what kind of feed to you prefer

[jk47]

Like pelleted coarse ground fine ground but feel free to share what the feedis if you want
Me I pefer pellets because of how much easer it is to use plus an it absorbs water better while staying solid so what to you guys pefer

 

[M.L. McKnight]

My pigs mainly exist on pasture and hay, they do get fruit, vegetables and eggs. The feed I use is 1 part all stock pellets and 2 parts chopped corn. I mix 150lbs of the dry feed and add about 25 gallons of water. The pellets become mush but the hogs don't seem to mind and it helps to hold the soaked chopped corn (chops) together. By soaking the corn it begins to sour slightly and the starch begins to turn into sugar.

 

[jk47]

Now if you dont mind me asking mcknight how does one raise pasture pigs because at my highschool i have been taught that pigs wont grow or do well unless they get grains as the main feed
So is the pasture mainly grains like oats wheat corn beans ect. And are the pigs skinner and smaller as the result

 

[M.L. McKnight]

Most folks feed their hogs grains and the old timers still give their tankage and slop. That sort of feeding will have a weaned pig turn into a 250lb hog by the time they are 5 1/2 to 6 months old.

Pigs need lysine, iron and vitamin A to reach their physical potential. Mine get lysine from eggs, iron from dirt and vitamin A from vegetable scraps like carrot peelings.

My pastures are a mix of native grasses for my area and various legumes. They make a hearty mix. Hogs on pasture take an additional 2 months or so to reach market weights BUT you don't have as much money tied up in their feed, they don't have as much fat and their meat is a bit darker (many people like it better and say it has more flavor).

Some people like to turn their hogs out on alfalfa which helps them grow quite a bit, I am a fan of sanfoin. It has slightly less protein than alfalfa but it doesn't cause bloat, that's not a problem for hogs but it means that I can run my goats and cattle in the same pastures or rotate them without having to worry.

 

[jk47]

Thanks for explaining how you do it Igguess they teach us the grain only method because it whats used commercialy and thats what were learning to do

 

[M.L. McKnight]

The larger producers make quite a bit of money and produce huge amounts of pork using their methods so they do work. I am a much smaller producer and can take the time to move my hogs from this pasture to that one when the need arises and I am able to take a more hands on approach.
I know about the commercial methods and although they make WAAAAAAAAAY more money than I do, I make way more money PER PIG than they do. I don't have the large feed and energy costs to cover. I have my market hogs and my purebred breeding stock that I sell, my numbers don't compare to the big boys but smaller producers are the best source for genetics.

Look for an old book called Morrisons Feed and Feeding, it will give you vast amount of information concerning different types of feed and forage. I imagine that being in California you'd easily sell all of the pastured pork you could produce. I know some in the North East that take their hogs and glean orchards, that might be something else up your ally. I'll use mine in my orchard but it'll be a few more years before it is fully matured.

 

[jk47]

Funniest thing I just bought a feeds and feeding book by morrison
From the 50s today and all it talks about is pastures and I will definitely try the pasture method as soon as my FFA years are over in 2years

 

[M.L. McKnight]

That's pretty neat. Have you thought about focusing on a particular breed or trying for your own F1 crosses, or are you strictly interested in market hog production?

 

[jk47]

Well right now im doing market hogs but I might do a little breeding in the future I like the york X
Types I always get york X every year I like there look and how they gain never liked hamps for some reason I usually perfer gilts over barrows in market

 

[M.L. McKnight]

I never was a big fan of Hamps either. My old clean up boar was a Chester White and I swapped him for a young Hamp and raised him to breeding age, THAT boar took forever and a day to train not to nip me through the fence but once he caught on- he ended up being a nice boar. He bred my market sows the first time they were exposed and had the greatest breeding recovery rate of any boar I have ever been around.
I was always more of a fan of Durocs when it came to the main three breeds, it might be due to the fact that I am partial to redheads.

I looked at a fair number of Yorks before I started putting together my herd. Shipley's "Buffalo" impressed me and I thought about getting a bred gilt from his site that had been bred to Buffalo, keep the gilts and breed them to "Spud" and go from there. The thing that kept me from it is that I couldn't do what I wanted with the major breeds. Any hogs can be raised on pasture but IF I were to drop all of this money into buying top bloodlines in the Yorkshire world- It'd make more sense to raise them in huts or on a slab.
I saw a boar sired by Buffalo at the state fair, WOW, that guy was a Hog's Hog!

I have my Red Wattles, Spots and Berkshires. I finally tracked down a good berk boar and by the time he is old enough I will use him in both my market hog and purebred herds.