I've gone and done it. now that I've go 'em what do I feed 'em??

[goatgurl]

day before yesterday I lost my mind and bought 2 agh/kunekune cross barrows and brought the little darlings home to plow my garden spot for me before they make pork chops and lard. the folks I got them from said they were feeding them sweet feed which doesn't sound like a great idea to me. I can see that making them fat but not having enough protein for proper nutrition and growth. @frustratedearthmother and any one else with experience with this kind of piggy what to you recommend they be fed? I've raised a lot of hogs over the years but nothing like this combination of breeds. I want them to grow but not become grossly obese. I kinda think I may have made a tactical error with these guys in that I love how cute and friendly they are. they might be hard to chew later, lol. thanks youall.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhhhhh - you crossed over, lol! I feed mine a mix of corn and a basic hog pellet...usually a finisher because they don't really need a really powerful feed. I like to let mine grow slowly. Most of the year they just don't need much being grazers. I get donations of leftover stuff from a food bank and they really love all the fresh (or not quite so fresh) produce. Apples, potatoes, carrots, cabbages... And of course they will scarf up all the extra eggs you can give 'em...preferably hardboiled - but mine tend to find any eggs that the hens don't put in the nest too. Hope you enjoy your piggies as much as I do mine!

 

[Baymule]

I like the looks of the kune kune, but I only want feeder pigs, not breeder pigs. They ARE cute, what? You couldn't find UGLY pigs?

 

[goatgurl]

@Baymule these guys are so ugly that they are cute. and if you read carefully you will see that they are castrated males so no surprise babies unlike that last large black glit that I got who presented me with a bunch of unwanted piglets. this is all @frustratedearthmother fault. she is the reason I wanted to try the agh, well that and the fact that I couldn't find any heritage hogs for sale at the moment. I literally know nothing about how fast they grow, how big they get or anything else. help me out here FEM. what can I expect? how long does it take them to get to butchering size? how much meat will they have? and i'm sort of looking forward to rendering some lard.

 

[Baymule]

I would love to see pictures!

 

[goatgurl]

i'll take pictures in the morning, hard to take a black pigs picture in the dark

 

[frustratedearthmother]

this is all @frustratedearthmother fault. she is the reason I wanted to try the agh,

Guilty as charged!

All I can speak to is the AGH - I know nothing about the Kune Kune (except they're uber cute!)… I generally just turn mine out to pasture and let 'em grow at their own rate. I do throw out feed once a day for the pasture pigs - but they will definitely grow faster if they're fed well. We recently butchered a smaller pig that was maybe 80 lbs. Had a good layer of fat - not excessive - and really good meat too. This 80 lb pig had been put up and fed - while his sisters have just been running the pasture. He was considerably larger due to the feed.

The meat is definitely not the other white meat and will marble well in a mature animal. The lard is awesome! There is nothing better than an egg fried in pure lard...mmmmm.

As for full size - I have a boar that's probably pushing 300 lbs...and a couple of sows that are definitely at least 220 and a maybe a bit more. (These are estimates - no scale.) But these guys are 4 and 5 years old.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

My Kunekunes get a “sow and pig” feed twoce daily, plus scrambled yolks every couple days (I only eat egg whites - but a lot of ‘em!-, so I save all the yolks and scramble them up, then divvy between the dogs, pigs, and chickens!). They love “pig newtons” (aka fig newtons) for a treat. My girls also love the alfalfa hay that has fallen and the goats have deemed inedible. During growing season, they tear into the clover and grass, though not big rooters. Oh, and once they figure out where your bird feeders are, they’ll gladly clean up the spilled seed!

I have zero insight into your butchering questions, however, as my girls are just ridiculously spoiled pets. They’re 18 months old and solid as rocks (haven’t managed to entice them onto my goat/dog scale - they’re too smart). They have the run of about 4 acres, going in their pen only at night. I think this activity keeps them relatively trim!

 

[goatgurl]

ok, so I was wrong about getting pictures of the new boys. sorry @Baymule its been a crazy weekend and I haven't been able to feed until dark:30 for the past 2 days. pete and repeat are both doing really well. its just hard to take pictures of black pigs in the dark, especially since they never stay still. they crack me up. I think youall remember how reluctant I am to go in the pen with my feeder pigs, well these guys don't feel like any kind of threat. thanks for the info @Coolbreeze89. I don't know what kind of protein or how high a protein level they need to be fed and knew I could count on you guys for help. the folks I got them from raise this cross and just sell them as pets. they are raising a landrace for themselves to butcher but never have eaten any of the pet pigs themselves. now coolbreeze, close your eyes and don't read the next question... @frustratedearthmother about how much meat do you get from an adult agh and how long does it take for them to get to size? i'm told the meat is really good and have wanted to try it for a long time. i'm scared to put them out in the pasture because I know the wild hogs would try to talk them into running away to play in the woods. or a coyote would take off with one. they are going to till up an approximately 25x32 foot area before I start looking at a bigger pen to put them in.
I am so proud of my big boys. they spend a good part of their time guarding and keeping the wild hogs away from the house and goat pen so I was really concerned they would not be amused when I brought home their very own pigs to protect. they were quiet and curious until one of the pigs squealed and then all he// broke loose. what a roar they set up. I just kept telling them that it was all ok, those are moms piggies and they have to leave them alone. I wasn't really sure how well they would listen but the next morning before work when I came out to feed the little guys pete was out and running around the yard while repete watched from the pen. the dogs were all 3 watching pete romp and play and not a hair on his little fat back was harmed. jake and junior were in the yard and marco was in the goat yard making sure the thing didn't get in with his goats. such good boys. JJ on the other hand just wants to work hard at keeping that creature away from her mom. and if that means she has to eat a little pork to keep me safe she's willing to do so.

 

[Baymule]

A neighbor around the corner has Kune Kune, but I have not been tempted. I'm afraid that I would fall in love and then want to raise them. I really don't need another species.……. if I were to add anything, it would be registered mini weiner dogs, the puppies sell for stupid high prices! Our DD lost hers a couple of years ago and has not been able to afford a replacement. Nothing around here makes much money, if anything...… maybe I should suck it up and pay the big price for some colored up mini weiner puppies. Anybody got any?

Back to pigs......been looking for a couple of feeder pigs, hopefully I have located some an hour or so away at a reasonable price. Waiting to hear back.