# Pig minerals?



## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

I have 1 year old AGH's. I feed mangles, turnips, rutabagas, and apples that I cook on the woodstove over night. I then mix in my grain mix which is 4 parts oats, 2 parts barley, 1 part corn (non-GMO, organic), and 1 part boss. I mix in enough goats milk to make it oatmeal consistency. This is their afternoon meal. They get about 3 cups each. They also get alfalfa/grass hay free choice. I live in the high desert so their pasture is gone this time of year. In the summer they eat pasture (if you can call it that), alfalfa/grass hay and milk. My area is extremely deficient in everything but iron. Would you recommend DE as a supplement or is there a loose mineral for pigs like there is for cattle? All my feed is organic and the grains are whole. My pigs look good to me but I just had one get pneumonia so I worry about immune systems. The weather has been terrible too. I've only had these pigs for a year and before that in high school I had yorks that were raised in pens and fed commercial hog feed. I don't want to find out the hard way that I'm not meeting their nutritional needs. Any suggestions? 

Thanks in advance!


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

For minerals we primarily feed dirt from our own farm. I make up buckets in the fall and also get it with the backhoe or bucket loader from under where I store round bales in the winter - the dirt doesn't freeze there.. Our dirt happens to be complete with all the minerals they need. But that varies area to area.

A farm down the valley from us where we get our winter hay is lacking in selenium. A lack of selenium causes white muscle disease. As long as our pigs also get our dirt they're okay. If we get in a spot where I can't get our dirt to them then I would buy a commercial mineral mix for them.

Commercial hog feeds generally have this mixed in so if you're feeding hog feed then you may be okay but check the label.

Feeding salt to pigs is a very bad idea and a very easy way to kill pigs. It is called salt sickness which causes seizures and death. Hard to fix once things go bad. If there is salt in their diet such as whey then they should have unlimited fresh water, preferably from two sources incase one fails.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== Would you recommend DE as a supplement or is there a loose mineral for pigs like there is for cattle? ===


I don't recommend, I just report what I do!

I can tell you this, when I started feeding DE many years ago, my critters who had used trace mineral salt blocks quit using them on their own. The 28 trace minerals in DE is evidently more satisfying.

DE has been used for thousands of years and it's used around the world. I love not having vet bills or medical bills. Yep, I take it daily. I have no prescriptions, no over-the-counter stuff, not even aspirin in my house. Not needed for me or my critters. And I don't remember the last time I saw a doctor (except socially). My passion is riding my mule on tough mountain rides. I'm 72 years old.


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

I don't feed commercial feed because I can't find one w/out soy or GMO corn. I buy bags of separate grains and mix them myself. My pigs usually don't get much whey. Mostly they get the older goat milk from our goats. I have more milk than I have milk drinkers. I asked my vet about pig minerals yesterday. He didn't know what kind to buy. There really isn't a lot of agriculture in my area because the soil is so poor. They filmed the Planet Vulcan scene from the new Star Trek movie 40 miles from my home. I haven't seen the show to see if it's been computer enhanced or anything but it looks like the planet Mars around here. I don't think eating our soil would help anyone or anything. If you know of a good all around brand of pig mineral that I could add to their feed that would be great.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

I use Fertrell. Of course they also consume plenty of dirt while rooting around. And, whenever it's not too muddy or snowy we feed directly on the ground. 

http://fertrell.com/swine.htm


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

If the soil where your corn or soybeans is deficient in certain minerals, the feed will be, too. Your pigs can get some minerals from the soil if they all exist in plentiful amounts in your soil. Everyone&#8217;s soil is different. I wonder how you insure the pigs are ingesting sufficient minerals by rooting in the pasture?

Pigs need salt. Why wouldn't you supply mineral salt? It is fairly cheap.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Pigs only need very minimal salt and can get salt poisoning. Be very careful feeding salt.

I know our soil has the minerals because 1) I had it tested and 2) our pigs do great on our soil and the forage grown on it but in the winter when we get winter hay from another farm that is selenium deficient then they must get supplemental minerals, specifically for the selenium. Testing and sad experience proved this.


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

olivehill said:


> I use Fertrell. Of course they also consume plenty of dirt while rooting around. And, whenever it's not too muddy or snowy we feed directly on the ground.
> 
> http://fertrell.com/swine.htm


The nearest dealership is 164 miles away in CO. :sob: I don't have a business license. Do you know if they do retail sales? I guess I could call the company. I certainly don't want to pay for shipping if I don't have to. 
They don't sell pig minerals like they do cattle or goat minerals at the feed stores here. I only know of 2 others that have sows and breed around here. I wasn't impressed with their pigs either. I bought mine from Oregon. Everyone else around here just raises feeders to eat. I know I could make my pigs healthy enough to eat but I want healthy babies too.


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/swine_extension/nutrition/nutritionguide/minerals/minerals.htm

Fairly good guide on minerals for hogs.

Best,
Gerold.

P.S. You could ask the local feed store if they could have the company that supply the cattle and horse feed,etc. if they would order some swine minerals from those companies
for you.


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## craftyfarmgirl (Oct 24, 2011)

highlands said:


> Pigs only need very minimal salt and can get salt poisoning. Be very careful feeding salt.
> 
> I know our soil has the minerals because 1) I had it tested and 2) our pigs do great on our soil and the forage grown on it but in the winter when we get winter hay from another farm that is selenium deficient then they must get supplemental minerals, specifically for the selenium. Testing and sad experience proved this.


what was the sad experience?? New to AGH's and realizing after much research still much to learn!


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Cows and goats can digest all sorts of fibrous feeds. They have the stomachs for it. Pigs have a digestive system much like ours.

If pigs cannot get the minerals and micro-nutrients they need, they die. I think that would be a sad experience to have a pig die because it didn't get everything it needed to thrive.

I saw a situation, recently, where pigs were dying due to the owner feeding ground corn, ground soy meal and substituting a bit of white salt for the required amount of mineral salt.

Some wise individuals claim to be giving all the minerals the pigs need through the soil they eat. When I look at the long list, with varying amounts, of minerals in mineral salt, I doubt that I can duplicate that with local soil.

In fact, I know that my soil is deficient in selenium. Many soils in Michigan where corn is grown is deficient, too. So I'd never be able to grow pigs efficiently leaving their mineral needs up to what they could root for.

My dog will eat grass, does it all the time. But I won't put him on an all grass diet or even a half grass diet. But that's just me. Some pig breeds have evolved to tolerate lower protein, harder to digest feeds. I figure, if I can digest it, a pig should be able to digest it.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

andabigmac said:


> The nearest dealership is 164 miles away in CO. :sob: I don't have a business license. Do you know if they do retail sales? I guess I could call the company. I certainly don't want to pay for shipping if I don't have to.
> They don't sell pig minerals like they do cattle or goat minerals at the feed stores here. I only know of 2 others that have sows and breed around here. I wasn't impressed with their pigs either. I bought mine from Oregon. Everyone else around here just raises feeders to eat. I know I could make my pigs healthy enough to eat but I want healthy babies too.


I hope you can find something else. Sorry I don't have other recommendations. I will say that with only a couple of pigs one bag will last you a good long time so if you do have to pay shipping at least it wouldn't be often. 

Do you have any livestock haulers in your area? You might check with them to see if they have any runs over that way. They may be willing to pick up the minerals for you, too.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

craftyfarmgirl said:


> what was the sad experience?? New to AGH's and realizing after much research still much to learn!


We changed hay suppliers. The new one grew hay on low selenium soils. This causes white muscle disease. We lost a litter when they weaned. Necropsy showed it. Simply giving our pigs access to dirt from our own farm, which has plenty of selenium, solved the problem. We are fortunate to have very good soil re: mineral balance. Not all soils are created equal and it can vary even in close locations like from us up here on the mountain where the minerals are rich to fields down in the river valley where the minerals are washed out. Get a soil test.

Each time I put out hay for our pigs I grab a shovel full of dirt and throw it to the weaners, shoats, growers, etc. They're the ones who most need it as they're growing the fastest and have the least reserves.

I have also experimented with bought mineral mixes. They work. I plan to try kelp. We'll see how that does on a test. The mineral analysis looks good.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## HotRodHooligan (Aug 16, 2013)

We have been raising pigs for meat for the last 4 years!
For the past 3 we have Had a pen in a single location. This year we made a pen that could move so that they could always be on fresh grass. Along with a mixture of hole grains we get local discard produce from the market for extra kick!!
We have never Worried about minerals, Always have head great meat and no problems.
As for the pneumonia, when the fall starts to set in or we get a week of cold weather here in British Columbia Canada, we through a bail of straw in with the pigs to keep them dry and give them something to hide under.
We have never had pneumonia in our pigs but we would in our dairy calves if the sawdust pack would gets wet and they cant get dry.

Food for thought 
Devon
P.S. My Dad Is a Vet if you have any Questions PM me I will bounce the Question off him.


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## luvmyfamily247 (26 d ago)

Rogo said:


> === Would you recommend DE as a supplement or is there a loose mineral for pigs like there is for cattle? === I don't recommend, I just report what I do! I can tell you this, when I started feeding DE many years ago, my critters who had used trace mineral salt blocks quit using them on their own. The 28 trace minerals in DE is evidently more satisfying. DE has been used for thousands of years and it's used around the world. I love not having vet bills or medical bills. Yep, I take it daily. I have no prescriptions, no over-the-counter stuff, not even aspirin in my house. Not needed for me or my critters. And I don't remember the last time I saw a doctor (except socially). My passion is riding my mule on tough mountain rides. I'm 72 years old.


 Please can you clarify: is DE “diatomaceous earth?”


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