The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Julia1521 on October 25, 2020, 04:31:50 pm
-
Hi guys,
The other week my vet came out for a visit and suggested I collected some acorns to feed to my growing pigs to cut the feed bill. My neighbour has an oak tree in one of her fields and said I could help myself so that's what I plan to do this week! I'm just wondering though how they should be stored, I have lots of potato sacks they could go into or are they better in something air tight? Also do they need to be cleaned/ washed or dried before? Lastly, how do I know how much to give them? My pigs are five months old and are currently being fed country pig pellets, they eat about 2 buckets a day. How much feed can I swap out for acorns? Any advice would be great.
Many thanks!
-
We normally direct people to the "Newcastle document", linky (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/nefg/images/documents/feedbook.pdf) but it makes no mention of acorns
-
Any pigs kept outdoors who have access to acorns will eat them with relish. If you google feeding acorns to pigs there are quite a few articles.
You don't say how many pigs you have so two buckets of feed might be a lot or not enough. I read that acorns that much lower in protein than I thought (6%).
Personally I would feed as a treat but I wouldn't spending hours collecting acorns (sounds back breaking) or massively change your routine at 5 months. When do intend to send them off?
If you intend to feed only acorns or a large portion of them I would think you will need a mineral supplement.
As your vet suggested it I would go back to them and ask what experience they have of feeding acorns to finish pigs and if they actually have some, then they will be able to guide you further.
-
http://www.mast-producing-trees.org/2009/11/acorn-finished-pork-an-ancient-tradition/ (http://www.mast-producing-trees.org/2009/11/acorn-finished-pork-an-ancient-tradition/)