# Finishing pigs on corn?



## kaniacarpentry (Dec 15, 2013)

Pros? Cons? 
Anyone ever do it?
Thanks!


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

It is widely done. Long ago they had an excess of corn in the midwest and started feeding it to cattle and pigs to store the corn and increase the value, concentrating it into a higher priced product.

For factory farming they want to limit the complexity of the systems while maximizing the uniformity of the product. Corn/soy became a standard feed basis. You can mix many things, and depending on the commodity prices they do adjust things. But that gets complicated and costs thinking and effort. If you're willing to work at it you can custom formulate feeds - it isn't rocket science.

The problem today is corn went up in price and now is being shipped, bagged and such that increases the price. If you have an excess of corn it's a great feed. Grain isn't evil, just expensive. 

The one nutritional negative that some will cite is that pork from corn fed, or any grain concentrate, will be high in the less heart friendly Omega-6 fatty acids. Pastured pork is higher in the more heart friendly Omega-3 fatty acids. Pasture and corn could be used together if you have both resources to produce balance. It's not an absolute thing.

Please fill in your location information which makes it easier to answer questions. At the very least your zone. See this thread:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/pigs/505485-please-fill-location-info.html

-Walter


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## FarmerDavid (Jul 16, 2012)

The way corn prices are today its much more affordable then recently. Don't know where your at but if harvest is still going on you might be able to buy some off a farmer very affordable. Just have to find a farmer hauling to an elevator that also has a mill, work it out so he grain banks it in your name then you pay him. Be quite a but cheeper then even buying bagged grain at the mill. 

I'm growing my own non GMO corn, buying non GMO soy meal and premix. My feed cost is less then .08 an lb. I had to invest in an old grinder mixer and bulk storage but I'll recoup that investment quickly. 

Depending on how you figure it I'm at a minimum doubling what I get for my corn by marketing it through the pigs. That said I'm trying to ramp up the pasture side of their feed. Highlands lists some benefits and its also very affordable.


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

What is the best form of corn to feed, in order to maximize digestion? In other words, when I see whole corn kernels passing through them, it doesn't make me think they are extracting much nutrition from the corn.


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

Pig in a poke said:


> What is the best form of corn to feed, in order to maximize digestion? In other words, when I see whole corn kernels passing through them, it doesn't make me think they are extracting much nutrition from the corn.


I like to feed ground corn. Next comes cracked and last whole corn. With whole corn lost is about 8-10 percent depending on the corn and the breed of hog.


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

Is ground corn literally a powder? Does it store well?


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

Pig in a poke said:


> Is ground corn literally a powder? Does it store well?


Particle size. 
Flour is more like power 90-150 microns
ground corn hammer mill or rolled, 1100-720 micron
cracked corn 2500 micron in size. 

Needs to be in a dry place.

Building a storage shed now for ground corn.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Research says ground but not too fine. Keep dry or you can get mold - mycotoxins that are especially harmful to young pigs, fetuses but even to older ones in high enough levels. Remember that corn is primarily energy so something needs to go with it.

-Walter


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

Pigs digest more of the corn with finer particles size, commercially we target between 500 and 700 microns to allow the pig's digestive system to get as much out of the corn as it can.

Feeding cracked or whole corn to pigs is a waste, the pig can not digest enough of the corn and much of it ends up in the manure.

I assume you are talking about using corn along with other feed ingredients to provide a balanced feed for you pigs and not asking about feeding corn alone.


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

gerold said:


> Particle size.
> Flour is more like power 90-150 microns
> ground corn hammer mill or rolled, 1100-720 micron
> cracked corn 2500 micron in size.
> ...



http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/bookstore/pubs/MF2050.pdf


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## WadeFisher (Sep 26, 2013)

Lazy J said:


> Feeding cracked or whole corn to pigs is a waste, the pig can not digest enough of the corn and much of it ends up in the manure.


It is hard to say this as a general statement. If I can get whole shelled corn %50 cheaper then bought feed ( I do ) and they have a %15 less digestibility factor (as per many studies) I still would be getting more calories cheaper.
I use whole corn as a treat and calorie boost. I broadcast onto the ground so they have to find it. So I also call it entertainment. When they move on to the next paddock most of the corn that grows up from the seed is where I feed the pigs and very little from where they defecate. I have dug through more than my share of turds and most of what looks to be "undigested' grain is the outer shell.
Also, _I think_ that by scattering it it slows them down and they chew on it more.
AND if I do feed in a trough, comparing both, I see plenty ground-up feed drop out of their mouths onto the ground that is not easy for them to recover. But when they drop whole kernel corn they will nose around until they find most of it.

To conclusion I don't like the generalize statements that to feed whole corn is a waste.

BTW when the pigs come back to the paddock where they were given whole corn they go to the 'volunteer' corn stalks (some of the so called waste) and eat the whole stalk. So each 'wasted' kernel that sprouts makes me 1000 X more calories then the original lost kernel. 

Is it really such a wast after all?

Each to his own, but I know my feed bill was less per unit then I ever imagined and some of this was due to utilizing whole corn.

Studies done under COMPLETELY different circumstances are not always relevant to what others may be doing. And spending (how much?) more money to gain 15% utilization is just not always feasible. This study that is referenced is assuming you are controlling your grinding and if you want to maximize that grind at this point the cost is nominal. A lot of folks on this site are not in that position but may have access to corn feed stock of varying types. I feel there are very rewarding($) ways to work this into a feeding regime. Especially for those of us using pasture as a major source of nutrient and the grains as a supplement. Doubly so when your neighbor will sell you shelled corn by the ton at a very reasonable price.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Run chickens behind the pigs and you feed both. SOP.


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## WadeFisher (Sep 26, 2013)

highlands said:


> Run chickens behind the pigs and you feed both. SOP.


That is on next springs list!


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We run about 300 to 500 chickens with our ~400 pigs. The poultry's primary purpose is organic pest control. They eat insects. Lots of insects. We live just up hill from a marsh. Without chickens, live is miserable. With chickens, virtually no bugs. Insects fly in, almost none fly out or stay. The chickens are very effective for about 1,000' around their home bases.

As an added bonus, the hens lay tens of thousands of eggs. These eggs are a product of our pastures since we don't feed commercial hen food - the hens eat our pastures (plants, insects, pecking apart manure piles, mice, snakes, etc). In the winter we feed pigs to the chickens (pigs are a product of our pastures too). That is to say, the chickens get butcher scraps of meat and fat to carry them over the winter and replace the warm season insects. This and light keeps them laying. Hint: cook the eggs to double the available protein and solve the biotin antagonist. Hint #2: small bigs benefit more per egg so we feed most eggs to our pre-weaner through grower pigs. Hint #3: pigs can eat the shells. These are little details that make the system work better.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/


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## FarmerDavid (Jul 16, 2012)

Do you cook the pork before feeding it to the chickens?


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Sometimes. Depends on what it is, how much time we have and if the wood stove is going anyways. With the wood stove and an old pot it's little effort. Cooking does increase their consumption and they like the hot water.

-Walter


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## Dustycowgirl (Oct 1, 2014)

Hi has anyone tried flax seed. We are first year pig farmers. My daughter got two for 
4H. One market barrow and one production gilt . We thought of the Omega factors and we tried to feed a bit of the whole seeds and we mixed in slowly with his feed though he seemed to throw it up when we gave it to him. It was only when we added the flax so we stopped. I used to feed that to my horses and it gave a great shine to their coat and they were very healthy and happy. I currently now own my daughters production pig and plan to AI breed her, and was curious on trying to give her some for winter...but didn't want to make her sick. Any suggestions? Maybe the ground flax would be better ?or not? I do give her eggs occasionally as we raise chickens too. Thanks!


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Yes, sort of. Flax is one of the things we grow in our field. It is supposed to be good. It grows reasonably well for us here in the mountains of Vermont.

Please fill in your location information which makes it easier to answer questions. At the very least your zone. See this thread:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/pigs/505485-please-fill-location-info.html

-Walter


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## PasturedPork (Jan 22, 2014)

Flax is interesting. Here is a good review article 

http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/as1283_e9ee897d14437.pdf

It is expensive to feed unless you have a good source or grow your own.


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

I custom raise feeders for customers on a small time basis. I grain feed, pasture on quack grass and nut sedge and let 'em tear it up for rhizomes, etc. I always finish on sweet corn whether secondary ears, overage due to better than expected production or culls. I also throw in any daily extra from the farm stand which varies. I go easy on it in hot weather but as the weather grows cold the amount increases accordingly. By early Nov. I am running low as the the days to processing. By that time, depending on weather, sweet corn can be lodging heavily and a PIA to harvest. It works well for me, I have steady customers who buy whole, halves and multiples each year. 

Whole fresh corn ears are entirely eaten, from husks to cobs. If any kernels are getting too dry I just knock down the field section and move to a less mature section. As the corn matures and husks dry they are less palatable so the amount fed out increases. You will have more carbs and less protein but I keep up the grain ration as well as grazing. Cold weather helps burn off the carbs. I do not have fat hogs at all.


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

krackin, very interesting (abut the corn and your business). I've had the thought about raising pork for others who don't have the land. How/when do you bill them (i.e., like a monthly feed and board, or not until butcher time? Deposit?)? What if a customer wants his pork fed differently, how do you manage that?
Do the pigs ever decimate the nut sedge? (It's a noxious weed that seems immune to herbicides, as we've learned through our landscaping business, but I never imagined pigs would enjoy grazing on it.)
What breed of pigs do you raise? (We have AGH and live much further south than you, so I still am hesitant about corn.)
Thanks! Good info


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

They will graze the sedge somewhat but mostly tend to root up the sedge once they discover the 'nuts'. They will crunch them right down, they love them. In dry spells they are apt to stop rooting unfortunately which would really take a toll. I never left them in an area long enough to see if they would decimate it. I expect that late fall and early winter would bring much more destruction in cold areas. I don't keep hogs all winter at this time.

I get a $250 deposit for pigs up front which I order from my farm supply over in ME so the breeds vary some but no heritage. In July I get another $250 per hog. Final payment comes when I get the hanging numbers from the processor. I deliver the live hogs to the processor and distribute cut sheets to customers. I'm out of it then, customers have to do their own pickup. I think it helps out the customers by getting early payments. By the time it is all said and done with processing and smoking a customer can get close to a grand invested. It isn't cheap so I have to make sure each pig is of excellent quality.

I get a few extra hogs in case of loss, been lucky so far and never lost one. I often sell these as halves on the hoof. I get them at the end of April or early May. I try to get early Nov. processing dates so I can leave the water running and not have to haul water which is a major PIA. By this date I average 300 lbs on the hooks, I had one weigh in at 396# two years ago. Some may go away earlier as roasters and customers may take theirs a little earlier to meet custom smoking dates. I do my own smoking but not for customers. I do not do any processing, not that I haven't when I was younger.


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