Free's piggie thread...new pics p 19
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- #242
freemotion
Food Guru
Ha-ha-ha!!! If I leave them whole, the pigs roll them around the pasture and sometimes into the goat's pasture....Mya had one today, and a couple of ears of corn. I am putting the bulk of the loose food on the other side of their pasture now so this will happen less often, silly pigs. Happy Mya!
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- #243
freemotion
Food Guru
Woohoo! Another haul of free pig food today was just dumped into my pig pasture....a carload of acorns. A friend came back from vacation last week and had to use a snow shovel on the acorns in her driveway, shovelling them into a wheelbarrow. Then the two days of hard rain came, filling the wheelbarrow with water. She didn't have time to dump the wheelbarrow, so those acorns fermented into a stinky black mess....otherwise known as hog heaven!
My dad and I went over there this afternoon, armed with a muck bucket, a five gallon pail, and a trunkful of the feed sacks that now live in my car. I also threw a rake and a big scoop-type shovel into the car.
The wheelbarrow filled the muck bucket and the pail after draining off most of the black water. From the smell, I knew those pigs would be happy! They still had a very yummy, almost cheesy fermented smell.
Then we raked up acorns from under the white oak that was dropping them. We filled 3.5 grain sacks full of acorns and associated debris.
DH and I wheelbarrowed them right into the middle of the pig pasture, far from the reach of the goats. We dumped (again, notice the incorrect use of the term "we," as I just opened the gate and supervised from outside the pig pasture!) them all in a big pile for the pigs to sort through. And they had their faces buried in the fermented ones the entire time we were out there, happily snarfing fragrant acorns. While they were busy, I had dh put three big flakes of straw in their house to prepare for the colder weather.
Ahhh, it feels SO GOOD not to have to feed those pigs...er, hogs....for a while and to watch them grow bigger day by day on a widely varied diet. The pasture is even more plowed up today, with another day of rain bringing good grubs and worms to the surface.
Isn't it funny how one can scramble to save money on a homestead and end up eating gourmet food as a result? What did that article I read say about acorn-finished pork....the farmers paid $50-60 per bushel for the acorns to finish the gourmet hogs! We are doing it for free....woohoo!!! We probably got 6-7 bushels in an hour, including driving time. So I just saved $300-420 towards gourmet pork.
I might just advertise for more acorns....
My dad and I went over there this afternoon, armed with a muck bucket, a five gallon pail, and a trunkful of the feed sacks that now live in my car. I also threw a rake and a big scoop-type shovel into the car.
The wheelbarrow filled the muck bucket and the pail after draining off most of the black water. From the smell, I knew those pigs would be happy! They still had a very yummy, almost cheesy fermented smell.
Then we raked up acorns from under the white oak that was dropping them. We filled 3.5 grain sacks full of acorns and associated debris.
DH and I wheelbarrowed them right into the middle of the pig pasture, far from the reach of the goats. We dumped (again, notice the incorrect use of the term "we," as I just opened the gate and supervised from outside the pig pasture!) them all in a big pile for the pigs to sort through. And they had their faces buried in the fermented ones the entire time we were out there, happily snarfing fragrant acorns. While they were busy, I had dh put three big flakes of straw in their house to prepare for the colder weather.
Ahhh, it feels SO GOOD not to have to feed those pigs...er, hogs....for a while and to watch them grow bigger day by day on a widely varied diet. The pasture is even more plowed up today, with another day of rain bringing good grubs and worms to the surface.
Isn't it funny how one can scramble to save money on a homestead and end up eating gourmet food as a result? What did that article I read say about acorn-finished pork....the farmers paid $50-60 per bushel for the acorns to finish the gourmet hogs! We are doing it for free....woohoo!!! We probably got 6-7 bushels in an hour, including driving time. So I just saved $300-420 towards gourmet pork.
I might just advertise for more acorns....
- Thread starter
- #244
freemotion
Food Guru
I advertised on craigslist, and the emails keep coming! Most are from too far away, some are just curious and want to know if I'm for real. 
I will word my ad a bit differently next time...I will say "in these towns only" so I don't get replies from over an hour's drive away.
Some people already have the acorns raked into piles. We went to the first place today and filled the car with sacks of acorns, and the guy helped us pick them up, then showed us two parks where we might find more....we didn't, but I think I'll keep a log for next year. The parks had large oaks over parking lots that looked mostly unused, and were not too far from my office, so I could reasonably check on them next year. From the litter of empty shells under the trees, it was obvious the we missed the big drops there this year.
But there are still plenty to be had. We came home with a bit more than we did two days ago. We filled the wheelbarrow twice (had them in feed sacks in the car, but dumped them into the large wheelbarrow to get them into the middle of the pig pasture) and both times balanced two full sacks on top of the load so as not to have to take a third trip. There is a lot of debris (twigs and leaves and pine needles) along with them, but the pigs can sort it out and plow the plant materials into the ground to add more compost to that end of the field.
I have to work all day tomorrow and half of Saturday, but I hope to get another load on Saturday afternoon and maybe another on Tuesday.
I had my reserved dad singing BACON-BACON-BACON-BACON!!! in the car on the way home!
I will word my ad a bit differently next time...I will say "in these towns only" so I don't get replies from over an hour's drive away. Some people already have the acorns raked into piles. We went to the first place today and filled the car with sacks of acorns, and the guy helped us pick them up, then showed us two parks where we might find more....we didn't, but I think I'll keep a log for next year. The parks had large oaks over parking lots that looked mostly unused, and were not too far from my office, so I could reasonably check on them next year. From the litter of empty shells under the trees, it was obvious the we missed the big drops there this year.
But there are still plenty to be had. We came home with a bit more than we did two days ago. We filled the wheelbarrow twice (had them in feed sacks in the car, but dumped them into the large wheelbarrow to get them into the middle of the pig pasture) and both times balanced two full sacks on top of the load so as not to have to take a third trip. There is a lot of debris (twigs and leaves and pine needles) along with them, but the pigs can sort it out and plow the plant materials into the ground to add more compost to that end of the field.
I have to work all day tomorrow and half of Saturday, but I hope to get another load on Saturday afternoon and maybe another on Tuesday.
I had my reserved dad singing BACON-BACON-BACON-BACON!!! in the car on the way home!
Farmfresh
City Biddy
What a SCORE!! Not only free food, but the best pig food ever! 
Boogity
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OMG Free - the acorn thing is one of my most dreaded chores here on our mini-farm. We live under 13 very old, very large oak trees and our yard is covered with acorns every fall. Sometimes we don't pick any up and sometimes we rake and shovel until our backs are broken. I hate it.
Last year I completely filled two pickup truck loads piled high with acorns and hauled them to the edge of the woods into our compost piles. We have so many acorns on the ground that even the deer are tired of eating them and the squirrels are obese.
Last year I completely filled two pickup truck loads piled high with acorns and hauled them to the edge of the woods into our compost piles. We have so many acorns on the ground that even the deer are tired of eating them and the squirrels are obese.
- Thread starter
- #248
freemotion
Food Guru
You need pigs!!!! Then you will be sadly gazing at your trees hoping they'll drop just one more barrel of bacon....er....acorns!
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- #249
freemotion
Food Guru
I found that one of my own oak trees dropped a load of acorns onto the road belonging to the farm next door. I raked 'em up and shovelled 'em into the pig pasture. Got an over-flowing wheelbarrowful! There were no acorns on my side of the fence, in the pasture....greedy goats! At least now that I have six goats in that pasture instead of just the two pygmies, Te'a hasn't gotten sick on them this year. They race each other for the acorns.
Henrietta23
Yard Farmer
I have yet to catch mine eating any but we've got them. And they fall in the pen. I was running out and picking up oak leaves when they'd fall in, but the goats are ignoring those. I doubt we have enough to rake up. If we did I'd be offering to meet you in W Hartford again!freemotion said:
