Fermenting pig feed?

[nvdirtfreak]

Has anyone fermented pig feed? Pros and cons? How did you give it and how much (for 2 pigs)? I've always allowed free choice pellets. TIA!

 

[cassie]

Years ago we used to feed what we called slop. Slop was pig mash mixed with water and/or milk. The mash went in a barrel and enough liquid was added to it to make a slop. After feeding each day, mash and water or milk was added to the barrel as needed. Needless to say, it fermented. It also smelled and attracted flies. Hog pellets were not available then. The pigs did well on it. They also do well on pellets. I would stick with the pellets if I were you.

 

[melbah]

I have raised three pigs on fermented feed. I mixed my own instead of fermenting pellets. I used soy meal and rolled barley and oats. I fed loose minerals to make sure they got everything. I also calculated the ratios to make sure they got enough protein.

You can just fermented the pellets. I used 50 gallon plastic garbage cans with lids. I fermented with homemade goat milk yogurt and apple cider vinegar. I would feed out of one garbage can while the next was sitting. I started over with each can instead of reusing the liquid. I stired with a long stick daily.

It makes the best pork we raise. The pigs loved it and it definitely made for less manure. They processed it more efficiently and made less waste. I feed morning and evening. I increased the amount when they seemed like they would eat more. I want them to have as much as they will eat.

It was a bit of work, but man those pork chops are good. It's nice to have less stink. Last year I decided to go back to pellets because I didn't have the time, but we can tell the difference in the meat.

 

[RiverOtter]

I've fermented feed. Whole grains were as cheap as hog pellets and easier for me to use, since I could use them for a bunch of things, so for the pigs, I fermented them. I was living where it was fairly warm, so I fed the pigs in the evening, came back, prepared the next day's food and by feeding time it was well soaked and starting to bubble.

The pigs loved it and fermented whole grains are far more digestible than plain whole grains, which means your feed bill goes down, and that's always nice (you won't notice for 2 pigs, but I've had up to 20)

Just a caution, if you let it get a bit too fermenty, most pigs get really mellow, but once in a while you'll meet a mean drunk. Try to keep it like kombucha (sp?)

 

[djk57]

Has anyone fermented pig feed? Pros and cons? How did you give it and how much (for 2 pigs)? I've always allowed free choice pellets. TIA!

Two stories:
1. I was a teenager, almost to leave home. My parents raised milking goats [it was physical therapy for my stepfather's hands to milk] and pigs. We lived just south of the Gila River and just east of the San Pedro River in central/southern Arizona; summers were seriously hot. A black open-topped 55 gallon drum filled 3/4 full with pig mix, 2 pounds of brewers yeast, and filled to the top with water started it all. Put the lid on the drum loosely [don't clamp it down] and wait a day or so. The ethanol smell is unmistakable. Dip out enough feed to feed every day. Every few days, add more pig mix and water; you probably won't have to add any more brewers yeast for awhile. The pigs did very well with this as their primary food, with food slops added when available.
2. My grandson had a 4H pig [his name was Sausage]. My son and daughter-in-law had a 55 gallon open-top drum with pig mix in it. I couldn't resist: I went to the pharmacy and got two pounds of brewers yeast. Yeast and water in the drum, but summers in northeastern Arizona aren't nearly as hot; with temperatures about 100 degrees at the worst, it took an extra day or so for the mash to ferment. Sausage stayed drunk and gained quality meat weight. My son and grandson noted that Sausage would lie next to the trough with his snout in the trough and feed periodically [probably when his buzz wore off]. My daughter-in-law complained about the mash smell. I told her that the smell is adding quality meat weight to Sausage, and to live with it.