[Bionic]

I have been reading that pigs like cob nuts, acorns and beech nuts, amongst others. Do you just chuck them into their pen as they are when they are ripe. i.e. They crack them themselves?

[Cosmore]

Don't know about cob nuts, but pigs kept in woodland areas are known to forage Beech mast and acorns for themselves, although too much is not good for them. The only thing with acorns is that they must be ripe - not green as they can be toxic.

[devonlady]

Do they ever crack cobnuts, it sets your own teeth on edge to hear it! They then spit the shells out neatly.

[Marches Farmer]

I'd restrict the amount of any type of nuts, depending on the age of the pigs, and introduce them gradually, as for any change in diet.  Mine enjoy sweet chestnut (used to be used ground as flour by the Romans, I believe).

[Bionic]

MF, no problem about restricting them. When the nuts are ready there won't be many of them so the pigs will be lucky to get a handful a day.

[heyhay1984]

When I used to have the same GCSE class for an entire day, if somebody needed a bit of a breather I'd send them out to our woods to collect a bowl of acorns for the pigs, made everybody very happy (pigs most of all)

[hughesy]

We have beech trees overhanging some of our pig pens and the pigs hoover them up as soon as they fall, husks included.