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Author Topic: What is poisonous to pigs?  (Read 23406 times)

egglady

  • Joined Jun 2009
What is poisonous to pigs?
« on: October 15, 2010, 06:57:08 pm »
getting my next couple of pigs next weekend and am thinking about putting them in a very overgrown veggie plot.  lots of yummy stuff for them to eat but couple of things i'm not so sure about -
ivy
pumpkin stems and leaves
needles from overhanging pine trees
strawberry plants

everything else i think they will be ok with and really enjoy (pots, carrots, turnip, parsnips, peas and beans.....) :pig:

Browntea

  • Joined Sep 2010
  • North Yorkshire
Re: What is poisonous to pigs?
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2010, 08:06:12 pm »
Hi there I'm no expert but parsnips are not good at all someone in here will tell you more I'm sure. Good luck with your pigs we have had our two girls just 3 weeks now

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: What is poisonous to pigs?
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2010, 10:18:26 pm »
I've found that mine are quite partial to the occaisional parsnip  :-\ The reason people don't feed them is that they produce sap which can irritate the skin and often turn into blisters around the mouth - cue panic over foot and mouth ! Mine only get the roots and I've not noticed any blisters on them, but it's only 1 or 2 they get each at a time.
Don't see a problem with ivy or strawberry plants (not sure about pumpkins though - never managed to grow any ;))
You'll find they won't eat the pine needles. Pigs seem to know what's good and what's not - it's pretty unusual for them to poison themselves.
HTH
Karen

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: What is poisonous to pigs?
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2010, 11:43:14 am »
Pigs LOVE pumpkins.  Mine ate all of the leaves.  A well fed pig is unlikely to eat anything poisonous.  OUr way of deciding whether mushrooms are edible or not is to offer a bit to our pet pig first.  Sadly the truffle he/we found this week was too much of a temptation for him - he ate it all.

stu222art

  • Joined Sep 2010
Re: What is poisonous to pigs?
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2010, 06:09:43 pm »
agree pigs know whats good and whats not best to split pumpkins,squash, marrows before giving as they can t get through skin unless small and they don t like citrus or onions

Eve

  • Joined Jul 2010
Re: What is poisonous to pigs?
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2010, 10:23:14 pm »
Yep, that's what I've always been told: no parsnips, onions or citrus fruits or they'll get blisters. And tomato plants and potato haulms are poisonous, as are rhubarb leaves (ours hate the rhubarb stalks anyway), but the tomatoes and potatoes themselves are fine. They'll probably not eat the ivy, but you can always cut it back to be safe - animals are like us, they don't always know what's best for them. ;)

You'll find that some pigs love certain foods which others wouldn't touch with a bargepole - they all love bananas and most fruits, some hate sprouts (they're the ones with taste  :D), others will spit out even the tiniest bit of sweet pepper... So far they're all liked pumpkins - just slice in in quarters so that they can sink their teeth in it.

Have fun!


Eve  :wave:


egglady

  • Joined Jun 2009
Re: What is poisonous to pigs?
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2010, 10:28:15 pm »
that's all great folks, many thanks

 

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