Research reports on feed savings for pigs on pasture vary considerably, depending on type of pasture, age of hogs, and management systems. Good forage can also provide quality protein and certain vitamins and can reduce total feed requirements. But a 400-pound sow can handle relatively large amounts. After swine have grazed pasture for one season, use the pasture for cattle or harvest hay from it for two years before using it for hogs again.Ī pig's physical make-up does not lend itself to using great quantities of pasture or roughage like sheep and cattle. Pastures make possible a good swine sanitation and disease control program. An acre of good pasture should carry 8 to 10 sows.įorages selected for swine should be succulent and capable of high production, very palatable, high in protein and vitamins, and produce over a reasonably long growth period. But it is still possible to use large amounts of forage with the breeding herd.īred sows and gilts on legume pastures require much less supplemental protein and only about one-half as much grain as those in dry lots. In recent years, growing of hogs in confinement has become a reality because of vastly improved rations and means of disease and parasite control. Pasture was formerly an absolute essential for a successful swine operation. I really thought it was 10 feet over! What a day Saturday was.Use of good pasture containing alfalfa, ladino clover, and grass can lower sow feed costs, help maintain high level reproductive capacity of boars, and in many cases increase litter size as compared to confinement raising of hogs. It’s pretty easy to move when we move the pigs.Ĭheck your hog water several times daily in case the nipple clogs, the hose gets pinched, someone disconnects the water, etc.Īlso, be sure to move the hose before you take the mower out to clip the thistle. The hose clamps allow us to raise the nipple as the pigs grow. I use hose clamps to keep the pipe on an old, broken t-post with an elbow pointing over the perimeter fence. Honestly, I haven’t noticed that the pigs care. There is some concern about the pigs having access to cool water so, on hot days, we disconnect the hose and spray the hogs or their wallow to cool off the water again. It’s not exactly ideal having three lengths of garden hose stretched across the pasture but it certainly has a light footprint and is easy to install. We water them with a nipple on a garden hose. It works well for 8 small pigs or 4 larger pigs but, again, forces us to put eyes on our pigs twice daily. I took some slab oak lumber from my sawmill to the tablesaw and built a durable feed trough. This would be unrealistic if we were raising more than a few pigs as 4,000 pounds of pork need to eat 120 pounds of feed each day and I doubt my dainty wife is going to lug feed out to the pasture in that volume. Really, we want them all to be satisfied and have a little feed left in the trough for a snack later. We give them roughly 3% of their bodyweight each day of the Fertrell grower ration as well as a little garden waste, some apple drops, acorns or whatever else is handy. We keep our pigs near our chickens and feed them when we open and close the hen house each day. Many, if not most, farmers provide enough feed to last several days and go do other things. If you feed them twice per day they tend to be leaner. If you give your pigs free access to eat throughout the day they will, unsurprisingly, gain weight faster and put on more fat. Within those constraints we work to find the best combination of durable, local, inexpensive/free and suitable. After that we work to keep the animals healthy. Our primary motivation is keeping the soil healthy. It isn’t a question I had given much thought to as we just solved the problem and moved on. I was asked recently how I feed the pigs…or what I feed the pigs in since round pig feeders are not exactly cheap.
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