[Leri]

Hiya.
I would love your opinion on this please?
I have just bought a pig trough for my (not sure what the term is for 18 week old males we are fattening? Porkers?)
Previously we were feeding them rolls (the great big chunky easy to find on the ground nuts) on the grounmd and they were perfectly happy.
I, however, wasn't so sure they were growing enough so thought maybe they should be on a grower rather than still on sow and weaner rolls (breeder food basically) so I bought grower but for some reason grower only comes in stupid tiny nuts - unfair I think to feed this on the ground. So since all the sheep troughs are in the sheds right now as we are busy lambing I have bought a pig trough. They get it and are fine. But what is the general opinion advice of aeveryone on this and also the type of feed.
Thank you xx
Leri

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

Generally there is only a small % protein difference between sow & weaner and grower pellets - we alyays use sow and weaner for our pigs, and they finish fine.

Best to feed from a trough if you can or even a piece of corrugated iron on the ground, as it prevents wastage.

if they are being a tad slow to grow have you considered worming them or carrying out a worm count? were they wormed brfore you bought them ?

Thanks

[Rosemary]

Have to disagree SfS, we only feed in a trough if the weather is very very bad and the ground a quagmire. Otherwise, we scatter the pellets widely on the ground. Give pigglies lots to do and makes the two highlights of their day last much longer. I find them very adept at not standing on pellets and I never see much waste.

[Eve]

We use the trough when the pigs are younger or the pen is very muddy. A bit of mud they can cope with, even though they do stand on the food they'll eat it anyway, never a pellet to be seen once they've gone over it. 

When the pigs are bigger, the trough can get too small depending on how many pigs are in the pen. So unless it's very muddy we scatter little piles of feed all over the pen (the idea of a 7-year old, and it worked once the pigs stopped running from whatever pile they were eating from to whichever pile they saw their sibling eating from - it was like musical chairs  ).

[supplies for smallholders]

OK - it is nice to see the pigs rooting for their food, but when scattering the feed I hope you avoid any going in the "Dung Area", otherwise you are asking for a worm problem. Thats why we use troughs or flat feed beds - that way the food is eaten and not any droppings that may help keep a worm life-cycle going.

Thanks

[Leri]

We didn't buy them - they were born here! We have sold their female siblings and been left with the boys.
We haven't wormed them no. That is something I was going to do, and is actually how I found this forum looking for the best way. Pretty sure they don't have them though. Have had a friend over that keeps loads of pigs and he's pretty sure too. In fact he said there's nothing wrong with their size for their age - think I'm comparing unfavourably with our last litter which was very small and so spoiled rotten - the weaners were already 21kg when leaving their mother at 8-9 weeks!!!
I use Verm - X to prevent the worms and since no pigs have been kept here before and none have had worms then theoretically there can't be any here for them to pick up!
Rosemary I am totally with you - that is how I've always fed them too and am glad someone agrees! We used to make three piles too for our three females and the same thing happened where eventually they settled on a pile each!
For the boys I have been putting a large pile on the ground and they have just gathered in a circle around it - and like you say they are very thorough at finding and eating it all (when it's rolls) - I did notice the pellets getting trodden in though.
I got a six foot trough so there are six spaces so am using a small hook on one as well - but it means one little fella has to realise he has no space and work out what to do about it! Bless 
Am still using the rolls for the girls - they get it in their straw in their shed - but when it gets really warm and dry in their outdoor bit I'll be back to putting it outdoors for them too.

[supplies for smallholders]

no further comment 

[patmci]

Feed on a piece of plywood or in a trough if possible. It definately prevents wastage.

Regards Patrick

[patchy1990]

If the pigs are inside by the time i've got the food to the trough most of it is on the floor from them barging around trying to get at it, and there is never any waste!

If outside, i use a trough, and then scatter some fruit and veg around to keep them occupied

[Eve]

when scattering the feed I hope you avoid any going in the "Dung Area",

Duh.

[supplies for smallholders]

Thanks for the valued comment Eve, I was replying to :

we scatter little piles of feed all over the pen

.

However, I have an offer here if anyone wants to take it on-board and test out their pig husbandry

I will supply two free worm count kits to two people (the first two to pm me with their address details) - This will not cost you a penny, However, if you take on this offer then you must give permission for your worm count results when they are received from the Lab to be published here on the forum - good or bad.

Any Takers?

[supplies for smallholders]

Ok

One taker so far, - lillian waddell

[supplies for smallholders]

Hmmmm

Apart from lillian everyone seems to have gone very quiet now........

[blonde]

OK - it is nice to see the pigs rooting for their food, but when scattering the feed I hope you avoid any going in the "Dung Area", otherwise you are asking for a worm problem. Thats why we use troughs or flat feed beds - that way the food is eaten and not any droppings that may help keep a worm life-cycle going.

Thanks

The dung area is a great source for feed back to young gilts.   The dung area holds all the herd "wogs" that should be given back to young pigs so that they  grow up with all the right material in them to prevent them getting sick.

All pigs should be wormed and so the dung area wont have worms in it. Also the worms dont survive outside the pig, they will die if exposed to the warm days.   You will only find a dead worm in the dung area after you have wormed your pigs.   Then if you worm your pigs and the pig drops its dung in the dung area....... he or she will go back through the pile in seach of the meaty worm and consume it any way.   Any undigested food found in the dung area is consumed by the pigs, I guess you dont watch the area very carefully or what your pigs are doing in this area.    Normally pigs eat their feed and then go back through their manure to consume it again...... that is what happens in nature.

[supplies for smallholders]

Blondie,

That is absolute rubbish ! And obviously you understand nothing about the life cycle of worms - please read all the pages of this link : http://www.thepigsite.com/pighealth/article/407/internal-parasites

Many Thanks

Got the second taker - Leri, the kits will be in the post today.