Free's piggie thread...new pics p 19

[freemotion]

Well, we made the two month mark and a bit beyond with absolutely no purchased food. I offered them a little fermented corn now and then just to be sure that they were indeed getting enough to eat, but they always checked it out, ate a bite, then went back to their piles of free food.

That has changed in the past week, so I am fermenting corn for them and adding it to their meals of cooked pumpkin. Their appetites are suddenly increasing, so I have been increasing the feedings and the amount of corn and adding some dairy (milk, kefir, yogurt, whey, moldy cheese) to the pot each time to get them to eat even more.

Today I added a third feeding, and I finally found their limit. I think two will be enough for now, with a third meal on any especially miserable day if I am home to prepare and deliver it. At this point, a meal consists of 2-3 field pumpkins, cut up and cooked until soft, a pint to a quart of leftovers/fridge cleanouts, and 6 scoops of fermented corn. My scoop is about three cups. I'll increase the corn in the two meals until they don't clean it up....tomorrow, 8 scoops in two meals.

We are in the countdown stage....I want another 100 lbs on them, but want them in my freezer in 2010. We will see if I get to have my bacon and eat it, too.

 

[Up-the-Creek]

Hi Free!
Just wondering,...you have had the pigs two months and feeding them on this diet of free food? How much do they weigh or how much do you think they have gained weight wise? We have two pigs reserved from a neighbor for this spring,..we have raised pigs for butcher using hog meal and scraps from neighbors before, but I am real curious to your results. I would like to do things differently to save on the feed bill.

 

[freemotion]

Well, it is certainly not the fast way to grow hogs, but you can't beat the price. Or the quality. Or the satisfaction.

I got them on May 31 so they are about 8 months old and need another month. How much to they weigh? I'm clueless. There is no way I'm putting a tape around either one of them, either! I'll see if dh will take a picture of me next to them tomorrow.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

'morning baby!

great work on them pigs - for sure. and you are just right - no need to hurry at all and might as well be my favorite price.. free! whoooot!

great work on getting the corn in them. ours went thru phases also but are now corn happy. and they are snarfin down the pumpkins, baby gourds, and anything else we can throw over to them.

our pigs will be in the freezer by weeks end.. i am soooooo happy!!!

great job!

 

[Up-the-Creek]

Well, it is certainly not the fast way to grow hogs, but you can't beat the price. Or the quality. Or the satisfaction.

I got them on May 31 so they are about 8 months old and need another month. How much to they weigh? I'm clueless. There is no way I'm putting a tape around either one of them, either! I'll see if dh will take a picture of me next to them tomorrow.

I am just curious. Our last hogs finished out real well in 6 months, but we had a good deal of a feed bill. I would love to see the pictures of them right now. We never learn nothing not unless we ask questions,..right?

 

[freemotion]

I'll try to get one tomorrow!

 

[freemotion]

We had some rain and then it was a few busy work days, so no pics yet. Maybe this week. Too much to do right now, but I had to come in and warm up with some tea and I wanted to type this in...

The pigs are really growing and it is almost noticeable daily....certainly weekly. I continue to increase what I give them and suddenly it isn't fast enough again. I noticed that they ate almost all of the pumpkins that have been sitting in their field for weeks, snarfing them down seemingly overnight. There are a few more rotting ones sitting on the field, not tilled in yet, so I got two full wheelbarrows of them just now and threw them in. They were so soft and rotten that I had to use a shovel.

The pigs were ecstatic and probably ate about a half a wheelbarrow's worth while I was standing there. They went for the most liquified ones first, and ate the seeds first. They both had orange pumpkin slime up to their ears!

I was standing on the xmas tree farm side of the fence with my wheelbarrow and shovel. The place is hopping with customers today, and of course, many came over to the fence to see the pigs and have some small talk. I joked with the children, offering them a taste of mushy pumpkin.

One family came over, looking like they came from the pricier part of CT. As we were chit-chatting, I mentioned that the pigs names were Bacon and Porkchop. The mom said, "Doesn't that scare them?" I looked up, saw that she was dead serious, and said, "Huh?" (Typical man-style stalling tactic until I thought of a response!) She repeated herself, now a little angry. "Doesn't that scare them?"

All I could do was to raise my eyebrows, smile sweetly, and say, firmly, "No, they are just fine." I was tempted to say that they would be even more fine once they were in the freezer, but I thought she might hit me!

 

[Blackbird]

*whispers* Shhh!!!! Watch what you say!!! You might scare the pigs!!

 

[freemotion]

I have 4 small pumpkins left....Sunday breakfast, Sunday dinner, Monday breakfast, Monday dinner.....Tuesday....into the freezer! BACON!!! Pork chops, roasts, ribs, pulled pork, cretons, barbecue pork, sausage!!!! Woohoo!

Gourmet acorn-finished grass-fed pastured free-range cruelty-free better-than-organic PORK!!!

LARD!!!!!!

I have been pouring on the corn...corn, corn, and more corn...this last month. I cleaned out my folk's freezer that has been in my cellar for the past year, and fed them stuff from as far back as 1996. I cleaned out my shelves and boiled up any grains, pasta, etc that were not perfectly fresh. I cleaned out my downstairs fridge and the last of some old ferments (they LOVED that! Salsa, brushetta, cuke salsa, etc.) and some cheese that went moldy.

Tomorrow I go through our freezer (don't think there is much if anything in there) and the upstairs freezer (again, pretty much under control, so no high hopes for finding pig food there) and one more cupboard that may have some old stuff lurking in the back.

I went through the garden a couple of weeks ago and cleaned out any remaining greens and divided it among the goats, meat chicks (now in the freezer) and the pigs. I cleaned all milk products that aren't perfectly fresh out of the upstairs fridge. I am reserving a little for the next two days so they can have treats.

I have just a few acorns fermenting in a bucket. I saved two big pails, hung in a corn bag in the garage, for finishing, and I'm glad I did. What is left of the acorns on the field, if there are any left, have been frozen solid for the past couple of weeks, only recently a bit thawed...but I don't think there are many left, if any. So I've been fermenting and feeding those reserved acorns so I can actually finish them on some acorns.

We hired a couple of young guys who advertised on craigslist that they would do a variety of jobs for people...do the jobs, or assist the person with the jobs, or teach the person how to do the jobs. Things like processing, gardening, wildcrafting herbs, other cool things. I wanted to support that business a bit, I thought it was so cool! And I came into a little unexpected cash and decided that most would pay bills, but a bit would be to ease my anxiety over this important task. And get me out of the splash zone.

My dad will be doing the actual shooting, and will supervise/assist in all aspects of the job. I bought him a beer making kit and the supplies needed to bottle about 60 bottles of beer. That also keeps me out of the splash zone!

More updates coming soon! This chapter is coming to a close.....

 

[flossy]

Just wanted to let you know that I have been really inspired reading this. One my walks with my kids I have been taking note of the oaks for future acorn raids!!!! I even found a beech nut. I hope them pigs taste great!