[Azzdodd]

Went out & bought 2 OSB X OLD SPOT boars as an impulse buy.....there 5/6 months old & need a little more feeding before its pork time...the prices are silly I was thinking of feeding on sugarbeet pellets?? They will live outside with pasture and plenty of natural food? Also I get nets of carrots so can feed a bucket off them daily too ? Will they fatten ok? Or should I just pay the price for pig meal

[HappyHippy]

We feed ours a bit of soaked sugarbeet pellets (I think you always have to soak them for pigs) alongside their pig nuts and a bit of fruit and veg thrown in. Too much sugar beet will make them fat, so while you save on feed costs you might have to pay the butcher extra because they'll be fatter and heavier (but won't actually get any more meat)
They'll not get a lot of protien from natural forraging, think of that as 'enrichment' rather than feeding.

So (short version  ) by all means give them sugarbeet and carrots - but in addition to their pig nuts, not instead of 
If they're 5 months old, I'd aim for a daily ration per pig of around 3lbs of pig nuts, 1-2 lb of soaked sugar beet and about 4lbs of carrots, split into two meals. Just keep an eye on them (or measure them regularly) to make sure they're growing and not getting too fat and adjust as needed.
HTH
Karen

[Fowgill Farm]

Ditto just what i was about to suggest but thought would let HH type it all out first
mandy

[hughesy]

You don't need to soak sugar beet pellets or shred for pigs you can feed them dry. I used some a while ago as I got them cheap substituted for part of the daily ration and the pigs definitely put on fat.

[gapcap]

Mine have fodder beet whole,as a supplement to their "normal" rations, they love having a chew on them gives them something to do in all this mud

[HappyHippy]

Oh yeah, mine went nuts for whole, fresh ones  You'd get wee piglets trying to run away with huge lumps of beet, sooo funny to watch 
We thought they'd like the dried/soaked stuff so we bought a half tonne - they prefer the fresh stuff  But will still eat the soaked stuff.

[gapcap]

Mine dont like the soaked stuff, probably because we started them on whole beet, they'll pick through and leave the soaked sugar beet

[pheonix]

You don't need to soak sugar beet pellets or shred for pigs you can feed them dry. I used some a while ago as I got them cheap substituted for part of the daily ration and the pigs definitely put on fat.

i thought they needed soaking for non-ruminants? it says to soak them on the bag.

[Anke]

Mine usually don't like it and it's often left. I have now stopped feeding sugarbeet shreds. Much better results with spare (homeproduced) goatsmilk!

[langfauld easycare]

mine wont eat sugar beet pellets dry or soaked its always left and mine are not pampered in anyway .in fact i think they would eat me if i fell in there run/swamp 

[Polished Arrow]

Where do you buy whole sugar beets from?
I live in the Forest of dean & I haven't ever seen them for sale.

[hexhammeasure]

ask at your local mart, they normally do a bit of dealing. Its expensive this year around £60 a ton and its iffy about when delivery would be with the bad weather so we didn't get any

[Polished Arrow]

Thanks 
That's Mart as in Livestock Market, I take it?  (Forgive me if I sound thick as a plank!)

[hexhammeasure]

My fault... I don't know any other form of mart so assumed there wasn't any other forms

[Beewyched]

My KKs love sugarbeet (I've yet to find anything legal that they won't    ) & I've always soaked it for at least 12 hours before feeding it to them.  I use it to "top-up" over the cold months to help them keep themselves warm - as they live outside year round & only come indoors for farrowing.
Fully grown adult (not nursing) 2lbs nuts/rolls + 1/2 lb sugar beet per day, split into 2 feeds + odd bits of fruit & veg (when the local supermarket has a "special offer"/ end of date).