Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Saturday, December 18, 2010

How to grow out feeder pigs: Part 2 Feed 'em on the cheap

This is for poor Goodwife who's about the throw herself down with anticipation... hang in there baby! Here's how to get 'er done.

As I mentioned yesterday in How to grow out feeder pigs - on the cheap. Part One there are lots of ways to feed out hogs. And my pal JHM, a real farmer, as well as FarmerChick who grows out hogs to 500 lbs to sell as whole hog sausage, will just tell ya to feed 'em hog chow and quick monkeying around. And many 4H programs have a right and prescribed method of feeding exact amounts to keep growth rates steady by using bagged food.

We thought we'd probably do the same until we happily marched down to our local feed store and asked for a bag of starter hog food for our shiny new pigs that Bourbon Red suckered me into buying. To tell the truth he called me a varity of unseemly names doubting I was man enough to get pigs. Of course that spurred me to action and 2 pigs were delivered a couple days later, much to the surprise of The Big Man ("WHAT is coming? TODAY?"). Anyway.

"That will be $17." Said our able feed store guy. I balked, "How much? Is that in US dollars?" He nodded. The Big Man glared at me. Now $17 is a lot for a bag of feed. Heck - that's alot for a bag of cat food and we love the cats, unlike the hated pigs.

We bought it and fed it to the not-so-shiny-anymore pigs. They ate it. All of it. In a week. I called up Bourbon Red and asked him what he got me into. Luckily he had a great solution. Later that day The Big Man and I were standing in the feed aisle of Tractor Supply arguing and trying to do math in our heads.

BR's solution was to buy a bag of Calf Manna and use this to supplement the regular hog chow. The problem is... Calf Manna is about $20 a bag. We balked and asked "Is that in US dollars!?" It was. Hence the arguing - we did not think this would work.

The theory is that you could feed the lower protein, lower priced, regular "hog grower" and add Calf Manna while the pigs are young instead of the usual (and much more expensive) "hog starter." Our young pigs normally go thru a 50 pound bag of feed a week. $17 a week would quickly double to $34 a week and heck at that point it would be some expensive pork.

We finally figured out the math and it looks like this:

So if:
One bag of Calf Manna = $20
Hog starter (high protein feed) = $17/bag
Hog grower (11 - 14% protein feed) = $7/bag


And:
We only need one bag of Calf Manna for 2 pigs for the season.  Of course, if your pigs are big enough to go directly to hog grower then it isnt worth it, but even if you need grower for a month it makes sense (for us).

Then:
Hog starter only: $17 * 4 weeks = $68
Calf Manna + hog grower: $20 (one time purchase) +  $7 * 4 weeks = $48

So by the 3rd week then you've pretty much got your money back. But then a bag of Calf Manna lasts us more than a month - it lasts the whole season.  And we can use it for other things as well as to supplement the "corn only" feeding segment until the bag is gone.

As with most animals, pigs need more protein when they are younger (up to 18%) but then need less the bigger they get (14% to finish). The trick with this method is to use Calf Manna to make up the difference if using a lower protein feed (the grower or just corn). And then supplement with milk and eggs and whatever else you have to provide a balanced diet.



Now the magnificent Kelly Klober who wrote the Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs (which everyone should run right out and get if you are considering pigs) will quote you chapter and verse about what to feed pigs at what age. We base our feed schedule by closely observing our pigs and feeding for a continuous growth rate.

You can feed a hog regular grower until "market weight" or until its big enough to butcher... but that's not really in line with our "raise 'em naturally" thing. We prefer to use whats available because we are cheap...and as it turns out, this works with what is seasonally available in the barn yard. Also high soy meal (hog chow) really doesn't seem all that natural to us and for lots of reasons we prefer to finish them on corn (mostly because I like a lot of lard and we feel the meat is better quality).

Our seasonal feeding schedule goes like this:

New/young pigs (8 to 12 weeks): hog chow + Calf Manna + goat milk + hard cooked eggs

Middle of summer (pigs are about 100 - 150 or so pounds): gradually mix half and half cracked corn and hog chow + Calf Manna + goat milk + hard cooked eggs.... and by this time we should have some fruit available.

Two weeks or so later: switch entirely to corn + goat milk + hard cooked eggs and by this time we should have some fruit available.  And finish up the remainder of the bag of Calf Manna

For the rest of the season we pour on the corn, hard cooked eggs, whatever weeds and leftover garden stuff we have, and we start hitting up our friends who have farm market stands. Pumpkins, apples, whatever they have that is "too ugly to sell" and especially we like to mix corn + the apple pulp/pressings from cider making. Pigs think this is great and if you let it ferment for a couple days, they love it.

A couple things I know you are about to ask...

Why should I monkey around with all this extra work?
If its not your thing, then don't. There is a whole industry based on raising pigs on commercial hog chow. But then... you're kinda raising a commercially grown pig.

How much Calf Manna?
Depends. I know that's vague but it depends on the protein level of your feed and how big the pigs are. Roughly if we provide a scoop of hog chow, about a cup of it is Calf Manna. And it depends on if we have eggs for that feeding, and how much milk we have. Less eggs and milks = more Calf Manna.

But they won't get the right, nutritionally balanced diet!
We don't worry about nutrition too much because they are "one season" pigs. We strive for a constant growth rate and adjust as needed.  And because we spend so much time with our pigs we feel like we have a good handle on their health. We take time to observe them daily and constantly evaluate their conformation and overall health.  And since we raise them on pasture - and provide a varied diet - we feel they get great nutrition. And this method is in line with the old timey way of doing things. Chances are your great-grandpa raised his hogs the exact same way.

How much to feed?
Depends. The old timers say to feed as much as they will eat in 20 minutes, two or three times a day.  So feed them appropriate for their age. Start small and watch to see how much and how fast they eat. If there is still food in their feeders when you go out the next time - feed less. If they push each other down and fight over the food, give them more. And better yet, at some point feed them in separate feeders. Also, the "two or three times" depends on the weather and their age. We feed 3x a day in extreme cold weather or when they are young (young animals of all kinds do better with smaller meals, more often).  Twice a day is fine for the summer. Some folks use those self feeders. We don't. Not only are we already out there in the barnyard... but it gives us  an opportunity to spend time observing them. Never underestimate the value of spending time with your livestock. Develop the ability to note changes in behavior or body conformation.

Whatcha feed them in?
We like those rubber, black, bendy tub things - we have a couple different sizes to accommodate their growth.  They quickly grow out of the smaller ones, so we then use those feeders for the poultry.

How much goat milk?
Pretty much they will drink as much as you have. Almost all of Vita's milk goes to the pigs - she easily milks about a gallon a day. If you don't have goats, please consider a dairy cow. Or ask around. Chances are there is a goat breeder somewhere who is dumping perfectly good milk - especially in states where the sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal.

How many eggs?
They will eat as many as you have. But try and provide consistency - for instance, don't feed them 2 dozen eggs one day and then one egg the next. Strive for a consistent level of protein from day to day.  By the end of summer I have 8 or 10 extra eggs several times a week. The most important thing is to feed them HARD COOKED eggs - never raw. Sure they will eat raw eggs... but raw eggs have a protein an inhibitor and the whole point is to feed them nutrient rich food, not something that will slow their growth. And you don't need any of that fancy stuff for cooking the eggs, just toss them in a pan of cold water, boil/simmer for 15 minutes, and let them cool. No need for exact timing or cooling them immediately. Just throw the eggs at the pigs... I mean to the pigs shell and all.

What about dumpster diving?
You want to be careful with this. While its OK to feed "ugly" fruit you don't want to feed your pigs garbage. In some states this is actually illegal and there are regulations about cooking "waste food" to a certain temperature before feeding it to hogs. We pretty much avoid giving them leftovers, anything that is destined for the garbage, any meat, fat, or weird stuff. Remember the pigs are what you're gonna eat, so you want to feed them quality food. That being said, some folks I know get "day old bread" from bakeries or can convince local grocery stores to give them 'old' produce. But you don't really want to feed your food junk. If whatcha got is headed for the compost pile then send it there. But got a bucket of tomatoes that you just can't use? Toss 'em to the pigs.

But if pigs will eat anything why not feed meat?
Because this freaks me out, man. But really, you don't want to encourage cannibalism or for them to go after your chickens. And while I take my hat off the to the old timer who routinely threw dead raccoons to his hogs... I ain't eatin' that bacon, if you know what I mean.

So pretty much, except for the one bag of Calf Manna and a couple of bags of regular hog chow... everything else is free (but the cracked corn but we use this for almost everyone so it folds into our budget). By the end of the season we were easily feeding 2 (or slightly more) bags of cracked corn per week which is $10 or less. Our eggs, our goat milk, our fruit, and free stuff from our farm market friends provide the bulk of what we feed the hogs. Free is a great price.

And if you get out and hustle you can find lots of free stuff. Ask the local farmers if you can glean in their fields after they take up the corn.  Or does your neighbor have an oak tree dropping acorns or black walnuts?  Got a lead on someone who is overrun with zucchinis or tomatoes? Is there someone who has an apple tree who doens't use the fruit? Folks love to help out - and if you can take their stuff so they don't have to compost it, rake it up, or throw it out - they will call you again next year. Take time to stick our your hand and say hello... and tell stories about your barnyard. Pretty soon you'll develop a network of folks who are very happy to fill up your truck. 

Or look closer to home - do you have some clearing to do on your property and have a buncha brambles, leaves, or branches? Toss them all over the fence.  If you have your hogs on pasture not only will they eat everything green - including poison ivy and that stupid wild rose and blackberries - they will also root up the place. Have stumps you need to dig out? Start throwing whole corn in that area - or use the old farmers trick and drill holes in the stumps and fill them with corn.

There's all kinds of creative things you can do. One guy I know got into hogs because he worked for a trucking company who had a dog food producer for a customer. One day they had a load of bagged dog food that could not be sold in retail because of a labeling mistake. He asked, and got, the entire truckload for free. And he used it to start a hog growing operation. It worked out great for him.

And it can work out great for you too. Take a look around at what you have and what you can use. Do you have extra garden space to grow extra produce? Have friends who have too many eggs from their hens? Can you get a few extra laying hens while you have pigs? Do you grow your own lush, legume hay? Have an orchard?

For our money, raising pigs on the cheap is the way to go. For less than half a year of work we get a whole year's worth of meat for us. And the leavin's for the dogs. And lard. And the cracklin's from the lard for the pigs. And not to mention the awesome burn pile we have whenever I find where I put those hogs heads...

Anyway. That's the way of it. Use the perfect circle of life in your barnyard to make your life better. The chickens and goats feed the pigs who feed us.

Now get out there and come up with a plan to feed your hogs!


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28 comments:

Veggie PAK said...

That's a lot of good helpful information for anyone considering trying this. I like the part about not feeding your food garbage. Makes a lot of sense.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Good morning VPak! Its really worth it! Just make sure you have your set up ready. I know a couple gals who gave it a try and were just really frustrated. My pal, Freemotion, hasnt bought bagged feed since summer and has had excellent results. A little ingenuity goes a long way.

Mr. H. said...

I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on caring for piggies. When I raised mine we supplimented their diet with sunfish from our lake (raw) and I was lucky enough to find a farmer that was selling lentils on the cheap.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hi Mr. H! Great work on using what is available.

Heiko said...

If and when the day comes I'll be out gathering acorns and chestnuts and throwing it to them. I've tasted pork almost exclusively fed on that and it's gooooood!

Anonymous said...

Once we move to the farm, I will have pigs for sure. They are worth it, definitely.
We are now only a weekend farmers, so we can not keep any animals...

Anyways, I just posted on my pork harvest, so you can check it out.

Mama Mess said...

Hey girl!
Sorry I took so long to comment. Good post with lots of great ideas. I'm still not convinced I can feed any type of corn and make it worth my while, but you've for sure given me lots to think on and besides the main point is having that meat that I raised myself. I can buy store eggs cheaper than I can keep chickens, but it just ain't the same. Same with butchering my own birds.......so we probably will wind up buying a hog again at some point.

Just thought I'd mention that the reason you don't feed raw meat to hogs is because of Hog Cholera which can be transmitted to humans.

Thanks!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Great reminder GW about why NOT to feed meat...and yep, sometimes it doesnt seem like its going to work. But remember there are lots of "soft" benefits... like the litter/poop, the extras for dog food, and all that great stuff.
:-)

stupidpotbellie said...

Great information. Thank you!!!!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Thanks, SPB! Feel free to stop by anytime
:-)

Joni Holt said...

Great info. We want to get some piggys, so I have been researching to no end. ( I have NEVER had any farm type animals.

john said...

What about feeding corn gluten pellets they just take the alcohol out of the corn. I can buy it for $180 a ton, any thoughts?

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hey John - from what i hear it is not a complete ration but sure you can start there. i'd add protein for sure - milk or eggs or some calf manna. good luck!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hey John - from what i hear it is not a complete ration but sure you can start there. i'd add protein for sure - milk or eggs or some calf manna. good luck!

Anonymous said...

Great info. Thanks! I'm getting a couple of Yorkshire's this Friday and I was wondering how long to I need to keep them on the Pig starter? That stuff is expensive, but the calf manna is over 33 dollars a bag! Just wondering if a bag of the starter was good and then i could move them to a cheaper feed. thanks.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Hey friend! Good luck with them yorks! So the book says that up to 12 weeks or 75lbs for the starter - but really do your math. You might be further ahead with the calf manna and grower or cracked corn. Also if you can supplement with milk or eggs you can move them to a lower protein ration sooner. Look for consistent growth - if they level off then up the protein. I'd love to hear about your progress - keep in touch!
:-)

nocona said...

Thank you so much. I am planning on supplementing their food with bread from a local bakery and produce from a friend's grocery store. I was also thinking about feeding a 12% all stock mixed with cracked corn as well. Just trying to feed these pigs without breaking the piggy bank!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Perfect! Wow if you can get free stuff from stores that is a huge win! The only things I wouldnt feed pigz are a lot of extra sweet stuff or meat. Other than that - great find! 12% sounds about right so good on that.
:-D

Nocona said...

Great, I guess I'll save the pastries for myself! I'm going to check into the calf manna, and maybe add it to the 12% and the Cracked corn for a spell.
And then I suppose as I get closer to bacon time, I'll lighten up on the 12% and double down on the cracked corn.
Another question- I saw 50lb bags of whole corn at my grocery store cheaper than the cracked corn from the feed store. Will that work?
Thanks for all you help.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Whole corn at the store!?!? heck I wish I had that! Sure - if sold by weight its the same same. For more um.... effective digestion.... ahem...you can soak the corn in water. Or better yet soak it in milk and then you'll be cookin' with gas. Also if you have the pigz on pasture you can broadcast the whole corn where you want them to root around.
:-)

CJ said...

Hi,
I will be getting a Chester White runt for free she is 12 pounds can you help me decide a feeding for her to put on some weight, Normally we get bigger pigs in the spring it as been a few years tho. It will get cold soon and I want to be able to get her up to a healthy weight for her to outside pen for winter. For now till she is big enough she will be in our screened in porch with a hut and heat lamp.
Thank you for your time
CJ

Ohiofarmgirl said...

wow, CJ, that's a little pig! so i checked my Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs and there wasn't much info. However, he recommends the highest feed (17% - 18%) for young pigs. You might also want to add some electrolytes to the water. If it was me... we'd be supplementing with whole milk in the feed. As long as the pig is eating then I think you are OK and good work with the heat lamp! I know folks who get those runts and they have good luck getting them up to size.

Unknown said...

We will be getting a couple pigs next week. The plan is to put them where we have our garden and only keep them for the winter. We plan to butcher in late April. Because we are keeping them in the winter and not the summer do we need to increase the protein to keep the grow rate? They have igloo dog houses for shelter and we live in KY so it really is not cold except for Feb can get a little cold and we generally have no snow to speak of. Our thought process was no smell because of the cool weather and it would be good for our garden spot. In the spring till it and plant it. Any suggestions ? We will feed corn and calf manna because we have access to free whole corn.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hey Angie! great work on getting the porkers. so make sure you have a ton of straw for them to dig down into to keep warm. our experience was that our igloo dog house lasted one day. :-( but they probably wont really need it. if you need a shelter check this out:
https://www.google.com/search?q=easy+aframe+pig+hut&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
(search on 'easy A frame pig hut')
they will probably make more mud than you could have ever imagined but that is ok. but your biggest foe will be the wet - make sure they have "high ground" to get up on and out of the mud. in the spring you'll really need to till and "fluff" the soil as pigz really compact it... but if you have a lot of straw you'll be ahead of the tilth game. i'd say pour on the carbs - meaning corn. and dont feel bad about feeding fat - like cream/milk if you can get it. let me know how it goes! feel free to email if you have questions. would love to hear about your success.
:-)

Anonymous said...

Farm Girl,

A few key questions?

What is the finishing weight of your pigs?

How long do you feed them to get them to this weight in weeks?

You mentioned you were feeding two bags of corn per week to finish them, How many weeks do you do this? How many bags of corn total?

Are you selling pigs or is this just for your family?

Could you sell the eggs and the milk? How much is their value?

How much do you spend in time and gas gathering gleaned items such as veggies, fruit, and other "free" from around your area?

If we assume that everything has a cost including time and opportunity to get value from the other things you mentioned "cheap" would be defined as how much cash you are spending to grow your pigs. It sounds like you have some sweat equity here.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hey Anon! and YES most of it was sweat equity and materials that we had/grew ourselves. we've had pigz for most of the last 8 years so the finishing weights varied. we had some that had to be over 400lbs..and a couple that could fit comfortably into our (cleaned out) fridge (below 200lbs?). mostly we went for about 250lbs. the heavier pigz were harder for us to process - even tho they yielded a bigger harvest.

- the two bags depended on how long we grew them out. we switched from starter to our modified diet at about 75lbs... which was really only a couple of weeks. most feeders start at about 50 lbs. then went to just corn (plus milk, plus eggs, plus 'found materials' and whatever they foraged) until butcher. so maybe mid-july - december?

- we do not sell our farm-food products. i know people who do but that is not for us. also our production is just about what we can do/eat so it's a good balance. i know folks who grow for customers and it works out for them just fine.

- in our state you can only sell goatmilk for "pet use only" without being licensed. however this opens you up to scrutiny that we are not interested in. we couldnt even imagine the cost to have a "real" dairy for human quality milk.... way too high. eggs around here are as cheap as $1.50/dozen but everyone has chickens in rural areas so it is not profitable... however, i've seen folks sell eggs are farmers markets (in other states) for $6 and $7/dozen!

- very little in gas or drive time... our orchard friends are down the road and it would not make sense or cents $$$ for me to drive the big truck all around. we also have a product auction that is within easy drive distance where i can get pumpkins for $0.10/each in the fall. so drive and drive time was not a factor for me as a visit with friends was my primary objective and free or low cost stuff for the pigz was a benefit... my "work" was here producing garden products for them and also moving fencing around etc... which i'm doing anyway so it's all part of our little web.

for us there are a lot of "soft" benefits to doing it this way.... land clearing, quality of life, "free" manure for the garden, not having a gym membership, having exceptional quality of food etc. we chose this life because we wanted it. our out of pocket expenses are relatively low with most of our dollars spent on the goats.. which fed the pigz + chickens, which eventually fed us... so our spending really was top down. the goats usually paid for themselves during the year because we would sell their babies when they freshened in the spring (so they would be in milk)...so we consider that to be about even.

if you want to argue about whether is was "worth the cost" just in dollars then there are plenty of folks with charts and graphs... i honestly cant tell from your question if you are interested or just want to fight about the economics of raising pigz?

the farming part of our life is my job and my pay is meat. especially when gas was so expensive the "cost" for me to get a real job... so we could buy someone else's produced food... was so high there was very little likelihood i could have found a job around here that paid that much... and none of the jobs around here would pay me what i made in my earlier life. so my sweat is worth it to have this high a quality of life.
*shrugs*

if folks want cheaply produced meat then they should by it from Aldis. if folks want to feed out pigz with traditional bagged food that totally works. i'm just providing an alternative. for us this works but your mileage may vary. if you have a good set up then this works. if you'd like to learn more check out the "pigs" tab at the top of the page for more info on how we've raised pigz and how we are set up.
:-)

Chuck S said...

Where's the "like" button? :-)

We raise animals on our little farm to feed ourselves and barter any surplus for things we don't grow / raise.

Cleaning up apples from people's yards. Black walnuts from under our trees. Spent brewer's grain from the local microbrewery. Definitely some sweat spent and a little gas, but we'd rather be outside doing stuff anyways.

Carry on!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

great work, Chuck! and yep i'd rather be outside. excellent finds with the brewers yeast - that is fantastic.
:-)

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