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Feed recommendations for Berkshire no longer intended for meat
A neighbor was selling Berkshire piglets back in October and I convinced my poor husband that we could either raise a female to eat or even keep her for breeding (sell the piglets cheap to 4-H kids and to then keep and eat one of her offspring). My very convincing argument was that if things weren’t working out or it was too much of a hassle we could through in the towel at any time. Little bacon or big bacon. Sigh. The poor man agreed. I have raised pigs previously for consumption, he thought this would be the same. Again, poor man.
Penelope managed to escape within the first 15 minutes of arrival. 14.5 minutes of that time she had been locked in the dog crate we used to transport her in my suv. By sheer dumb luck was I able to skirt around her in the dense forest undergrowth and force her back up the hill where we recaptured her with a salmon net. Which coincidentally at this time has caught far more farm critters than salmon.
Penelope is now what we call our bacon dog. She follows me around happily, better at heal than our trained lab and comes just about as fast when called. In other words, she’s become my pet. Which wouldn’t be such a big deal if I hadn’t started questioning my ability/willingness to attempt AI. Oops.
That is not to say she doesn’t have a job. It had long been our plan to buy goats for brush clean up and thereby lower any fire risks. Penelope has taken the job of landscaper seriously. She is not only a brush clearing pro, but also tills the land as she goes. She’s saved me the cost of a goat herd, associated startup supplies and the intended barn. Can we call that a win? Let’s call it a win.
Now to the reason I’m here. I’ve been feeding hog grower but as I’m not intending to butcher I want to shift to more of a weight maintenance plan. I’ve tried searching for some guidance online but I keep running into mini pig info. Can I cut her hog grower feed with wet cob? I’m focused on keeping her healthy vs putting on weight for butchering. She gets garden scraps, fresh fruit from our trees, some table scraps, and I intend to plant a larger section of garden for food just for her. As it is winter here I’m stuck with what I can buy for now.
Attached is a picture of Penelope from November in her newly expanded domain.
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A neighbor was selling Berkshire piglets back in October and I convinced my poor husband that we could either raise a female to eat or even keep her for breeding (sell the piglets cheap to 4-H kids and to then keep and eat one of her offspring). My very convincing argument was that if things weren’t working out or it was too much of a hassle we could through in the towel at any time. Little bacon or big bacon. Sigh. The poor man agreed. I have raised pigs previously for consumption, he thought this would be the same. Again, poor man.
Penelope managed to escape within the first 15 minutes of arrival. 14.5 minutes of that time she had been locked in the dog crate we used to transport her in my suv. By sheer dumb luck was I able to skirt around her in the dense forest undergrowth and force her back up the hill where we recaptured her with a salmon net. Which coincidentally at this time has caught far more farm critters than salmon.
Penelope is now what we call our bacon dog. She follows me around happily, better at heal than our trained lab and comes just about as fast when called. In other words, she’s become my pet. Which wouldn’t be such a big deal if I hadn’t started questioning my ability/willingness to attempt AI. Oops.
That is not to say she doesn’t have a job. It had long been our plan to buy goats for brush clean up and thereby lower any fire risks. Penelope has taken the job of landscaper seriously. She is not only a brush clearing pro, but also tills the land as she goes. She’s saved me the cost of a goat herd, associated startup supplies and the intended barn. Can we call that a win? Let’s call it a win.
Now to the reason I’m here. I’ve been feeding hog grower but as I’m not intending to butcher I want to shift to more of a weight maintenance plan. I’ve tried searching for some guidance online but I keep running into mini pig info. Can I cut her hog grower feed with wet cob? I’m focused on keeping her healthy vs putting on weight for butchering. She gets garden scraps, fresh fruit from our trees, some table scraps, and I intend to plant a larger section of garden for food just for her. As it is winter here I’m stuck with what I can buy for now.
Attached is a picture of Penelope from November in her newly expanded domain.
#home
source
| 25,000 mlx | |
| 25 | |
| 0 |