Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Want to grow my own pig feed  (Read 43150 times)

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #15 on: March 07, 2009, 10:23:30 am »
No because they need protein.  pig nuts fed at 2 kilos a day contain 16% protein which is 320 grammes of protein (I think anyone less mathematically challenged please feel free to correct).  They must have protein to grow.  Eggs (which we feed large amounts of) do contain some protein, not sure about how much. 

Can you find a local farmer (or not so local) from whom you can buy rolled oats, barley etc.? 

chickens

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #16 on: March 07, 2009, 12:36:56 pm »
No unfortunately not and to feed them it is costing us 20€ per week which we really cannot afford, can I grow my own pig nuts? what are they exactly - sorry am being thick feeling very down with it all today as I love my pigs, plus we have a year old boar who just cant seem to get our sow pregnant as we were going to try and breed from her once before making final decision, she has come on heat and have put them both in a sty together but he belly rubs and nothing else!

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #17 on: March 07, 2009, 04:44:05 pm »
Sorry pig nuts are just the pelleted pig food all ready to feed.  They are quite costly at 8.10 euros 25 kilos.  Most people I know mix straights (oats, barley, mais and wheat) and then add vitamins.  We always feed pig nuts for convenience.  Although like you finding it hard to make ends meet and am considering buying bulk from local farm.  Hope you dont have to give up your pigs.  If boar is not doing the job have you considered AI?

chickens

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #18 on: March 07, 2009, 04:54:52 pm »
Hi Hilary's mum

Thanks for your advice.  We have thought about AI but were hoping he would manage to do his job before going off to the abbattoir.  We have put them both in a sty today (as she is on heat) and we are hoping! If not AI it will have to be.

Do you mean they give the oats etc unmilled?


rustyme

  • Guest
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #19 on: March 07, 2009, 05:31:04 pm »
comfrey is about 20-24% protein of the dry matter , so makes an excellent pig feed and is very cost effective . Once planted ( bocking 14 only ) you can increase your own supply to what ever quantity you want, just by taking root cuttings and you will get about 2-3lb of comfrey per plant per cut and about 4-5 cuts per year. So you can get 8-15lb of feed per plant per year and you can plant them in rows 3' apart with 2' between plants . They are about 14% fibre and have plenty of minerals too : calcium               2.77 %
                                phososphoric acid 0.75%
                                potash                7.09%
                                iron                    0.144%
                                cobalt less than 1 ppm 

So along with rolled oats or barley and mangles and any other veg you have as well as grazing if available , you can feed pigs very cheaply as long as you don't mind the work of growing the feed.
 Everyone will have their own method of feeding , but it is possible to feed virtually for free . You just need to have the comfrey planted and cut that in sections , as and when you need it , in such a fashion that it all gets cut 4 or 5 times a year before it flowers. Barley or other grains you can grow and will get roughly 1-2lb of grain per square yard planted. You can keep enough seed back to provide the following years crop too . The same with mangles , they can weigh from 5-15lb each and then keep in store till after xmas then fed , a few good shaped and sized ones left in a corner to go to seed will provide the seed for the following years crop. Food for thought so to speak ... ::) ;D :farmer:

cheers

Russ

chickens

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2009, 06:18:14 pm »
Thanks Russ, that is really helpful we will grow comfrey then, along with the mangels (we grew a load last year and did very well with them) and then just substitute the rest of the protein with less farine d'orge - should cut our bills by at least a quarter.

Thanks again

Nicki

whereabouts are you in normandy? we are near gorron in dept 53 are you near?

rustyme

  • Guest
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #21 on: March 07, 2009, 08:19:37 pm »
hello Nicki,
           I worked on a farm (years ago now) and they grew all the feed for their pigs and the cows and sheep too. We used to feed the pigs rolled barley or oats , depending on what they had plenty of !! , along with mangels and any other veg they had grown. The pigs always came upto weight fine . I don't know anything about  farine d'orge ? is it not cheaper to just buy barley as either straight, and roll it yourself, or ready rolled ? I am in West Wales by the way ..lol

cheers

Russ

sausagesandcash

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • UK
    • IrishHandcraft
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #22 on: March 07, 2009, 11:18:15 pm »
rustyme, Can order comfrey Bocking 14 from Jim O' Connor at [email protected]. How should i add it to the feed? Dried and milled or fresh or what? Help need for what will hopefully be our first crop next year! Seems it will be very benificial to our poor soil too! Thanks for the heads-up.

Morgan  :farmer:

rustyme

  • Guest
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #23 on: March 07, 2009, 11:43:47 pm »
hello Morgan,
               once you have the comfrey established and growing well , you can cut it and then just allow it to wilt , just an hour or so  , and feed as is . I think it is a bit difficult to dry efficiently due to the thickness of the stems and the leaves, so is best to feed fresh after wilting . The reason for wilting is the leaves and stems have prickley hairs all over them , and some stock don't like it without wilting . It can give some people a rash if they handle it without gloves on . Luckily it does not affect me too much , makes my hands itch a bit , and my horses love the stuff wilted or the instant I cut it . If you planted root cutting roughly about now and in the next few weeks , you would get a fair amount of growth for cutting later on in the year . As long as it grew to about 24" or so tall , it would be fine to cut it . Just don't cut after about mid september, allowing the plant to build up a feed store for the winter. Give it plenty of manure and it will fly away , it will even cope with fresh chicken manure no probs. When you first start feeding it to any animal , just give it in small amounts at first , as sometimes they don't go for it too much . Once used to it though , they love the stuff.  With bocking 14 , only plant it where you want it , as any small bit of root WILL grow into a large plant. It is however sterile , so bocking 14 will not spread by seed.

cheers

Russ

sausagesandcash

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • UK
    • IrishHandcraft
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #24 on: March 07, 2009, 11:59:40 pm »
Thanks Russ. Our weaners are between 9 and 12 weeks old. So plenty of time available, as they are our breeding stock, so they'll be with us for a good while  :)

chickens

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #25 on: March 08, 2009, 07:36:08 am »
Anyone know where one can buy comfrey in france please - I believe it is called comfrey but am not sure.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Nicki

chickens

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #26 on: March 08, 2009, 07:51:54 am »
Another thing, sorry Russ am back again, but the vet and other people tell us not to feed the cows too much luzerne and mangel pulp, no more than 5 kilos per cow (although they did say 6 for the jersey who is thin), they have hay liberally but can we not feed them lots of vegetables as well as all this, only because she is thin it really worries us but on the other hand we are too frightened to give her too much because of what the vet said.  If in the old days farmers used to just give plenty of what they had why can we not boost up their feed with lots of veg?

Thanks again

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #27 on: March 08, 2009, 09:33:06 am »
Russ thats fantastic, always learning from this site.  Brilliant thanks. 

Nikki, dont know the french name for comfrey, however if you post on your local Anglo Info site someone is bound to have some. 

rustyme

  • Guest
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #28 on: March 08, 2009, 03:00:28 pm »
yes HM, I learn something new most days on here too....even if it is just a different way to do something .  ;D

  No probs Nicki,
                 I can only assume that the vet was referring to FRESH cut alfalfa (lucerne) as alfalfa hay/haylage is the main hay/haylage crop used in the USA for horses, cows and sheep !!! I know it can cause bloat in sheep and colic in horses , if they are allowed to graze straight off the field, but cut and fed as hay/haylage , it is just about the best there is . It is high in protein and has a good fibre content , can be cropped from 3-5 times a year, is very good for the land as it is a legume and therefore fixes nitrogen into the soil from the air . Therefore , it will fertilize the soil saving you having to buy nitrogen fert. in . As already stated , it is the main forage crop in the USA so there can't be that much wrong with it ? ::) ;D It is very deep rooting , so will bring up any deep down locked nutrients from the soil that other plants wouldn't reach. With the added bonus of helping with drainage and soil structure. Apart from feeding fresh , I haven't read or seen any information stating caution or any problems . I will look again , but I have looked into this deeply as I intend to grow this myself on a larger scale than I have already done . Oh and my horses are still alive and well.... ;D :farmer:
       Mangels are a different matter really . Being a root crop they are mainly water , so that may be a reason why the vet said to curb the quantity fed .However , mangels were the main feed crop in the UK , for stock until , machinery was invented to cut hay/haylage/silage. UP till then it was grown on a truly huge scale. When the machinery became available to cut grass and grain , it was easier to do this than to dig up a root crop . This was just about the only reason why root crops fell from favour , nothing to do with feed value , just ease of harvesting. If they had invented a machine that made it easier to dig up and sort root crops before hay etc , then we would be using root crops much more nowdays . As long as they (mangels) are fed along with hay/haylage/silage, I can see no reason why they can't provide a very large part of an animals diet. Just think about it .... how many farmers rely on sugar beet shreds/pellets as a large part of their animal feed ? and sugar beet pulp is just the left over mash from the sugar producing industry , and the sugar beet is a very close relative of the mangel , in fact very near to being the same thing, just a slight difference in sugar content mainly.   The main thing I would agree with is , that it is best to feed as varied a diet  as possible. I am not saying though, that I know more than a vet !!! but many people these days (including vets !!) think that you can only feed animals on bagged food , produced in a factory , with all the basics needed for the animal in question ....well this is where I think they ARE wrong . The animal feed you buy in bags is just made up from straights grown on a farm , milled and mixed to create the bagged food in question !!! It also contains lots of additives and preservatives that I don't want in my animal feed , or my own!!!  It all boils down to money again I am afraid . The feed companies want to have a complete hold on animal feed supply , therefore making more money , but people have lost sight of the fact that it has to be grown somewhere in the first place, and if you grew your own feed you can cut food costs down to next to nothing  . You would also know that there is no poison in your feed and no GM either. Really it is very much like our food industry, everyday we are told of another food that will kill us or of yet another food that will save our lives !!!! Then next week it all changes round . Once again MONEY being the main player here. This all boils down to the main reason why I want to grow all my own food and all the food I give to my animals . So in my opinion , we can feed as they used to, all we would be doing is cutting out the big companies and middle men .
Sorry for rabbitting on , I could bore for the UK on this subject. ::) :o ;D

cheers

Russ
« Last Edit: March 08, 2009, 03:19:40 pm by rustyme »

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Want to grow my own pig feed
« Reply #29 on: March 08, 2009, 03:11:37 pm »
Not at all boring . ... fascinating, thanks for the info

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS