For you guys and gals that are raising your own pigs for meat, what feed are you feeding? I am planning on raising 3 this year. Do you mix your own or buy commercial grower mix? thanks

My local feed mill has a mix I use. Been running about 100 bucks per 500 pounds

local feed mill 18%-20% protein ,

18-20% only til 50 pounds, 15-16% until 125 pounds, 13-14 % until market weight. Keeping high protein throughout all stages can burn their gut and is a waste as it is not absorbed...just throwing money down the drain. Others with more experience may chime in...

what he said^^^^^^

Pretty much spot on.
Mine get 50 pounds each of 20% then 16% until they get close to 200# then its 14% until slaughter. Get my feed from a mill about 30 miles away, pick up 6 - 7 hundred pounds at a time as I only get 4 - 5 pigs at a time and I like to keep the feed fresh. Good luck

How many pounds a day is a pig eating when it’s closing in on butcher day? And how old is the pig when it’s butcher time?

Pretty well covered the percentage and weights also get mine from a local feed mill that's only a few miles from the house. I pay about $110 for 500 pounds.

we always butcher at about 280-300 pounds , any thing over 300 just wasting food [ jmo]

Let me know when there ready buddy I'll come down and help ya taste em, oops I mean butcher em lol

Roughly 6-8 pounds and 6 months old. Can vary by breed and individual hog as some are more efficient at converting food to meat. 4H kids around here better plan to have their hogs gaining 1.9 to 2.2 pounds a day if they are planning to do well in the rate-of-gain contest. Those weights are typically measured from 60 pounds up to market weight.

Democrats are high in proteins

I usually butcher the first one at 6 months old and the last at 8 months. As was mentioned some pigs grow faster than others and always seems to be one runt that's pushed around more so gets less food. Big ones go first small guy last. Occasionally kill one at about a hundred pounds to do whole in summer. At 6 month's they're getting about 5-6pounds a day.

Some things even a pig won't eat.

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have you tried [/quote]
Unfortunately it leaves a off flavor in the pork. Or at least that's what I've been told .

When you get up to around 300 lbs the weight gain has a higher % of fat to it.

I free fed beaver and nutria carcasses to hogs a few times back 30=35 years ago and finished with COB and Okara. I picked up the Okara at a tofu plant in town and since it came hot from the extraction put the grain in there and mixed it a little before feeding so that the grain is cooked. Hogs, just like humans get more out of their feed if it is cooked.

Those pigs put on amazing gains with the carcasses. Even the heads were consumed.

If you have cattle on feed, just run your hogs in with them. Hogs will eat cattle manure for the undigested grain and grow fat. I might add that hogs love chicken manure too.

Thanks for the offer ol buddy. Lol

Thanks for all the replies. Working on building the pig lot now. local feed mill has a 14% grower mix with vitamin for $10 a 50 pound bag, Thought that sounded a little pricey but maybe it's not.

I raised hogs for many yrs. I started with pig grower the finish with finisher. The last month I would feed them apples and plums from are trees. It is the best tasting pork we have ever had. You get what you put into them. Good feed. Room to move and run for good muscle tone. And hog waterers so they have fresh water all the time. Plus let them root, its good for them.