[Kitchen Cottage]

I've been desparately trying to be scientific about these piglets.  I've weighed their food, measured them and they are in good  conditions.

Tomorrow they are 24 weeks. 

According to the berkshire rare breeds chart i'm using they should be between 61-69 kilos at this stage.  I measured today and they come up at 64=66 kilos.

They are smack bang in the middle.

My problem is that the rare breed chart has them putting on 8-10 kilos every two weeks at this stage.  These were well ahead at week 22 and have put on 2 kilos in two weeks.

They are outdoors in a paddock which had lots of nettles and I'd say they were 50% through clearingthis.  They don't really seem to root except where they feed, mainly they have scoffed all the leaves and left stems.

They are under lean to shelter (a very heath robinson affair) but have plenty of straw and all sleep together.

They are fed finishers pellets at 19% protein and I actually think they are running to fat a little.

They were absolutely beautiful piglets, large and lovely, and are still an even litter, but I was expecting them to do better.

The gilt I kept with their mum, who is completing with a grown sow for food, seems a bit bigger than them!

I have them another month and would welcome some advice on what, if anything I can do to encourage some growth.

Tomorrow I'm going to have another go at the field shelter and I'll move their food hat to somewhere cleaner so they don't root around in the mudfor the food that falls out of the sombrero (I don't know what the metal feeder I have is really callled).

I have the until 8th November and anything that might get a couple of extra kilos of meat on them would be gratefully received.

I am in Essex in clay and conditions deteriorate badly in winter to I don't really overwinter except charlotte and now domino because they have purpose built sty's.  Its just too hard for pigs outside here, the clay sucks down their trotters so that each step is an effort.

[Kitchen Cottage]

I should say they are all wormed and there is no evidence of worms in the field

[SallyintNorth]

I am so not an expert but I have a few rules of thumb.

If they're not rootling widely, I'm overfeeding them.

All mine go on sow (non-lactating) rolls at 16-18 weeks and none (OSB and Saddlebak) get more than 4lbs per head per day even then, unless the weather's evil and they can't rootle outside and I can't supply fruit and veg.  I did give one lot cows' whey and potatoes along with the 4lbs/head/day - and they were too fat.

If they're not rootling widely, I'm overfeeding them.

Bread is for treats; it's basically wheat and they get their wheat in their pellets.  If I had a good source of good bread, I'd work out a proper replacement value and cut their pellets accordingly.

If they're not rootling widely, I'm overfeeding them.

[Kitchen Cottage]

They are getting 1.93kilos and they are starting to lookfat so I'm going to cut back a little.  This evening i gave 1.5lbs instead of the normal 1.92.... I'll keep this up for a week.

I can't feed them anymore to make them grow,.... they are on higher protein.... what else can I do?

[SallyintNorth]

What's the weather like where you are?  It's freezing (literally so overnight) here, and wet, so they're using up loads of energy keeping warm.  When their footing is wet, their straw gets wet so they use body heat to warm it every time they lie down. 

The other thing is how much are they exercising? If they're lying about, they'll put on more fat and less muscle than if they're running about.  Although the commercial guys keep them warm and static, so 

[Pasture Farm]

Our first pigs were Berkshires and i thought that as they were a smaller pig they were better pork pigs if sluaghtered smaller ie 65~70 kilos  ish    larger they tend to lay back fat
Have to say   still believe they were the best tasting pork

[Kitchen Cottage]

Oh..... I daren't say this..... they aren't Berkshires.  I'm using their generic rare breed charts.  They are Essex Pigs or possibly Saddlebacks if the Essex breed doesn't exist. :roflanim:that issue has caused controversy around these parts!

Weather has been awful here, but they still spend all day rooting.  Its not been a great summer and that sill certainly have held them back! 

Thats why I'm going to do their lean to again and ram it full with straw.... its all wind and rain here.

I can't think of what to do except improve their housing.  I could bring them into the stable for the last month..... but that would be a bit grim for them!

[Kitchen Cottage]

They are very active pigs... they spend the day running around

[RaisinHall Tamworths]

I would be a bit careful feeding them the higher protein feed because of them putting too much fat on. All the breeds are a bit different, i can only go off Tamworths and Hampshires. The hams being a modern breed grow fast and you can feed as much as you like without them getting fat, they are well designed for fast  muscle growth. Tamworths are slower maturing so don't grow as fast and being a traditional breed will lay down the fat if we're not careful with the feed. A cross of the two breeds has the hybrid vigor so they finish faster like the hams but the carcass has more fat than just pure hampshire.
I cant really help with how much to feed as we do it by eye  but do know all the pigs are different and are ready when they're ready.
They will taste fine regardless of size 

[Kitchen Cottage]

I'm a convert to Tammy's.  I had two as fatteners and the meat was amazing.  They were much faster growing than the Essex/Saddlebacks are.

I do think they are in danger of running to fat.... and the Essex do like their fat! so the food is going to have to be cut...

[oaklandspigs]

KC,
 
You seem to be creating much angst for yourself. Pigs are like people, they don't grow to formulas or charts, these are at best guides or rules of thumb to get you into the right area.
 
It is just like if you fed two children the same food, they will grow at different rates, and a lazier one might put on more fat than its brother who runs around and plays.
 
And you can't say that different breeds grow at different rates except at a population level. This would be like saying EVERY American is fat, Americans are at a population level larger than Europeans, but there are plenty of American individuals who are not fat, just as there are plenty of fat Europeans.
 
As pigs grow they will have times when they put on growth and times when they consolidate. These are not the same times for every pig.
 
The only way to get closer to uniform growth is to have a temperature and humidity controlled indoor environment, buy highly specialised hybrid pigs that are scientifically and selectively bred to be as like each other as possible, to not allow the pigs room to move much, feed different formulations almost every week of their life, feed lots of antibiotics to ensure no health issues, and even then you have pen with lost of variation within a range, but a good average weight over lots of pens to meet market conditions.
 
You have free range rare breed pigs designed to cope with lots of variation in both environment and feed– chill and enjoy them growing as nature intended !

[Kitchen Cottage]

In truth. the reason i am so concerned is that I have oversold my produce.  I need to get 50 kilo of meat out of these pigsin order to have enough for me and mine and a minimum of 40 kilos to satisfy my oders.... should be alright but I am trying to learn better techniques this year rather than just shove them in a field and feed them. 

I agree about growth.  What I don't get on the berkshire chart though is they go from putting on 2 to 4 kilo's fortnightly to 10 kilos on that chart!

Is  there a natural growth spurt around weeks 24 to 28?  Why does it go upward so quickly?

[MAK]

What a sensible and refreshing post from Oaklandpigs ( above). Well said !
Martin

[Kitchen Cottage]

So there is nothing I can change unless I want to shove up on the sofa and switch on the central heating.

I'll just relax.  I'm pretty sure it will be alright and I'll just go by eye and try not to let them get fat and keep the straw topped up... they'll be what they will be 

[Bionic]

KC, I am totally new to all of this, having just sent my first couple of pigs off to the abattoir.
I too was using the Berkshire chart as an indication but realised that mine (OSB's) were never going to live up to it. I chucked it out the window instead of stressing myself so much.
Sally