Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 11:54:59 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
So after starting with the oldest postings and reading through them one by one I quickly realized that the pig keeping people of this forum have discussed the topic of what to feed one's pigs every which way to Sunday! I've only made it about a third of the way through all of the threads but I intend to perservere in my "free" time. However, I have 3 Gloucester Old Spot piglets arriving tomorrow afternoon and will be spending my day today fortifying their enclosure rather than learning from everyone here's experience. I plan on raising the two males for meat, one to go into the freezer in the fall and the other in the spring, and the female I plan on keeping for a breeding sow.
So, I would like to detail my proposed feeding plan and I would really appreciate everyone's input and critique. I know that a lot of people here feed a pre-mixed ration and, at this point, that is something that I am trying to avoid. My future goals include growing my animal's feed completely on-farm so I am trying to develop a diet now that can one day meet this perhaps-over-reaching-and-misplaced goal.
The Diet:
* 1 part dried field peas to 2 parts steam rolled barley allowed to soak in twice as much milk until it clabbers (about two days in a covered container, right?) fed twice a day in the amount that it takes them ~5 minutes to completely clean up (more... less?). Once the pigs are about 4 months I was thinking of cutting back on the protein (the peas) and just feeding barley soaked in clabbering milk.
* The 3 pigs will be on timbered/brush-infested hillsides (about 1/5 acre per pen) rotated around as they run out of things to grub for and munch on.
* A nearly continuous supply of grass clippings and weeds fed free-choice
* All the carrot tops, old corn cobs and other scraps that my kitchen-for-two produces, which is not a lot.
* Kelp fed free-choice (not sure if this is needed. If not, I would love to get away with not using it)
* Any leftover eggs, hard boiled. Again, not many of these.
* In the fall, I am going to have bushels of apples available to me. Maybe a couple of these per pig?
Well, that's my "plan". I was advised (thank you kristi!) that the piggies will need some lysine, which is found in corn. I do plan on growing field corn for my chickens (in that elusive "One-day" future that I mentioned) and would not mind feeding it to the pigs except that I was reading that it can make the fat mushy and the end product doesn't taste as good(?). Gloucester Old Spots are a lard type pig so I want to really make sure that they don't over-produce fat and that the stuff that they do produce is of good quality. What would the minimum amount of corn be that I would need to feed to meet their lysine requirement? And, do I need salt or some other mineral block?
Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated. This is my first time keeping pigs so please don't assume that I know ANYTHING, cause I really don't I fear. Thanks to all.
Stacey
So after starting with the oldest postings and reading through them one by one I quickly realized that the pig keeping people of this forum have discussed the topic of what to feed one's pigs every which way to Sunday! I've only made it about a third of the way through all of the threads but I intend to perservere in my "free" time. However, I have 3 Gloucester Old Spot piglets arriving tomorrow afternoon and will be spending my day today fortifying their enclosure rather than learning from everyone here's experience. I plan on raising the two males for meat, one to go into the freezer in the fall and the other in the spring, and the female I plan on keeping for a breeding sow.
So, I would like to detail my proposed feeding plan and I would really appreciate everyone's input and critique. I know that a lot of people here feed a pre-mixed ration and, at this point, that is something that I am trying to avoid. My future goals include growing my animal's feed completely on-farm so I am trying to develop a diet now that can one day meet this perhaps-over-reaching-and-misplaced goal.
The Diet:
* 1 part dried field peas to 2 parts steam rolled barley allowed to soak in twice as much milk until it clabbers (about two days in a covered container, right?) fed twice a day in the amount that it takes them ~5 minutes to completely clean up (more... less?). Once the pigs are about 4 months I was thinking of cutting back on the protein (the peas) and just feeding barley soaked in clabbering milk.
* The 3 pigs will be on timbered/brush-infested hillsides (about 1/5 acre per pen) rotated around as they run out of things to grub for and munch on.
* A nearly continuous supply of grass clippings and weeds fed free-choice
* All the carrot tops, old corn cobs and other scraps that my kitchen-for-two produces, which is not a lot.
* Kelp fed free-choice (not sure if this is needed. If not, I would love to get away with not using it)
* Any leftover eggs, hard boiled. Again, not many of these.
* In the fall, I am going to have bushels of apples available to me. Maybe a couple of these per pig?
Well, that's my "plan". I was advised (thank you kristi!) that the piggies will need some lysine, which is found in corn. I do plan on growing field corn for my chickens (in that elusive "One-day" future that I mentioned) and would not mind feeding it to the pigs except that I was reading that it can make the fat mushy and the end product doesn't taste as good(?). Gloucester Old Spots are a lard type pig so I want to really make sure that they don't over-produce fat and that the stuff that they do produce is of good quality. What would the minimum amount of corn be that I would need to feed to meet their lysine requirement? And, do I need salt or some other mineral block?
Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated. This is my first time keeping pigs so please don't assume that I know ANYTHING, cause I really don't I fear. Thanks to all.
Stacey
