Update: kept 4 small pigs and 20 chickens for free(almost)
Dec 27, 2021 10:52:42 GMT -5
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Post by josiegirl on Dec 27, 2021 10:52:42 GMT -5
I had a post way back when I shared some info about copasturing and how you don't have to feed chickens, and pigs can eat almost half of their ration from cow manure. Well we've been testing that out from fall to now and I have to say, I love our set up!
So what we did to try it out is move 3 young kune boars plus one mulefoot piglet in to the same barn coral as Josie our jersey cow, and we also had 20 chickens we had hatched that spring' free ranging' between the main barn coral and the two pig pens. The only grain they got was the grain they picked out of josies manure, the grain she dropped as she ate her grain(total slob btw) and a couple lbs of scratch grain we'd throw around to keep the pigs busy so they didn't bug me while milking. They also got access to josies hay which they do eat. We did this from beginning September til now, and I didn't start supplementing with more grain til it really froze and there were no more bugs and the manures would freeze too quickly.
It worked so well before it froze tho that the chickens weren't even that interested when I gave them grain. And the bilbo our small kune boar actually gained weight in the corral! Granted he is a very shy dude so when he was on pasture with other pigs they'd push him out of the way when I gave them food bank scraps. And we put a 3 month old boar in and he is fatter than his siblings in the other pig pen who receive grain and hay. I wanted to keep our boars somewhere we could interact a lot so when they're bigger they will still be friendly and have manners.
Now, a big concern when I said you could feed up to %40 of their ration as cow manure(because it is essentially fermented hay plus grain bits) was that they'd taste bad. Well we had that mulefoot piglet in the barn and she was on a fairly strict cow poop and hay only diet haha(except the scratch and grain gleaned from Josie) for about 3 months(butchered at 6 months), and tho she was smaller than her sibling we sold to our neighbor who was free fed(she was always the smallest piglet tho, the neighbors was the biggest) she tasted fantastic. I did email walter jeffries about this and he did say hes heard pigs being fed only for waste as well and to give it a try.
I forgot to mention too we had our 300 lb boar in with the two steers as well. No grain, just scraps sometimes. When it got cold and the pasture was under snow we did start feeding him a couple lbs a day cuz we felt bad for him, tho he didn't lose condition.
I am so pleased with the results and I think the animals are too, the chickens get to eat their preferred food( bugs) and the pigs love ploughing through a fresh pile of poo. We will save lots of money next spring when there's bugs and grass again,but it's more about knowing we CAN feed our animals this way if we had to and gives some insight into how our ancestors used to care for livestock. Previously we had our chicken coop in a separate area, and we realized they didn't like to go that far to pick through the manure piles especially when we free fed grain. So if you've got chickens try keeping them in your barn!
So what we did to try it out is move 3 young kune boars plus one mulefoot piglet in to the same barn coral as Josie our jersey cow, and we also had 20 chickens we had hatched that spring' free ranging' between the main barn coral and the two pig pens. The only grain they got was the grain they picked out of josies manure, the grain she dropped as she ate her grain(total slob btw) and a couple lbs of scratch grain we'd throw around to keep the pigs busy so they didn't bug me while milking. They also got access to josies hay which they do eat. We did this from beginning September til now, and I didn't start supplementing with more grain til it really froze and there were no more bugs and the manures would freeze too quickly.
It worked so well before it froze tho that the chickens weren't even that interested when I gave them grain. And the bilbo our small kune boar actually gained weight in the corral! Granted he is a very shy dude so when he was on pasture with other pigs they'd push him out of the way when I gave them food bank scraps. And we put a 3 month old boar in and he is fatter than his siblings in the other pig pen who receive grain and hay. I wanted to keep our boars somewhere we could interact a lot so when they're bigger they will still be friendly and have manners.
Now, a big concern when I said you could feed up to %40 of their ration as cow manure(because it is essentially fermented hay plus grain bits) was that they'd taste bad. Well we had that mulefoot piglet in the barn and she was on a fairly strict cow poop and hay only diet haha(except the scratch and grain gleaned from Josie) for about 3 months(butchered at 6 months), and tho she was smaller than her sibling we sold to our neighbor who was free fed(she was always the smallest piglet tho, the neighbors was the biggest) she tasted fantastic. I did email walter jeffries about this and he did say hes heard pigs being fed only for waste as well and to give it a try.
I forgot to mention too we had our 300 lb boar in with the two steers as well. No grain, just scraps sometimes. When it got cold and the pasture was under snow we did start feeding him a couple lbs a day cuz we felt bad for him, tho he didn't lose condition.
I am so pleased with the results and I think the animals are too, the chickens get to eat their preferred food( bugs) and the pigs love ploughing through a fresh pile of poo. We will save lots of money next spring when there's bugs and grass again,but it's more about knowing we CAN feed our animals this way if we had to and gives some insight into how our ancestors used to care for livestock. Previously we had our chicken coop in a separate area, and we realized they didn't like to go that far to pick through the manure piles especially when we free fed grain. So if you've got chickens try keeping them in your barn!