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Author Topic: Pig food, do's and don't  (Read 11770 times)

white-blazes

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • Anglesey
Pig food, do's and don't
« on: April 06, 2011, 11:03:28 pm »
We've bought two bags of Pig Nuts for the weaners ready for tomorrow.

Basically, what can they eat, what do they appear to love, and what is a definate 'no no'?

This is our first time with pigs, we have 4 horses and 4 dogs, and suddenly find ourselves a bit lost with lots to learn.

thanks for reading  :)

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2011, 11:11:07 pm »
A definate no-no is any form of meat product or anything which has passed through a commercial or domestic kitchen (it's all explained in the DEFRA stuff you'd have gotten with your cph number) but in terms of what they will eat - everything ! If given half a chance  ;)
Mine all love fruit (except citrus) and most veg. Potatoes you're best to feed cooked (outside on a camping stove) but everything else is usually fine raw. They're not usually keen on onions and both these and parsnips can cause blisters round the mouth and folk don't like feeding those as it can look a bit like foot & mouth and cause panic ! Mine have a few parsnips now and again (cos they love them) without any ill effects.
My dad has also discovered that they're quite partial to chocolate hob nobs  :o but needless to say they don't get that kind of pampering from me  ;)
Enjoy your piggies  ;D
Karen

Eve

  • Joined Jul 2010
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2011, 11:14:36 pm »
They love bananas and apples, no pig so far that didn't like them. Every pig has its likes and dislikes  - we've had pigs that didn't like sprouts (very intelligent, these pigs were  ;)), others didn't want peppers and so on. One of them would gorge on cucumbers and all other fruit & veg, his brother wouldn't touch the stuff.

As for what they can't have: any catering waste (have a look around this forum for the rules & regulations as they're explained in quite a few posts, basically nothing that's been through a kitchen) and no raw potatoes (pigs can get sick and die), potato haulms and tomato plants (poisonous), and I've been told not to give then onions, citrus fruits or parsnips (pigs get blisters).

Others will add to the list. Do have a look around this forum re feed, alternatives and quantities.

 :wave:

littlemisspiggy!

  • Joined Sep 2010
  • NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
    • just left of the 20th century
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2011, 11:16:16 pm »
ours like a few parsnips too but not many as you say!carrots and bread are our pigs fav's! they love em! we also give them apples,pears and they love water melon but thats only if its on offer as a special treat!! good luck with your piggies!
'can't rain all the time!'

white-blazes

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • Anglesey
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2011, 11:16:46 pm »
Thanks.  Iv'e read the rules about meat and catering stuff.  Just wondered which veg were loved and which were not.  Stuff like lettuce hearts, mushrooms, are ok?  With bananas do you mean skins too, or are we to peel them  ;D

white-blazes

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • Anglesey
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2011, 11:18:06 pm »
Bread too? Never thought of that, I was thinking fruit and veg only.  Blimey, my horses will have competition now  ;D

Eve

  • Joined Jul 2010
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2011, 11:39:25 pm »
Ours very, very occassionally get some leftover doughnuts - they go mad for them! Bread's fine, doesn't matter how old it is, they'll happily munch on it. They've had lettuces, mushrooms, they went mad for plums and melons, and giving them pumpkins or marrows will keep them quiet for a little bit.

As for peeling bananas... well, we get a load for free and the pigs pretty soon figured out that the supply was plentiful and they could afford to be picky. So since the fruit is nicer than the skin we ended up picking discarded skins out of the mud. As it's much quicker to peel the bananas beforehand rather than to clean up afterwards, our pampered trotters get peeled bananas. But only because we had hundreds, if you only have a handful they'll happily eat peel and all thinking that's all they'll get.  ;) Just remember to take the little stickers off  ;)
(We blitzed a load of the bananas and froze them.)


Have fun!

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2011, 12:06:18 am »
The main thing to remember is everything in moderation - too much of any one thing could have 'undesirable' effects  ;) From a case of the runs, to a repulsive pig fart resulting from too many sprouts  ;D You're best to try them with little quantities of new things first - but they will eat just about anything  ;D

ambriel

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Kinlochbervie, NW Sutherland, Scotland
  • Mad, bad, and dangerous to know!
    • Harbour Cottage
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2011, 12:09:54 am »

Our Kunes will kill for carrots. They've even gone so far as putting a card to that effect in the local phone box. ;)

They also love apples, stale bread (never left the car, yer honour!), and sow rolls.

It was very surprising how many of our neighbours still thought you could feed them scraps though.

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2011, 12:18:59 am »

Our Kunes will kill for carrots. They've even gone so far as putting a card to that effect in the local phone box. ;)

They also love apples, stale bread (never left the car, yer honour!), and sow rolls.

It was very surprising how many of our neighbours still thought you could feed them scraps though.
So funny to imagine your wee piggies out, under cover of darkness flyposting phoneboxes for food - but hey it's KK's, mine would probably do the same thing if they knew where the nearest village was  :D :D :D

On the subject of feeding scraps - my sister, yes SISTER (who you think would listen to me :-\) thought the same thing  :o She was busy trying to convince her boss at the hotel to get a couple of KK's as a kind of attraction for guests/garbage disposal unit - UNTIL I SET HER STRAIGHT  ;) ;D

violet

  • Joined Jul 2009
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2011, 12:29:19 am »
One of my sows just loves eggs, the other much prefers fruit - she's called Apple, 'cos when she & her brothers & sister first had an apple, when they were weaners, they all sat like good girls & boys, while she practically ended up sitting on my shoulder to get some - squealing hysterically ( or was that me laughing  ::) )
Don't forget greens, mainly brassica's  - thry usually love them.   

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2011, 02:01:07 am »

Mine all love fruit (except citrus) 

Meg can peel an orange and eat the flesh in 20 seconds.  She taught her sister to do it too.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

white-blazes

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • Anglesey
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2011, 08:50:55 am »
Brilliant, thanks for all the advice.  The piggies are going into an area of field we used as an allotment for the last two years, so there's still many failed carrot plants in there which I'm sure they will find, and strawberry plants too ;D

loosey

  • Joined May 2010
  • Cornwall
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2011, 09:12:12 am »
I quite often hang swedes up for mine (from a post in the middle of their paddock). They LOVE berries but they don't last long! As you've got horses you'll be pleased to hear that mine love docks! Dig 'em up and chuck 'em in! Any form of cake always goes down well with ours ... every tie my dad visits, my step mum bakes a carrot cake specially for the pigs!! ::) (they aren't for meat) Daisy goes mad for bread but isn't allowed too much! ;D
« Last Edit: April 07, 2011, 09:36:15 am by loosey »

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Pig food, do's and don't
« Reply #14 on: April 07, 2011, 09:17:38 am »
Hilary has a p assion for vegetable curry  and adores any exotic fruit particularly papaya and mango.  Bananas have to be peeled.  Hilary and oddly any of her descendents will not eat cauliflower the others are quite happy.  They all love brocoli cooked not raw.  All our veg comes from a veg. factory.

 

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