[garden cottage]

evening all,just wondering is anyone rolling their own barley for pigs. keen to buy grain straight from the farm and do our own is this feasible? i have already found a roller mill but would like some feedback first.

                        many thanks neil

[pigsatlesrues]

I have no answer for you on this one, but it is a shame when a question goes unanswered.

Have you tried another forum.  There is the Pig Site, possibly River Cottage.  Have a google session and see what comes up. The  Pigs In France website has fantastic info of pig food, but obvously wont be able to tell you the where's.

Good luck and let us know how you go.

Kate 

[rustyme]

Hello Neil,
             although I haven't got my own pigs, I have worked on a farm where all the animal feed was prepared and grown on farm . I remember spending hours grinding (rolling) barley etc in the grinding shed . Round here 30-40 years ago , most farms did it that way . It just takes time thats all, as some grinders/roller mills were quite slow really. The only thing I would say about it is go very careful with the dust !!!! Make sure you wear a proper mask , I didn't and got farmers lung. I was very ill for a long time . I will be growing my own grain for animal feed and rolling all my own barley, just got to get the mill now...... There isn't much more to it really , just tip it in the hopper carefully and watch it doesn't clog, keep fingers WELL AWAY from the mill and wear a mask .
Hope that helps ....

cheers Russ

[Merlin]

Hi Neil,
         I roll my locally sourced barley (sorry , no help , I live in France) for my pigs with an ancient motor powered mill.It does take time , but it is worth it as it significantly reduces the overall feed costs if you compare to feeding pig nuts alone. We get through a couple of dustbins full each day , and when mixed with veggies, a little stale bread (not too much),eggs and milk or water , it makes a more varied and interesting diet for the pigs.I believe nutritionally, it is reasonably well balanced in protiens and carbs.

Didn't know about the dust and farmers lung Russ , so thanks for that important point, it does make sense.Will buy a couple of masks tomorrow.

Jim

[pigsatlesrues]

Actually the mask thing is something we are doing now as well.  The Farine D'orge that we buy throws up terrible dust when we are mixing it, and also now that we also collect a seed mix for pigs from a local French farmer, it is even worse.  The grain comes down in a shute and we fill our own sacks.  The first time I did it with John the wind was blowing - swirling infact, and I was covered from head to toe in the seed residue, it was horrible - face, hair, nose, throat, clothes inside and out, in my trainers.  Just horrible.

So overalls as well as masks the order of the day I think.

Kate 

[Hilarysmum]

....... amd wellies

[pigsatlesrues]

Yuk - even worse HM - it feels like I am walking around with two buckets on my feet!

Kate 

[rustyme]

yes , the dust is something that you should watch very carefully !!!!!! Farmers lung is a completely debilitating and can be fatal.

http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001501-d001600/d001538/d001538.html

I was very ill with it for nearly a year, went from 12 stone down to just over 8.....and it took two years to get back up to 10 1/2 stone. Since I had it , (1978) , I have found  that if you breath in too much dust again , you go down with it once more . I have had a few bouts and now avoid any dust like the plague. I used to work for the Milk Marketing Board , operating the milk powder making machine, and the fine powder dust from that got everywhere (and I mean everywhere !!). It went up your nose and set like concrete, it was really horrid. God .... the things we do to earn money .....never EVER again . Always make sure that there is plenty of ventilation , it gets your animals too.....COPD .... Sorry for the doom and gloom posting ...but it is worth stating , as many (like I was ) are unaware of the dangers ...Take care all ...
 
cheers

Russ

[pigsatlesrues]

That is a good point Russ about the animals being affected as well.  We soak our seeD mix 50/50 seed and water. The seed mix swells to double it's size and takes in all of the water overnight.  John puts in seed first then water and then mixes it with the drill and a ciment mixer attachment. We have no problems at all with the pigs and they love it.

Actually we borrowed a cement mixer as an experiment to mix the Farine d'orge and actually that cut down the dust fact considerably and effort as well of course. Having found the seed mix at half the price per sack though, the farine is a bit of treat nowadays!

This dust thing has to be considered in the bedding as well. Old hay - we used some inbetween the new bedding arriving and the chooks really did sneeze. The ducks and geese were ok - a few rear end splats and it was pretty wet pretty quickly! 

I even find the new hay/straw quite irretating when I am putting it each day, so although we have been using throw away masks, it would probably be a good investment to buy a decent one.

Good point Russ, thanks!

GETTING BACK TO NEILS POST THOUGH - HE NEEDS HELP FOLKS!

Kate 

[rustyme]

the buying in of ready made feeds has almost taken over completely really , in the last 10-20 years. When I started to work on farms round here in 1977, they were almost unheard of . You could buy them , but most farmers grew their own grain etc or bought it off of the farm next door !!!   It has got to the point that very few farms grow their own now , they mainly just grow grass for silage etc. However , it is feasible to roll/grind your own grain .It is just a matter of time and how much work you want to put in to it. If you are buying in your grain ?, then as long as it is cheap enough straight , I would say definitely go for it . Grain keeps longer whole , and you only need do small amounts as and when needed. One farm near here used to sell barley whole and rolled. He charged very little extra for the rolled, but if you were buying lots then it all adds up . He has died now , and his son runs the farm . He no longer sells any barley , in fact he buys in what he needs...the times they are a changing .....but !!! other farms are starting to grow more of their own again , as costs are going through the roof . Swings and roundabouts ....lol... but I will be growing and rolling my own . Although I will be wearing a good mask nowdays....

cheers

Russ

[Rosemary]

True. When I worked on  a dairy and pig farm in 1979, we mixed a lot of our own feed - especially for young stock. As the student, that was my job.  We had an oldfashioned granery with grain on th upper floor and the mixer on the ground floor, although we had  agrain tower feeding the granery. I must have moved tonnes and tonnes of grain that winter.

[Merlin]

Regarding the cost saving, here in France , I buy directly from the local agricultural cooperative. My latest bill shows loose barley at 157 euros per tonne, with pig nuts at 224 euros per tonne, a big difference. The milling process almost doubles the volume of the barley ,making the pigs feel fuller for less feed by weight, and by splitting the husk , makes it more easily digested as the enzymes in the pigs' gut have a bigger surface area to work on. It makes rebuilding the mill after every breakdown seem worthwhile!
Jim

[garden cottage]

funny old forum isnt it, hardly any roller mill replies and now a torrent!. anyway many thanks for all your input,have been on other projects for a while, used to roll barley at a riding centre 20 odd yrs ago, every morning on an electric driven mill, very noisy but did the job, if i remember had to have the tensioner wound down really tight to get well rolled barley. will wear mask etc when its up and running. we have an old concrete mixer chassis with lovely old cast iron wheels plus a lister diesel engine on it thats a beauty, mount it on this to make it mobile,already taken off the mixer bits...............keep on truckin neil