Pigs are large.
Pigs are hungry.
We have experienced some feeding issues this year with the pigs. They have been wasting a large portion of their feed. Last year CJ built a barrel feeder and while it worked for the 6 pigs, we were not overly pleased with it. With the additional pigs this year, we knew it just wasn’t big enough.
So earlier this year CJ built a larger feeder using a food grade IBC tote. It was definitely big enough to accommodate all 14 pigs and he thought he had built it in such a way that they couldn’t waste feed. He built it with two PVC pipes at the bottom that the pigs could nudge, and feed would fall down from the container. He also built the base small enough to where they could get their heads in, but they could not lay in it and push feed out onto the ground. We expected this feeding system to work well for us. We were incorrect. It did work as it should, however, the pigs were still able to knock a good portion of the feed out onto the ground. Once this happened, the feed was lost as the pigs might eat some of it, but most of it would be left to rot. We were spending much more than we anticipated on feed costs and gas to pick up the feed from the mill. This just couldn’t continue.
CJ decided that he would feed the pigs in two troughs, twice a day. More work for him but this would help us cut down on our losses and motivate the pigs to eat all the feed knowing that they no longer had the choice to free feed. This works well since we can monitor exactly how much they are eating. They also seem to eat all the feed with little wasted. However, this has produced yet another problem for us.
The pigs now know when feeding time is and they are very excited for it. They have been waiting to eat and they are hungry, hungry, piggies. They are also about 300lbs each. Imagine fourteen 300lb animals all rushing at you at once and you can imagine how this presents a problem for the person with the feed buckets. With the previous feeding system, the pigs knew they could get feed anytime they wanted and didn’t really worry about us coming into their paddock. Now every time CJ goes in, they think it is feed time and get excited rushing at him. They also fight each other to get to the trough. I used to have no issues going into the paddock as the pigs never presented any problems for me. However, I no longer feel safe going in with them. I am a tiny individual and while I would like to think I am small but mighty, each pig has me by about 200lbs and all 14 of them together have me by about 4,100lbs. I am no match for 4,100lbs of excited and ready to fight for feed, beasts. No thank you. CJ agrees with me on this as he has had his own issues.
Once at feeding time CJ was walking back and forth, stepping over the fence, trying to be quick grabbing his feeding buckets when he fell. He fell right on the fence, continually getting zapped, trying to get up while piggies were climbing on his legs. If this wasn’t enough, once he did get up and back to feeding the pigs, they all surrounded him at the trough. One went through his legs and the others beside his legs, packing in tight and pinning him there, jostling him around as he tried to get his legs free so that he could get out of the pig’s way. While he did manage, he almost fell again in a pile of pigs. This is not a position that I want to put my tiny self into.
They pigs are never aggressive, but they are hungry, and they will fight each other to get to the feed. CJ told me again today that he will be the only person going into the pig paddock due to safety concerns. As if I needed telling twice. I choose life every time!
Farming is a continuous learning process. Change any part of the equation – the number of animals, feeding system, new areas, different breeds of animals, anything – and you will find yourself back at the beginning, trying to figure out new ways to handle things. What worked before no longer works for you. We are still small scale and still trying to find our groove. Each year we grow our business and each year things change again. We learn a little bit more than we did the year before. That is part of the process and the beauty of it. We will continue to learn and keep at it!