred her to a Chester White and those babies got a shoulder from their daddy and butt from their momma!
I feed all of my pigs 4-6 pounds of feed a day. That might not sound like a lot to some but I mix in eggs from my chickens that may get pecked or cracked, fruit/vegetable scraps and a little tummeric or garlic on occasion. (I am a chef...) Other than that they eat hay, grass, plants they find in the pasture, acorns, pecans, milk or whey and anything they can root up or that holds still long enough.
I can tell you that they make good mommas and my girl is around 325-350lbs. Pigs will eat whatever they can as long as they are hungry but I have found that by keeping them on pasture they maintain their ideals weights better than ones I have kept in confinement. If they want to eat more than I give then they have to exercise to get it and that grass doesn't have much fat.
I feed all of my pigs 4-6 pounds of feed a day. That might not sound like a lot to some but I mix in eggs from my chickens that may get pecked or cracked, fruit/vegetable scraps and a little tummeric or garlic on occasion. (I am a chef...) Other than that they eat hay, grass, plants they find in the pasture, acorns, pecans, milk or whey and anything they can root up or that holds still long enough.
I can tell you that they make good mommas and my girl is around 325-350lbs. Pigs will eat whatever they can as long as they are hungry but I have found that by keeping them on pasture they maintain their ideals weights better than ones I have kept in confinement. If they want to eat more than I give then they have to exercise to get it and that grass doesn't have much fat.
