Author Topic: How much to Feed a Pregnant Pot Bellied Pig? (Read 6296 times)

Pocagranja · « **on:** January 23, 2012, 08:16:38 am »

Does anyone know how much grain (in kgs) to feed a pregnant pot bellied pig? We have looked on the internet & nowhere seems to have the info! Our pig is approx 6 wks pregnant and we do not want to overfeed her, this is her second pregnancy & the first one went fine with 6 piglets all born healthy. She looks quite fat already & we don't want to under feed her either?

robert waddell · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2012, 09:16:02 am »

grain is wrong if fed whole it has to be milled or rolled i think there are special mixes of feed for pot bellies
grain only does not have enough protein for any pig also they are generally fat anyway

HappyHippy · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2012, 09:23:26 am »

I don't have any experience with pots $:-\$ but with standard & Kune Kune pigs I feed a little more around the time of service (2 weeks before & after) keep the feeding just as normal until about 4 weeks before the due date when I increase it a bit more. I don't feed grain though, I'd suggest you try to get either standard pig nuts or if you can source them, pot bellied pig nuts - they will have the correct protien, vitamin & minerals needed as grain (especially barley) makes Kunes overfat and I'd imagine it would be similar with pots.
Actual amounts are hard to give because I don't know what pots normally have

My Kune Kune sow normally gets about 1lb of hard feed and lots of grass, fruit & veg (or hayledge in the winter)
We feed 2lbs a day around service/conception and in the last 4 weeks increase her to around 3lbs - this is always cut back a bit as soon as we suspect farrowing is only a couple of days away (it seems to help prevent constipation post birth with her). Once she farrows we gradually increase her to 3lbs for her and a quarter pound for each piglet, going up to half a pound per piglet by the time they are 2 weeks old and stick to that pretty much* until weaning.
* if she's getting too thin or fat or constipated etc we adjust food intake as needed.
My Kune isn't overweight though, if your pig is overweight it's important to try and trim her down a bit especially before she farrows as that can sometimes cause problems with the birth and afterwards (higher risk of squished piglets)
The piglets do most of their growing in the last 4 weeks, so this is the time to make sure she is getting proper feed, but until then I'd put her on a diet - cruel to be kind

Hope that helps,
Karen

Pocagranja · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2012, 10:04:16 am »

When I said grain I meant the feed we buy here in Spain (used to talking Spanish). We get a special mix for pregnant sows which looks like powder with bits in, so I guess it has been ground. Can't buy anything specific for Pot Bellied Pigs, as not many here.

HappyHippy · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2012, 01:06:44 pm »

Aha, I understand now

I'd just cut back a little of what she's getting now, it'll be a higher protien level than she really needs and will probably be making her 'porkier'

Do you feed her much in the way of fruit & veg ? If not, try her with some and gradually increase til it's about 2-3 Kilos a day, split over 2 meals, add this to her grain mix. I'd guess somewhere around 1-1.5Kilos would be a normal pot bellied pig ration over 2 meals

but it may be less than that, how much does she get now ?
Karen

Pocagranja · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2012, 02:38:21 pm »

Hi Karen, she has been getting 1kg, split into 2 feeds, after your advice we are thinking about cutting it back to 500g to stop her getting too fat? She does have lots of veg, not much fruit at the moment & other things like carobs & olive cuttings. We will increase her feed to 1.5 kgs, 6 wks before farrowing date,

HappyHippy · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2012, 02:42:59 pm »

Maybe go to 750g for a while to see how she goes, 500g might be too much of a drop $:-\$
I'd wait til 4 weeks before she farrows to up the feed.
How much longer does she have to go ?