The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: marty5787 on March 21, 2016, 06:08:24 pm
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Hi All,
Just trying to do some calculations for raising a couple of weaners to porker weight and wanted to know what ratio of rolled barley to pig nuts people recommend? I have been told half and half but also 1/4 to 3/4.
Also if anyone knows the cost of Tregaron Abattoir for kill and butchery that would also be appreciated.
many thanks in advance
martin
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are you getting barley cheap?
I found mine wasted a lot and then we were hassled by pheasants etc.
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Bags of 32kg for 4.50, not sure if thats cheap or not as this is my first time raising pigs!
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we fed rolled barley with soaked sugarbeet with the aim of cutting winter feed costs and to fill them up. however our carcusses were too fat. we would have fed 1/3 barley by weight, which looks like half half.
later we fed only pig pellets and got a much better carcuss.
if its your first time just play around. you learn once you get your meat back. especially if you self-butcher.
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I feed rolled barley and wheat, when available, at 25% of the feed weight for the month before slaughter, to give a layer of fat and good crackling. I'll also feed it in the same proportion to the boar once he's fully grown. Always soak it for several hours - it can cause them to prolapse their anus.
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I've experimented with barley, maize and a few others in the past. I found barley in particular to be very good for laying down fat quickly. Best way to have control of what your pigs are getting is to stick to pelleted feed then it's a simple increase/decrease of the amount fed to achieve the desired effect.
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We used rolled barley for the first Time last year in an attempt to cut feed costs, and broadly speaking it worked. We spent less and the results were yummy. We went 50/50 by weight all the way through ( with pellets). As others have said, soak it for good few hours. Wejust kept close eye on them as we've heard it can cause excess fat. The only downside we encountered was for the first time ever we had rats around the pighouse, possibly due to an increase in undigested barley going straight through the pigs
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Many thanks for all the replies, I think I might go with a 1/3 rolled barley to 2/3 pellets and have a little play around with the weights and see what happens!
Cheers
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Anyone tried feeding oats as well / instead of barley - what % and what sort of results?