[graham-j]

Hi,my neighbor has said I can keep some pigs in his wood.I was thinking of buying some wieners to put in there.
As I understand it it costs more to raise a pig than the are worth in the currant climate.
I can get hold of 1m3 of spent brewers grain and also a tonne or two of apples every week,my question is are they of any feed value to pigs and if so how would I build this into a feeding regime and what else would I need to feed them and in what quantities.Also what breed of pig would be best suited to this.

Graham.

[HappyHippy]

As I understand it it costs more to raise a pig than the are worth in the currant climate.

I wouldnt bet on it  I suspect that the whole 'horse burger' issue might help actually UK farmers and you should have a queue of folk wanting complete traceability from their pork 

You can substitue up to half their daily rations with grain and veggies, but they won't grow as well or as fast as they would with a bigger proportion of pig nuts. (They've been made to contain everything a pig needs for good growth and good health)
I'm not 100% sure what the ratio is for brewers grain (never been lucky enough to source any locally) but fruit is 4:1 - 4lbs of fruit is the equivalent of 1lb of pig nuts. Sugar beet is another good feed. But you do have to be careful to make sure the pigs are getting enough feed to grow, without getting too fat (which they can be prone to with grains and sugar beet)

In terms of a particular breed being better........
Is there much grass in the wood ? If so, perhaps consider Kunekune pigs - they don't need as much feed, but they do grow slower and are a smaller pig than the traditional breeds.
But all breeds will do well in the woodland 
HTH
Karen

[graham-j]

Hi,thanks for the reply the wood is about 5 acres of thinned oaks.there is no grass on the flaw just leaf litter and brambles,the brambles aren't thick.The wood contained pigs before so all the fencing etc is in place.The owner tried pigs in there himself but said he was loosing to much money.
I collect a tonne bag of brewers grain every week for my uncals beef cows,there is always more than he can use and he is nearly eighty so is retiring soon and is winding his herd down.Another friend of mine has a fruit packing w/house so I can source apples all year round.


Graham

[ppd]

Hi Graham
Also have a look at the feed calculator that P6te has put on the pigs forum (at the top in pink) and you can put in the cost of your weaners and the price of bags of feed and it will work out how much your pigs are going to cost to slaughter weight.
I raised my first two weaners and they worked out at under £5 per kilo, including butchery and that is way cheaper than I can buy pork in the butchers (would not even consider comparing the cost of rearing pork to the price you can buy in a supermarket because there is NO comparison on taste )
As you have the fencing and ground all ready these are costs that you don't need to add in either.
If I was you you I would go for it and you will have the best pork ever
Pauline

[jellybean]

Using seconds/shrivelled grains,  wastage from brewries, bakery waste, biscuit waste etc and vegies makes a difference in your  profit margin  BUT having said that the pig will take longer to get there. Using seconds grain from the neighbours in farming your pigs will grower quicker on a complete diet.   Buying top grain is not an option.
 

[graham-j]

Using seconds/shrivelled grains,  wastage from brewries, bakery waste, biscuit waste etc and vegies makes a difference in your  profit margin  BUT having said that the pig will take longer to get there. Using seconds grain from the neighbours in farming your pigs will grower quicker on a complete diet.   Buying top grain is not an option.

Hi,thanks how would you go about feeding that,as I know grain just goes through them.

[Mrs Snoodles]

The grain Needs to be mashed and then the pigs will be able to absorb it's nutrients. 

[Marches Farmer]

We collect ours ready-milled and soak it for at least six hours as well.

[graham-j]

We collect ours ready-milled and soak it for at least six hours as well.

Hi,I take it you meat rolled,then you soak it in water is that correct.I can buy rolled grains from my neighbor for £5 a 25kg sack.How much of this do you feed your pigs,and what else do you feed them.

Graham

[Hassle]

I add a concentrate, to my own Barley, "I'm only a small holder in pig keeping, but don't tell everyone in case they think I'm a spy  " it is a protein mix for calfs which I mix to my milled barley but the feed merchant recommended it.  I then use the same 1lb per month of life to maximum of 5lb at 6 months of age.  My feed merchant did recommend pellets for the last month but won't be doing that again with the current breed I have.  I am lead to believe that just grain doesn't have sufficient lysienes in it which means more grain less growth more fat hence the protein additive.  I don't use wheat for feed as its easier to send out in a lorry than an animal and with beef colours the fat a pale yellow, not sure with pigs. Feeding I put into a bucket and add water making a very weak porridge which then gets fed straight away to the gang. ( I mill though and don't roll so the barley is broken ought down)

Finally I've not perfected the amounts and I more feed by eye so the breeders have a fluctuating weight and i've had fatteners before a little bit too fat with about 3 cm back fat but I'm slowly getting right. And the majority do the simple way with a bag of pellets so little advice forthcoming so the learning curve will be steep.
But the transport fuel trail to my pigs is small and I know bar 100 kg of concentrate exactly what the gang have eaten.

Finally grain this year for the majority has had a small bushall so that means buying more grain for the weight and more husks not sure if it will effect anything but ~shrugs~

As you can see not so easy... So good luck if you work things out and get things right please send an IM as I'm not too old to learn.

Regards

[Marches Farmer]

That's it.  We feed some grain for the last few weeks for finishing pigs, to put a decent layer of fat on so they have good crackling.  Otherwise we generally feed it only to fully mature pigs when we want them to have a bit more condition coming up to Winter - never more than 25% of their daily pellet allowance, by weight, though.

[graham-j]

Hi,do you mainly stick to feeding yours pellets then Marches Farmer.
What is the calf protein mix you use Hassle,what breed of pigs do you keep.

Graham.

[Hassle]

It's called super boost & yeast it's a whole feed additive for calfs and costs about pound a kilo, it contains proteins vitamins metals etc if you speak to your feed merchant they will have something the same but maybe under a different name.

And I have Pedigree Gloucestershire Old Spots 

[Hassle]

If you wish I can photo the ingredients and email that to you, so you know what to ask for ~shrugs~

[Newby]

The brewers grain I think you can feed up to 10% of the diet for a grower pig and 20% for a finisher but this must be properly balanced into a complete diet, and the apples could replace compound at a 4:1 ratio but your feed conversion and your killing out % would suffer. More suited to dry sows than weaners I'm afraid.