Author Topic: Feeding ad-lib (Read 5539 times)

sarha · « **on:** August 27, 2010, 11:14:31 pm »

Hi all:)

My boys are growing well and I'm loving them ( 4x saddleback boars)!
My question is, do any of you feed them ad-lib until they get to around 20 wks...or do you stick to the recommended 1lb of feed for each month of age ( per pig) , ie: 3mnths = 3lbs feed per pig?

This was the advice I was given by the breeder ( who has been fantastic). Just conflicting advice from other people has confused me!
Is ad-lib confined to commerial ventures, or do free range pigs do as well on ad-lib feed?
More worried about the pigs laying down fat than costs as the meat is destined for own use and family/friends. ( have found bartering a pound of sausages for veg scraps /fallen apples/plums is addictive!...hope I end up with some meat!)

JulieS · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2010, 06:17:38 am »

Personally I prefer not to ad lib feed.

The 1lb of feed per month works well for me and GOS. A nice amount of fat for taste, but not too much for some of my customers.....Personally I love a bit of fat!!

With GOS I take them up to a bit over 4lbs at 4 months and then stop at that, I think it's a couple of months more for other traditional breeds......I'm sure others will know for sure.

Have fun with yours.

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2010, 09:52:47 am »

I would suggest that if you feed adlib you keep a good eye on the back fat. It works well as long as you are vigilant. They do shove on fat at an alarming rate towards the end of the fattening period.

If its for your own consumption though, and you do miss the signs and find a bit of extra fat on the pork - make lard Hope this helps. HM

sarha · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2010, 06:25:12 pm »

Thanks for the replies

Think I will continue feeding as I am....although i don't mind a bit of lovely fat on my pork....yum!!

Have managed to scrounge an 8ft trough to put their feed in....was getting a bit wet on the ground for feeding!
Hope my pic loads this time!

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #4 on:** August 28, 2010, 08:12:15 pm »

They are so cute

Jackie · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2010, 12:18:20 pm »

I dont ad-lib feed because I need to know how much each pig is costing in feed so I dont lose money when I come to sell the pork.

Eve · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2010, 03:06:42 pm »

We keep on going with the 1lb per month up to 6 months - that's theoretically, in practice we feed them much more. More pellets because sometimes they seem more hungry and other times we just aren't too particular about how much goes in the bucket, but mostly it's more bananas, apples and bread products. We don't mind fat at all, and those who have pigs from us know to expect that ours will be both bigger and fatter than what they're used to seeing.

And they are fat: about 2 inches of back fat! But as it is mostly deposited on the back, the legs and shoulders aren't like that at all. And we don't actually eat the fat, we just put it to good use inc covering the flesh side of our air dried ham.

Eve

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #7 on:** August 30, 2010, 08:31:05 am »

Thats a great tip for the air dried ham, will try that.

Eve · « **Reply #8 on:** September 04, 2010, 07:59:25 pm »

Ooooh, it works so well! It was a whole leg from trotter to top, so it couldn't fit in a fridge. So after curing in a plastic box at our front door (odd looks from postwoman) it went up in the loft hanging from a clothing rail. We didn't have cheesecloth to put around it so popped into Tesco to buy their cheapest pillow case.

This is what we just got back from our 2 pigs (admittedly over-fed - approx 2500 free portions of fruit and veg between the 5 of them over 4 months inc about 1000 mashed bananas, and we were getting a quite nonchalant about measuring out the lbs, too!

)

Roast - shoulder: 21kg (10 roasts of 1.7-2.4kg)
Roast - leg: 30.8kg (10 roasts of 1.3-3.1kg plus one leg divided into a 3.7kg and a 4.4kg piece)
Roast - loin: 4.1kg (in one piece, the rest went for chops)
Chops: 76 - with bone, they're about 300g each
Steaks: 3.9kg (11 steaks)
Mince (the sausage meat type): approx 31kg - that's several hundred sausages!
Cheek / chin: 5.6kg in 4 pieces - divine in a broth
Ribs: 8 packs - some really meaty ones, barbeque tomorrow!
Belly: 10.5kg 4 pieces - 4 big slabs of irresistable bacon!
Fillet: 4
Kidneys: 4
Scored skin: a couple of square meters - we now know who to make the ultimate non-fatt(ish) supercrunchy pork crisps!
Bones, 4 half heads, 1 tail, more skin: 33.6kg - makes many gallons of stock to make soup with our homegrown tomatoes (as for the heads: the eyes are still in there - yuuuuck!

And teeth etc) Anybody into gross gifts can turn the hip bones into serving dishes

No hocks or shanks, this time. The butcher froze it all and the meat is in our two 6ft tall standing freezers in the spare bedroom with the bones and heads in the fridge/freezer downstairs. This is one porky household!

Am thinking of keeping sows, now. Hilarysmum is sooo right: pigs are addictive!!!

Eve

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #9 on:** September 04, 2010, 08:06:55 pm »

Hilarysmum is sooo right: pigs are addictive!!!

heaven help you when the piglets come, you are really hooked ....

HappyHippy · « **Reply #10 on:** September 04, 2010, 11:12:13 pm »

Quote from: Hilarysmum on September 04, 2010, 08:06:55 pm

Hilarysmum is sooo right: pigs are addictive!!!

heaven help you when the piglets come, you are really hooked ....

OMG ! YES !
I've had pigs for a few years, raising them, sending them off on their way when the time came. Then I got my 'keepers'

My very cute and very smart Kune Kunes - I thought I couldn't possibly smile more than I did on the day they arrived. Then 2 weeks ago I did my first farrowing. After the initial rush of panic and adrenaline I got on with the job in hand (well okay, the pig did..............but I helped

) and the feeling at the end - looking down at 9 wee piglets was just immense. Now that they're 2 weeks and running round like mad things I have to be dragged back to the house (usually kicking and screaming lol!) cos I would stay there ALL DAY watching them and grinning like a mad woman if I could !