There are lots of hungry critters right now on the homestead. Each morning, after milking, a beautiful cow named Sally is fed (she's not impressed by having to wait for her hay). Then seventeen baby chicks are fed and watered. And a turkey. Then fifteen hens. Then two young rascals, G-love and The Hobbit. Then a hungry husband. Then a hungry me (Oh hi! don't worry about me, just the pregnant Mama over here). Then the dog. Then the plants that are still residing in my bathtub. Then the goldfish (yes, a goldfish). And lastly, I'm feeding the pigs.
Phew! Aren't you exhausted already? And that doesn't even include the bull, ram, ewe, lamb, geese, and meat chickens that will be arriving this month.
Yes, farm life at this time of year (or rather, all year round!) revolves around feeding and watering the animals.
But what do we feed them, you ask?
You always have the best questions. Thanks for asking!
We've talked about the homemade chicken feed that the layers get, as well as the Scratch ‘n Peck feed that we start our chicks on. The turkey gets the same. The rascals, husband, and pregnant Mama are fed a variety of breakfast goodness each morning, the dog is fed scraps, the plants are fed water, the goldfish is fed… well, whatever goldfish flakes are made out of, and now FINALLY we're to the star of the show: the pigs.
That is, after all, the point of this post. Feeding the pigs.
It's a question I've already received a thousand times since we brought the pigs home last weekend. What ARE you feeding the pigs, anyway?
The short answer is: a lot.
The longer answer, well, let's talk about that – shall we?
Feeding Pastured Pigs
1. Organic Pig Grower: While many are comfortable in formulating their own pig rations, because this is my first time growing pigs, I wanted to make sure they were fed appropriately. Naturally, being me, I don't love the idea of feeding from a pre-mixed bag but thankfully, this is the very best feed I could hope to use. It's:
– Soy-free
– GMO-free
– Organic
– Milled locally from local grains
– Non-medicated
2. Scraps: Lots and lots of scraps! I can hardly wait until the vegetable garden is in full swing and we can supplement them with significant amounts of rotten tomatoes, cabbage leaves, bolted lettuce, and old green beans. For now, I've been keeping a gallon bucket on the counter for all of our food scraps. Potato peels, apple slices, stale ends of bread, egg shells, cheese rinds, crumbs, etc. Everything besides coffee grounds and old leftovers I've reserved for the dog (Toby) get put into the scrap bucket. Each morning and night, the bucket is carried up to The Pig Palace and is oh-so-gently thrown into their food trough.
Excitement ensues.
3. Hay: Even though they don't eat too much of it, we provide the pigs with alfalfa/grass hay at all times.
4. Pasture: Lots of weeds, flowers, roots, and bugs are growing and awaiting their final pig culinary destination. We haven't released the pigs onto the pasture yet (we're waiting until they're big enough to not squeeze out under the electric fence) but in a few weeks, they'll have an acre of pasture to roam and tear up for snack time.
5. MILK: I capitalize MILK because this is their favorite food. Times a million. I'm thankful because it's given us a resourceful use for all the extra, old, skimmed, or clabbered milk that we have on hand. If I'm feeling extra generous (which is rare) I'll given them fresh, warm milk from Sally. But usually I save that for my babies. Instead, the pigs get what's left or what needs to be cleaned out of the fridge. They sure don't seem to mind.
They slurp up that milky goodness like a frat boy slammin' down a cold brew. And with about the same enthusiasm. Speaking of which, I've since learned that watching pigs drink milk is one of my most favorite ways to pass the time. It must be witnessed by all.
6. Gleanings & fodder: As a supplement to their diet, we've added in sprouted organic grains (wheat, barley, or oats) for them to eat at will. They love it! And even though harvest time hasn't set in yet, once it does, plenty of rotten and old fruit will be gleaned from the surrounding orchards for supplemental eating. We've also packed up over fifty pounds of walnuts for them to munch on. Lastly, we'll be picking up some spent brewer's grains from a local brewery for a small supplement to the diet. None of it is a perfect system, but it's about balancing resourcefulness with quality.
Right now their pasture is growing.
As is their waistline.
And that's exactly what we want!
Because we want bacon. Which is why we're feeding the pigs.
Just so we're clear on the purpose of this project.
Shaye, just so you know… your links for like this or this! in “The rascals, husband, and pregnant Mama are fed a variety of breakfast goodness each morning (like this or this!), ” aren’t there. Nothing to click on.
So excited I found your blog! I have a question: How much of the organic pig grower do you go through per pig? We are going to get a couple of pigs at the end of the year and I’m trying to estimate costs. We won’t be able to give them a large pasture but everything else you mentioned is doable (more than enough kitchen scraps, hubby brings them home from the firehouse; raw goats milk; fodder already part of our routine). Thanks!
Not sure yet! Right now it’s just a few pounds per day. We shall we!
Do you still give Sally whole oats? I have been experimenting with soaked grains on my milk cows and I can def tell a big difference in how much is digested. I had to start out pouring a lot of molasses on it to get them to eat it though..
Too add to that… They only get small amount of grain anyway. Just for a little extra energy since I not only milk them but they are nurse cows and raise three calves at a time for me. I am a work at home Mom and I can make some money buying calves from dairies and raising them on my cows 🙂
I am doing the same thing here in my neck of the woods, the only thing is I read that the peel of potatoes can be bad for them. Just a heads up.
Thanks for the article!!! It came in good timing! We just picked up 3 little yorks yesterday! This is our second season raising pigs. The first pigs we raised on standard hog feed but this year we are going as natural as we can. We have a free supply of brewers mash that is not organic but at least there is no gmo corn or soy in it. I will also be sprouting organic grains and feeding an organic hog feed. We grow a large “pig” garden so as we finish them off they will be eating lots of garden goodies!! Good luck to you and I hope for some follow-up articles!!!
We raise a few pastured pigs every year to stock our freezer. Thanks for this. We also give ours raw eggs. Sometimes our fridge gets too full (those dang pastured hens can’t just lay an egg a day consistently, can they? hehe) so we will give them a dozen or four to slurp down. They love it almost as much as milk! They also get all of the whey from my cheesemaking. Right now, we don’t have pigs, we’re switching to winter-raised pigs for space reasons and I’m kinda sad that I won’t have them around to throw all of my garden scraps to. Thankfully, we still have enough other animals to take care of most of the scraps. The rest will be composted.
I am wondering about the walnuts. Do you feed whole, in shell, black walnuts? We are planting some hazelnut trees in our pasture area for our hogs, but also have a lot of black walnuts at our family’s farm we could use.
Yes, we feed them whole! They crunch through them like candy.
I have a 1890 steel pig feeder,what is it worth?
It’s ridiculous how excited this post made me. We are currently looking for acreage to build on. I think I’m more excited about the animals that we will have than the house! 🙂
My husband and I are in the process of turning our 10 acre place into a hobby farm and maybe more. We started on a very large garden with raised beds and are still building more, probably will for the next couple of years but we are also trying to get it deer fenced securely. Here in Michigan, especially in our neck of the woods, we have a ton of deer who would love us to grow a big garden for them. We have an old chicken coop but wanted one project at time before moving on and so the garden is it this year. I do a lot of caning and processing. Chicken will be coming probably next year and then we were considering Pigs. We love pork. As well as goats for meat. Love that goat meat too. Having never raised farm animals, I could ask you a million questions but my main concern is, how many pigs should we consider raising and how much will it cost to feed them till ready for butcher? Prayerfully we will get good enough at this farm business that we can grow and raise more then we need to sell to help cover the cost for what we need. So much to do, consider and LEARN. I have been enjoying this blog and even have it bookmarked so I can check it often. Please don’t stop, as I am now living my a farm life vicariously through you for a while! Have a great day.
Glad you’re here, Peg!
I am having a hard time finding Pig Grower. Where do you get it? Azure doesn’t sell it and that’s where I get my other feed! Thanks for having a great website!! I am looking into making my own chicken feed as well. I have so many bags of grain and other goodies
in my house right now!
I get mine from a local feed store.
Please will you share the brand of your pig grower? Thank you!
Just wanted to add that for any cheesemakers out there, whey is a great food to give pigs. The whey from parmesan cheese is fed to pigs in Italy that will eventually be turned into prosciutto. A lovely cycle of food.
I don’t think pigs should be eating tomatoes. They are a type nightshade and are actually toxic to them.
Tomatoes themselves are not toxic to pigs, just like they aren’t toxic to humans. The plant they grow on is toxic, but not the fruit. Same as potatoes and eggplant 😀 happy farming!
What can I give my pigs so that they don’t eat a lot. Is there thing to reduce their appetite