[Tamsaddle]

Mrs Snoodles - a lot of us on this thread are still unclear whether your Hampshire pigs were considered too fat, or too tall/long/solid/generally enormous structure?   Which did your vet mean?    If too fat, was it visible fat, or invisible fat around the ovaries?  Tamsaddle

[robert waddell]

maybe a picture may help us all with this one    i would like to know how a Hampshire  if pure  can get to fat     other than feeding to much
 
the content of pig food has been debated many times on here      there is 14%  16%  18% and 22%     we feed 16%  but adjust rations accordingly   and can get a growth or weight of betwean 10 and 12 kilos a week on the Hampshire's    our feed supplier is amazed at this from sow nuts (they have a commercial pig herd as well) 
irrespective of what percentage protein you feed    if you water it down by including other low protein feeds   the growth rate and the available amino acids are just not there
 
the feed is mainly grain  some company's include bread or biscuit in there mix    it should say on the feed label what the contents are
 
grain only diets will produce fat as it does not contain enough amino acids for the pig to convert to meat/muscle
 
sawdust is the best inclusion in pig feed  as it bulks them up and they still get some proper pig food to maintain them 

[rispainfarm]

Sawdust???

[lill]

Mrs S, Are you maybe getting mixed up between the Saddleback and the Hampshire    the difference is the Saddleback has lop ears and not much of a back end and are definately much fattier than the Hampshire,  have a look at the hampshire bacon it does have the rind on it so there is no question of telling lies about the amount of fat it has 

[Fowgill Farm]

 I must admit, I have never fed differently between breeding and fattening stock, I work by eye, and up or lower the food according to how the pig looks. I agree with Mr pig that too fat and it could be unlikely to get in pig, but otherwise I have never fed differently.

have to say i'm with Linda on this one i feed by eye too now i guess its just down to the experience of the pig keeper.
mandy

[princesspiggy]

Sawdust? ??

supermodels eat cottonwool to stay skinny

[rispainfarm]

[

supermodels eat cottonwool to stay skinny
[/quote]

 

[robert waddell]

no Robert just don't go there 

[Beewyched]

no Robert just don't go there 

Excellent self-control there Robert 

[Mrs Snoodles]

Just a quick up date. Checked the grass pasture they have been on. straight rye and Timothy so nothing special there. Asked around to see if anyone had thought they had been fed by other people, nothing there.  Got back in touch with the people I brought them from. They confirmed that the sow was huge and had had a series of mammoth litters. They have a gilt from the same litter in pig, who too is very big.   They have Fed her mainly on veg shop remains and some nuts. I'm off on Thursday morning to compare measurements!
The protein level on the feed was actually 13.5 percent.

[Mr Pig]

What do you mean by veg shop remains and how much of their feed was made up this way? Things like potatoes fed disprorportionately can be very fattening.

[Mrs Snoodles]

A week on, all change.  Having spent the last 7 days a tad disappointed - it is now all systems go!
As from yesterday afternoon, one gilt is bagging up. The back teats have dropped significantly.  The other is looking much the same but her belly line is lower. 
The due date would be Monday so we are now working out where to move her too and getting it all ready.

Visited the breeder who spent her working life as midwife to 450 sows  Lots of advice .  Her gilt (litter mate to ours) is basically the same height, length and width behind shoulders. Hers is leaner, but was put in pig early Aug.  Have shown some pics and she reckons our gilts are fine, yes a bit big  but she thinks some of it could be down to litter size - the gilts sow had gigantic litters,usually 14 or 15.

Skates on!   

[robert waddell]

is that the Hampshire or the large black that is bagging up

[Mrs Snoodles]

Hampshires. I have 2.    The large blacks have only just been put to the the boar.  We are unsure of when the second Hampshire would be due tbh.  Although she looks smaller underneath she could change just as quickly as the other seems to be doing - we're playing safe and transferring both to separate farrowing arks and new ground tomorrow, next to each other.   We've knocked the crate idea on the head as it all seems a bit too late and stressful. We can put them on nice ground, extend it out at a later date to cover veg that needs a good sorting  and it is already wired up.  Just got to position the massively heavy insulated arks and move the ladies in the trailer.

[princesspiggy]

thats all so good.