The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: chris3000 on July 31, 2012, 03:31:36 pm
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I am new to smallholding and would like to start giving my KK Veg to contribute to their regular feed.
My question is how much should I expect to pay for veg, and does anyone know of a supplier local to wiltshire/hampshire?
Also am I right that it is a 4:1 ratio for veg?
Thanks
Chris
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zero zilch nothing diddly squat it will cost you money to collect it it is really only an appetiser Mellon's grapes apples pears they are not so keen on green veg but do get a taste for it we cut back on hard feeding to sows and growers if we have a lot of it the same with brewers grains :farmer:
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Agree with robert, your best bet is probaly a veg wholesaler, supermarkets won't let you have their waste veg in case you sell it on! so it goes to landfill >:( growing your own is very dependant on the weather, my piggy veg selection is atrocious this year due to all the cold and wet. You can check out the supermarket nearly out of date on offer stuff but its still an expensive way to feed pigs. Horse carrots from your local ag merchants during winter are a good addition as is sugar beet. You will struggle to make up your pigs feed and fatten them on a veg diet, they need pig nuts for protein.
HTh
mandy :pig:
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We went to a wholesaler when we stayed in Jedburgh and kept piggies. They gave us all their spent veg for free in return for a few chops and sausages at the end - lots of the veg was just broken etc, we used it for soup - I collected it every week and often had an entire car boot full, it was great. One day the pigs broke through their electric fence and went off to the shed we kept the veg in - we caught them in there, they had eaten the boxes and the polystyrene stuff you get holding apples, didn't seem to harm them! Supermarkets won't give their old veg away they're not allowed to , but a small fruit and veg shop or one of those shops that do a bit of veg on the side might.
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Oooh just to hijack this thread (sorry) - can you give pigs veg from a supermarket? The books I have read say that you need assurances the veg has been kept away from banned materials and a supermarket can't give you that type of assurance. (Haynes Pig Manual aka my bible)
We would love to give our pigs some Veg, but haven't dared with all teh regulations - so they have boring old pig nuts. They do have an acre of paddock to root in though :) [size=78%] [/size]
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Oooh just to hijack this thread (sorry) - can you give pigs veg from a supermarket? The books I have read say that you need assurances the veg has been kept away from banned materials and a supermarket can't give you that type of assurance. (Haynes Pig Manual aka my bible)
We would love to give our pigs some Veg, but haven't dared with all teh regulations - so they have boring old pig nuts. They do have an acre of paddock to root in though :)
if the rule book told you to go stick your head in a bucket of water and stay under for ten minutes would you? technically the rule book is right but use your common sense its highly unlikely supermarket veg would be contaminated but taken straight to the pigs from the car NOT via your kitchen, we use supermarket bags of apples as treat when we go to shows so as mentioned use your common sense, its thats thing everyone used to use before the rule book was invented!
mandy :pig:
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Also you have to be sure as to what goes into the waste. We had a really good supply of fruit and veg and never minded going through it to pick out the plastic, flowers, onions etc. but had to say no finally when we found the remains of the second sausage and bacon baguette in a box :o :o . Just suppose the man from the ministry had been there at the tipping out of the box!!!!!!!!!!!!
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We have access to so much veg and brewers grains we give it to another pig keeper
Veg comes from a wholesalers and also from a wholesale ready prepared veg place
Brewers grains from a local brewery down the road. All comes free
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the biggest problem is locating a source of free food either veg or brewery waste that part is up to your ingenuity and determination
the suppermarkets would rather pay for disposal than go to the bother of separate handling facility's :farmer:
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Mandy easy to say use your common sense, something i have in abundance by the way, but id rather do the right thing than guess and risk the penalties.
It was a simple question that i still dont know the answer to. If supermarkets dont have separate handling facilities, then i guess the answer is no...
The rule books are there with supposedly no grey areas. This in turn prevents future outbreaks of foot and mouth.
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Good for you, best way forward.
Enjoy your piggies but don't forgo the odd treat if you can legally of course! :-J :innocent:
Mandy :pig:
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Grow your own, don't know how you can manage to make the finances stack up by feeding pig nuts.
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you would need an awful lot of land to grow your own feed and factor in the weather it makes it far easier to feed proper pig nuts :farmer:
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Another source of good fodder is waste bread. We use waste bread services ltd not far from oxford. It is bread surplus to requirements and is destined for animal feed. We buy it for a tenner for 100kg and use it as a treat to suPplement their pig nuts x
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Just thought of something else Coopers - perhaps stick some adverts up and around the place asking if you could collect peoples windfall apples - lots of people can't be bothered picking from the tree or picking them up off the grass below - I would imagine that could be quite a popular option - I have seen such adverts on www.freecycle.org (http://www.freecycle.org) which is a website you can freely sign up to on which you can offer things for free or ask for free things - you sign up for the area around which you live - so long as its seen as avoiding landfill (although people offer all sorts of things like apples, plants etc for free) .... wonder if anyone wants some free rain...
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That is a good suggestion from goosepimple.
Our 3 neighbours were very generous with fruit last year and then they all started to give us other veg- especially spuds and carrots that they "out croped" before storrage. No fruit at all in these parts this year but the veg keeps coming from the neighbours.