Baymule’s 2020 Feeder Pigs

[baymule]

Here we go! Got two guilts today, Hampshire and Yorkshire cross. I’ve been looking, people sure are proud of their pigs this year. Finally found these an hour and half away and we went and got them.

Sentry is in a pasture, not against the new Pigs, but he knew he didn’t like them. He barked st them. I didn’t want a night of him hating and barking at the pigs all night, so I put him on a leash and we went to meet the pigs.

He snarled. I shushed him. He was on full alert, deeply growling. I kept talking to him, reassuring him, telling him, MY PIGS, NO. MINE. The pigs of course, were scared and slowly grunted their way toward us. Closer. Closer. Sentry boomed a BIG BARK and lunged st them. Pigs ran, I pulled Sentry back. Over and over, but at least he’s met the pigs and knows what they are. They will never be friends but maybe he won’t bark all night at the pig monsters.

@frustratedearthmother he reminded me so much of Cowboy and your AGH pigs. I was smiling, watching my defensive body guard protecting me from pig monsters and thinking about you.

The girls.

Sentry guarding me.

 

[baymule]

We got the Pig Palace ready this morning. We set up the bin feeder and put 50 pounds of Feed in it. Checked water barrel, added water and secured the trough.

To help the pigs find Feed, I put a little in a plastic tub and they found it. Behind them you can see the bin feeder where I propped up a lid with a pine cone. They found the Feed but were afraid of the bin monster. Wait until they try to get Feed and that lid shuts on them! Haha, it won’t last long, food is a motivator.

 

[CrealCritter]

Bay you and your husband are such Rockstars

 

[baymule]

Bay you and your husband are such Rockstars ❤

Thank you.

 

[Mini Horses]

He snarled. I shushed him. He was on full alert, deeply growling. I kept talking to him, reassuring him, telling him, MY PIGS, NO. MINE.

So -- when he got his "puzzled thinking face" you thought he was trying to figure out those things in that pen.

Well, he was also thinking "WHY?? Why would she even WANT THOSE things???" Those things aren't cute & fuzzy like the lambs...not quiet either. Yep, Sentry is sure wondering if YOU are well, mentally aware.

 

[baymule]

I put Sentry back in his pasture next to the sheep barn and he continued to bark at the pigs. BJ finally went out, kicked the gate, yelled HUSH! NO! and Sentry decided it would be a good idea to go in his doghouse. This morning-non stop barking at the pigs. BJ stuck his head out the front door, SENTRY! HUSH! and he did. I don't expect him to ever like them, just accept them as part of the farm and stop barking at them every time they move or grunt. LOL LOL

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Here we go! Got two guilts today, Hampshire and Yorkshire cross. I’ve been looking, people sure are proud of their pigs this year. Finally found these an hour and half away and we went and got them.

Sentry is in a pasture, not against the new Pigs, but he knew he didn’t like them. He barked st them. I didn’t want a night of him hating and barking at the pigs all night, so I put him on a leash and we went to meet the pigs.

He snarled. I shushed him. He was on full alert, deeply growling. I kept talking to him, reassuring him, telling him, MY PIGS, NO. MINE. The pigs of course, were scared and slowly grunted their way toward us. Closer. Closer. Sentry boomed a BIG BARK and lunged st them. Pigs ran, I pulled Sentry back. Over and over, but at least he’s met the pigs and knows what they are. They will never be friends but maybe he won’t bark all night at the pig monsters.

@frustratedearthmother he reminded me so much of Cowboy and your AGH pigs. I was smiling, watching my defensive body guard protecting me from pig monsters and thinking about you.

The girls.

View attachment 13134

Sentry guarding me.

View attachment 13135

I'd love to have pigs some day. But, that'll not be happening in my life time. It would have been fun to be there to help you get them settled in.

 

[baymule]

I'd love to have pigs some day. But, that'll not be happening in my life time. It would have been fun to be there to help you get them settled in.

Pigs are a great way to stock the freezer. They grow fast and don't take a lot of room, time or trouble. Little meat machines! I was just outside trying to get them to eat from the bin. That flap lid throws 'em every time. I had one pig that took a week to teach her to flip the lid and eat. I was showing them the water nipple too, they weren't trying it, but they got pretty close, I know they smelled it. I saw poop, so something is going through!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

How old are they? How much room do they take up, and what is their housing/paddock space like? Electric fencing? How much time does it take to tend them? How soon to slaughter? What can you expect for dressed weight? Feed conversion rate? Do you have access to scrap feed from anywhere? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[baymule]

They are a few months old, their pen is made from a 200' roll of wire, plus a 12' gate and their Pig Palace, so they have plenty of room. I hate seeing pigs in tiny little pens. Most pigs will use a poop corner, given the choice. No electric fencing, the water barrel needs filling every few days in HOT weather when the pigs are bigger and drink more, the feed bin holds 100 pounds of feed. 50 pounds will last a week now, as they grow, they will go through 50 pounds in a few days. Slaughter at 6-8 months. I don't worry about feed conversion, last two hogs we raised, one was hanging weight at 188 pounds, the other hanging weight was 178 pounds. No access to scrap feed.

I give them unlimited free feed pellets. Then I start them on soured corn also. I add milk to the soured corn and give them boiled eggs for a treat and for the lysine in them. 6 weeks before slaughter date, I stop the pellets and they only get the soured corn. The meat is delicious.

time spent on the pigs, Probably more than I need to. I check them every morning and evening. If it is hot, I spray them 3 times a day with the water hose. Since we have sand, they don't have mud to wallow in, so I water them down to cool them off.

Corn out of the bag is hard for pigs to digest and most will go right through them. Soured corn is sorta pre-digested, breaking down from the beneficial bacteria and I never find corn kernels in their poop. I keep several buckets of corn going, pouring water/milk from the bucket I feed that day into the bucket I start to replace it. The pigs love the juice from the soured corn and will suck it up first. This year, I am going to add watered down keifer to their corn.

We load pigs in the trailer using boiled eggs. I don't feed them the day before, so they are hungry. I smash a boiled egg and drop a trail of boiled eggs to the front of the trailer, they hop in, follow the trail and we shut the gate.