# How much do you feed?



## Reed77 (Mar 20, 2011)

I am wondering what everyone feeding program is?

How many pounds do you feed your weanlings?

How many pounds do you feed your pregnant sows?

How many pounds do you feed your pigs close to finishing?

How many pounds do you feed your boars?

Sorry for the somewhat repetitive questions, I'm just trying to get an idea of how much it's going to cost me to raise 1-2 breeding sows. Does about $400 for 3,000lbs sound about right?


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

We used to feed weanlings to finished free choice out of a hog feeder. Our sows we used to feed a 5 gallon bucket of feed twice a day or cut that back if we gave them hay or whatever. I'll be interested to see what everyone else has to say too.


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## Lionrose (Jun 4, 2006)

Free choice. They (all) have access to their food 24/7. 
I also feed them hay pretty much free choice too. 
Makes for happy friendly, healthy pigs. 
D


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## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

Weanlings to finish- all they can eat 
Pregnant sows- 5lbs each per day grain give or take a pound depending on condition + plenty of pasture and or hay
Lactating sows- 12-18 lbs grain per day depending on how many babies they are feeding
Boars- 5-6 lbs grain per day


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## Reed77 (Mar 20, 2011)

So what is something that would prevent you from feeding free choice to all your pigs?


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We free feed pasture/hay and dairy - that's almost all of their diet. As available they also get, in season, pumpkins, apples, turnips, beets, sunflowers and other things we grow - it's a small part of their diet. Next as available we give them boiled barley from a local brew pub. Occasionally we get dated bread which makes great training treat - that way when it's time to load (we take pigs to market weekly) they go right up into the transport van. Easy as can be.

See:

http://SugarMtnFarm.com/pigs

which discusses our pig's diet and links from there.

If you're going to feed commercial hog feed or grain then I would recommend doing it in the evening. Let the pigs graze during the day on pasture/hay. Then give them the candy at the end of the day for dessert.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

I feed like lionrose - free choice to all ages. Rolled barley, whole oats, Bermuda hay, DE. The only thing not free choice are the eggs. The hens have their limits! -LOL- although they'll be hatching more eggs as soon as I move.

No pasture here in the desert, but the mule, poultry and pigs eat any indigenous plants that pop up.

No pens here. All critters roam free on acreage within the perimeter fence.


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## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

We used to feed pregnant sows free choice until we learned the hard way the farrowing troubles you can have if your sow is overweight. Now we feed breeders according to body condition. We feed 16 % pig & sow grain plus hay and pasture, veggie scraps.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Yep, I should add that we feed whatever scraps come from the kitchen/garden and also all the milk we don't use ourselves.


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

Reed77 said:


> I am wondering what everyone feeding program is?
> 
> How many pounds do you feed your weanlings?
> 
> ...


$400 for 1.5 tons of WHAT?


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== We used to feed pregnant sows free choice until we learned the hard way the farrowing troubles you can have if your sow is overweight. ===


That's why I've never penned my livestock. Being free to run around on acreage, they get plenty of exercise. I also believe it's a healthier life for my stock. I've never had a fat dog, either. They have a dog door and go in and out as they wish. The livestock guards of course aren't fat. The program works here.

Piglets seem to be constantly popping up! I'd heard the AHH breed like rabbits, but I'd thought they were like the large hogs, taking 3 months/3 weeks/3 days to farrow. They probably do, it's just that there's so many here I can't keep track!

I'm waiting until I move to get rid of some of the pigs -- harvesting what I want, keeping some as breeders, and selling some for pets. The pet list is growing!

I've never kept track of how much feed is used; they need it, I feed it! So, I can't help you there.


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## Reed77 (Mar 20, 2011)

Lazy J said:


> $400 for 1.5 tons of WHAT?


I guess a complete feed (maybe), my AG teacher didn't say, except that they pay $400 for 3,000lbs of pelleted feed


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

The price per ton of feed varies as the ingredients have different costs. What you want to look at is what you're getting for your money. 

$400 for 3,000lbs = $0.13/lb 

For a complete pig ration, at least in my neck of the woods, that's low. You want to make sure that it's formulated for pigs, and that its the appropriate mix for what you're doing. So if you have lactating sows, you'll want a slightly different formula than growers, etc. 

To go from weaned pigs to breeding age will take you about 6 months; you'll feed those pigs about what you'd feed a market hog of the same age. Figure 800lbs of feed per animal, less if you raise them in a barn with temperature control, or provide very good shelter. The better the shelter the less feed you'll use. 

800lbs at $0.13/lb is $107 or so. 

So how do you do it at 800lbs? you'll be handing out a certain amount of feed per day, increasing as the pigs grow in size. Enough that their growth needs are met, but not so much as to make them fat. Free feeding them will usually result in a gilt that is a little overweight at breeding age. You want to breed them when they are skinny, but gaining. This "flushing" gives you higher litter sizes. 

How do you figure out how much to give them? Well, that's the reason that 4H or FFA kids are given a goal weight and date to meet. It'll vary based on your farm and methods, and it may take you some time to master, but that's why show pigs are done that way. To teach people to manage their pigs growth to a calendar. 

So in my mind you grow them lean, and then about a month before you breed them put them on free-choice -- skinny to start with, but gaining. Then breed them. 

Bruce / ebeyfarm.blogspot.com


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## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

$400 for 3000 lbs sounds low for around here too. Maybe for a general purpose grain, which I will never feed my pigs again. Here for a good pig and sow pellet it's close to $450 for 2000 lbs.


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## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

And I love the idea of pigs roaming free on our property and only having a perimeter fence, but I need some space that is just mine LOL. My 3 oldest sows are very large and can be quite destructive if they find something that is of interest to them. My pigs are broken up into small socialized groups of 3 and 4 and are moved around our property into 1 acre electric fenced areas. Some are wooded some are pasture and I know they have plenty of room to run, play and root. Also my largest sows would go through a ton of grain in no time if I let them, and they would be fat, they just love to eat. My biggest and best sow, Big Bea, stays up until dark eating grass in the field every day all summer long.. her last litter the first 4 babies came out with dark green sacs on them from all the grass. 
Oh and I also feed goat milk and whey from my mother in laws goats once or twice a week. 
My very first sow we fed all she wanted and she became fat even with plenty of pasture. Her second litter we had to reach in a get two of the piglets, which is not fun. She ended up still having one inside her that we couldn't reach. My local vet couldn't help, just gave us antibiotic and said chances are the retained piglet would kill her. I gave her the shots daily, practically lived in the barn hand feeding her and dumping water in her mouth when she couldn't get up. I would try to help her to get up and was successful a couple times a day but I am a 5 foot tall woman. I couldn't stand the thought of losing her and even worse trying to keep the 10 live piglets alive if she died. 7 days after the last piglet we pulled out of her was born, I went out to the barn in the morning to find she had passed the retained piglet. She was up and happy to see me, good as new. This experience taught me that I LOVE pigs, and that I had a lot to learn about them if I wanted to keep producing them.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

happymainepigs said:


> And I love the idea of pigs roaming free on our property and only having a perimeter fence, but I need some space that is just mine LOL.


Rather than letting them roam everywhere all the time I find it more effective and better for the pasture to do managed rotational grazing through a series of paddocks.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== Rather than letting them roam everywhere all the time I find it more effective and better for the pasture to do managed rotational grazing through a series of paddocks. ===


The reason it works here is there's no pasture here in the desert! Feed is always available, but no pasture. The mule, poultry and pigs all get along.

Plenty of land for the pigs to root, but the AHH pigs don't seem to be rooters. Possibly due to no pasture, possibly due to the pigs. Whatever makes them happy!


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