# Making your own pig food



## Slugmar (May 26, 2008)

My father and I have thought about raising pigs are self but the biggest problem is feed. Well with the recent trend in the haymarket in are area we got about 6000 bales in the barn not selling (thell probaly sale this winter) but alot of people have gotten rid of there animals because of the economy.

I think I get 3 to 4 phone calls a week right now for pigs ready to butcher. well the biggest problem is feeding that where you loose most of your profit. Well this year I did a 2 acre garden and was able to make a decent profit and we have been feeding the extra to the pig.

Well we are thinking of extending the garden to about 10 acres and we have anthor 10 acres were we are thinking of growing feed for the pigs/chicken and turkeys to help break down the cost on raising them.

we are thinking field corn and soy beans.

but need an idea of a homemade grinder.

any advice for what we are thinking of attempting please im open to it and dont be shy.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

soybeans fed to pigs will need to be roasted before grinding and fed. Raw soybeans contain a growth inhibitor.


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## Feathers-N-Fur (Dec 17, 2007)

We have not tried it yet, but have been told that a regular wood chipper works the same as a hammer mill.


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

We feed pretty much anything we can find cheap, we don't get the fastest growth rates by doing this BUT our goal is not the fastest to market, they are for our table and our goal is healthy meat produced at reasonable prices. You might be able to work out a trade with a feed store between the hay and if you&#8217;ve got the corn & soy in storage now. 

Table scraps are a big part of our pigs diets, whole grains when cheap are a treat, and if you'll take the time to visit a LOCAL feed mill you can normally get some form of mash or pellet fairly cheap. Never dawned on me to do this with the rabbits but rabbit pellets run $14/50 at TSC, at a semi-local feed mill we can get them for $14/100, we do have to buy by the ton at the feed mill and plan on the extra going to the hogs. It&#8217;s going to cost me a little more per pound to feed the hogs this way but the savings on the rabbits will equal out where the hogs feed is basically free. Mom n' pop restaurants will also often save you food scraps if you ask politely and provide them with containers and pickup, there are very mixed views on this and I wouldn't personally do it unless you re-cook everything in order to sterilize the feed so to speak. Where there's a will, there&#8217;s a way... Good luck to ya & I hope your hay sales pick back up soon.


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

We feed off a Lot of veggies to our pigs...if we could grown corn here, that is what I would plant. But we can't, so instead concentrate on root crops...turnips, mangels, sugar beets, rutabagas. It cuts down a Lot on the bill at the feed store!

Annie


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We feed about 90% pasture/hay, 7% dairy and 3% other consisting primarily of apples, pumpkins, sunflowers, beets, turnips, mangles, cole crops, squash, sunchokes and such depending on the season and year. This year our pumpkin crop was a failure but other things did well. Our corn has failed for the last four years although I keep trying - we don't have the best of soils and are hills which coupled with the poor weather has made that crop difficult. Previously we had grown corn and then strip and block grazed the pigs through it. They cleanup very thoroughly.

If you're raising pigs to sell I would be cautious of post-consumer wastes, e.g., table scraps, restaurant wastes, etc - outlawed in most states or at the very least requires cooking to prevent the spread of disease. Too much work so we just don't feed it.

In the warm seasons they get pasture. In the snow season we replace that with hay using about 100 to 150 round bales of hay per winter. Pasture/hay is low in calories and lysine, thus the dairy. The rest rounds out the diet. Pastures have a lot of legumes in them (e.g., clover, alfalfa) which are high in protein.

Time to market is about six months and nicely marbled with about 0.75" to 1" of back fat.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org


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## postroad (Jan 19, 2009)

I bought the largest apple press built by Correll Cider Presses.

In order to recoup some of the cost I started custom pressing at forty cents per litre.

I feed all the apple pomace to my livestock.

They just love it! Seem to be putting on lots of pounds with it.


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