We select 10 or 15 buckets of produce out of each load and feed it to the piglets. To make it easier for them to eat we slice the cantaloupe and pineapples open with a flat-bladed shovel. The other things are small enough that they can eat them without too much trouble.
There's a lot of concern about corn-fed animals; I'm not all that concerned about it. Fresh sweet corn is a treat for the piglets,and it's fun watching them eat it.
Here's what surprised me. In the picture above there's bananas and melons and mangos and romaine lettuce, and these piglets are fighting over the romaine. They'll eat the entire head of lettuce before they eat the rest. That's one of the nice things about feeding a varied diet -- the animals can pick and choose what they need out of the feed. I think that they crave a salad, just as we do.
Once the romaine is gone, the melons are next. The pineapple isn't as popular as the cantaloupes, but it'll go in good time.
Even with lots of room and lots of food, there's still some squealing and pushing. They are little pigs, after all.
about 20' away, here's the scene with the big pigs. Nom Nom Nom! the 40 pigs will eat 10 yards of produce in 2 hours.
This little pig has decided that cantaloupe is his favorite. And having found a portable piece, he's running very quickly away from the rest of the herd to enjoy it in private. Pigs are very concerned about having other pigs take their meals.
I am so glad to have found this blog! I love those that think the way I do. Although we have a very small place here and don't have nearly as many animals, we did just get our first pigs this year. I was amazed by what mine "won't" eat. My pigs have lived on pellets before I got them so now they mostly push my scraps away and eat the pellets but they are starting to now learn that those scraps are good. I have found out that they do love hard boiled eggs.
ReplyDeleteI love your feeders and wish I could get one.
I think this guy is adorable!!!
ReplyDelete