Smallholders Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: hello..  (Read 1807 times)

sashadog

  • Joined Oct 2012
hello..
« on: October 21, 2012, 10:11:03 pm »
Just an intro to introduce myself and say hello,,,Ive recently acquired 2 Pigs for fattening and then geting butchered,,,All i know about them is what the guy i bought them from has told me about feeding them etc,,,I just want some clarification that i am doing it correctly really,,

They were 10 weeks old when i got them 2 weeks ago,,they seem very content and happy,and seem to have grown in the 2 weeks,,I dont know what bread they are,but they are a whiteish pinky colour with a good bit of black markings on them,,,I am in Ireland by the way,,From looking at the different breads on this site they seem more like the British Saddleback variety,,

 I am feeding them 2 ibs of rolled oats and barley mixed with a little scoop of soyafeed added in with it,,twice a day,,,and they also get a good bit of scraps from the house,,,,is this enough/too much ?,,and when should i up the feed if this is enough at present,,,They are outside on grass and seem happy out digging up the grass and getting roots etc,,They have a proper shed to go into with a straw bed,,

Thats all the questions i have at the minute,,and would love some advise and input from yous folks,,thanks,

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: hello..
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2012, 10:38:03 pm »
I don't know about pigs but there are plenty on here who do so you should have some advice soon.  I just wanted to say hi  :wave: and welcome.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: hello..
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2012, 10:45:05 pm »
Hi sashadog.

The usual rule-of-thumb for free range pigs is 1lb hard feed per pig per month of age up to 4 or 6 months (depending on the model you are following.)

So at 12 weeks, 3lbs per pig per day. 

Scraps and fruit/veg, if fed, replaces hard feed at a rate of about 4:1.  So if you're feeding 2lbs grain, you'd need 4lbs veg on top of that to replace the other 1lb grain.

They'll grow, alright!   :D  The thinking is you can almost feed ad lib up to 4 months, and fairly high protein, but at about 4 months, cut the protein back to less than 20%.

Most of us with the non-commercial / rare breeds cap the hard feed at 4lbs per day.  They are very prone to getting overfat, so continuing to increase by 1lb/week up to 6lbs will result in excess backfat.

I don't know the rules in Ireland, but in England, Scotland and Wales we are not allowed to feed scraps from the house.  Waste from the veg plot is fine.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

The Mobile Butcher

  • Joined Jan 2010
  • Whitby North Yorkshire
Re: hello..
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2012, 01:46:55 pm »
Hello
 from a wet and cold Whitby - North Yorkshire :wave:
Paul - The Mobile Butcher

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: hello..
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2012, 06:59:43 pm »
 :wave:  Hello from Powys .... wet and in the clouds AGAIN

ballingall

  • Joined Sep 2008
  • Avonbridge, Falkirk
Re: hello..
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2012, 10:00:40 pm »
Hello and welcome!


Beth

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: hello..
« Reply #6 on: November 25, 2012, 12:31:07 am »
A belated hello and welcome from durham  :wave:

Good luck with your pigs it is always interesting to know how people get on with new projects.  :pig:

 

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