Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Tony Marzolino <tmarzolino@yahoo.com>]

Hello Rhonda and List,
 Fencing - I forgot mention we have 4 strand  barb wire and I added 3' field fence around it.  We also run an  electric wire about 1 foot in and 10" high.  Pigs will escape.
  
  Food - Dairy stuff is great.  They LOVE milk, especially  sour.  I am sure they will eat the whey.  I only give the  current set of pigs vegetables, because that is what I have.  I  have found pigs are not picky and will eat just about anything.   If we give them something they don't like (i.e. an earlier set of 4 did  not like oranges or green peppers) it just gets pushed out of the  trough and composted.  No big deal.
  
 Quantity of food -  We use a 55 gallon plastic drum cut side ways for the food trough and  bolt it to whatever we can.  I use 5 gallon plastic buckets for  feeding.   We mainly look for the trough to be empty before  the next day feeding and see if they are content.  In my 
 experience. if they are hungry, they will tell you. 
 We have 2 -  about 50lb pigs that I give 1/2 a bucket per day.  They are  currently inside our barn in a 10' x 10' stall.  Basically they  are shielded from the cold.
 We have 3 - about 80lb pigs that I give  1 1/2 buckets per day.  They are outside with a run in shed full  of hay for sleeping on about 2 acres. 
 In the northeast it is  cold.  8 degrees tonight.  I believe in Florida you could get  away with less food as the temps are much warmer.
  
  We butcher around 250 to 300 lbs.
  
  Hope that helps.  And additional questions, feel free to e-mail.
  Thanks 
  Tony Marzolino
   
Rhoda Skavroneck <rhodaf@gate.net> wrote:

Thank you so much Tony. I have access to swine food that is organic and soy free. How do I know that I have fed them enough? Should my preference be vegetables and any raw dairy. I could give them whey after I make cottage cheese but that isn’t daily.

 

What weight do you slaughter- 200 pounds?

 

Thanks again for your help.

Rhoda

 

 

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From: livingontheland-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:livingontheland-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Tony Marzolino
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 2:29 PM
To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] OT

 

Hello Rhoda,
I live in upstate NY and we always use/have the following:
- An area for them them to run and root. About 1 acre, but I am sure you could use less.
- A source of food.  Lately we have been coordinating with a local produce grower and using his excess/moldy stuff.  Toward the five month mark, they need a lot of food.  We usually supplement with hominy and slaughter at around 6 months.

Hope that helps.  We currently have five and they are eating squash, apples, corn, and potatoes.  Potatoes worked best if cooked.  We use our wood stove.

Tony Marzolino
Berkshire NY


Rhoda Skavroneck <rhodaf@gate.net> wrote:

I was wondering if anyone could tell me the healthiest and most cost
effective way to raise 2 pigs for food. I live in Central Florida.

Thank you.
Rhoda
rhodaf@gate.net


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