[BOSFoodFest]

So my research into the viability of an orchard pig has of course led me to feeding and on speaking to my local Mole Valley Farmers I've been given a list of feed they offer, and this is where I'm stuck...

They offer creep, grower, nuts, finisher (I think I can work that one out), sow nuts and sow rolls. Can anyone shed some light on what I should be looking for in my feed and if a variety of those listed above are used, still what point they should be introduced to a GOS' diet.

Many thanks

[Fowgill Farm]

We feed our GOS on 16% protein sow/weaners nuts, any more than that and they'll lay down loads of fat. You work on 1lb (450g)of food per month of age per day split into two feeds. So at 8 weeks you weaners will need 1lb each am and 1lb each pm and so on until you get to 5lb. At this point if they are getting a lot of additional goodies eg fruit & veg etc you can knock it back to 4lb. Bear in mind 4lb of fruit/veg roughly equates to 1lb feed nuts.
Sow rolls are usually too big for fatteners as its says in the title they're for sows, grower & finisher are higher protein and not good for traditional breeds. You can start your weaners off on creep as they are smaller more palatable pellets and gradually introduce them to sow/weaner nuts. Again they are usually higher protein so this is the item to check for on the labels. Creep does give them a good start but it is £2.50 a bag dearer around here than sow/weaner nuts, we start creep at ten days old so by time they're weaned they're well used to muching it.
By the way when you go to get your pigs make sure they are weaned properley, many the time we collected weaners when we first started out they were literally ripped form their mum's teat and lost a lot of ground in the first two weeks and we had to keep them on milk and mushed creep for a while. A reputable breeder wil wean correctly and the piglets will have been away from mum for at least a few days when you collect them.
HTH
mandy

[rispainfarm]

We keep our weaners a week before passing them on

[BOSFoodFest]

We've found a reputable breeder who will have weaned them and give them over at 12 weeks, wormed and all! He suggested that having been weaned it is okay to put them on finisher from then until they..well, y'know!

Thanks Fogwill Farm, we will certainly be supplementing their diet with fruit and veggies, and protein rich nuts and seeds.

[sabrina]

My local feed guy bought weaners at the last rare breed sale for £6 each, Dexter cow and calf £50 each. He also bought some Jacob sheep cheap. Even feeding the piglets will leave him with quite a profit as he has a list of people who buy pork from him. Makes me wonder if buying direct from breeder is the way to go or risk the sales.Must be putting breeders out of business at those sort of prices.

[BOSFoodFest]

Yes Sabrina, it must be a strain on breeders but for the sake of the animal's well-being and though I shouldn't really admit this, I'm more interested in giving it the best possible life than the bacon sarnie at the end of it, we shall be sourcing our weaners from a breeder to ensure we known their full history and condition. The breeder quoted £45 each for weaned and wormed 12 week old GOS

[Sylvia]

That's a fair price I would say.

[sabrina]

I paid £50 for each of my kune-kune weaners last year and expect to pay the same again in the Spring, litter is due Christmas and I have already booked 2.