Barefoot Hillbilly Wife to a Redneck......

Here they are going back to rooting and ignoring me since I didn't bring any treats!! They have more hair then most people realize and they don't have much problem staying warm as long as they have shelter and good food!
And this is what we do for them... They get a little feed everyday that is a mix of Chopped corn, crimped oats and crimped barley with a little trace salt for minerals. They are moved to a fresh pasture when they have ate it down. They have fresh water most of the time!! They like to put their front feet in it while drinking and then of course their noses are all dirty from rooting and it gets in the water!

What they do to the pasture is good as long as its not over done!!! It helps loosen the soil and breaks it up to turn it like a natural tiller. I am going to put them in spots were we will have a garden next year to turn the soil.

Of course their main purpose here is to supply yet another variety to the supply of naturally grown meat from here on the farm. Currently we have 2 gilts, 1 boar and 1 barrow. A gilt is a female who has never had piglets. Boar is a intact male and barrow is a castrated male.

They have turned rather friendly even though I had my doubts to begin with. But as long as they are well fed they will be fairly docile. Till they see a bucket!! lol Then they can get pretty loud!!

I am impressed with the Red Wattles ability so far to be growing so well on pasture and a small amount of grains. I know its not just the Red Wattle that will do that but just my experience so far.

When I was a kid we would raise pigs occasionally in a smaller lot with a pelleted complete feed. They live out 9 months or so in the lot and then was processed. We didn't have near as small pens as some people because my dad always liked to have space for animals. But it wasn't pastured either. It cost alot to feed them the pelleted feed and last spring the feed was so high that we took them a few months early to the processors to balance the cost.

Pastured is so much easier on the pocket book!! It was costing around $45 a week for 4 pigs last spring a month that was $180. The way we are doing it now the feed is less then $70 a month. Just a little less then half. This amount will only vary a little with pasture availability. Basically their extra grain is to keep them friendly and adds extra to their pasture diet.

So there are our pigs!! Have a good night all!!