poybelly pig feed help please

[ohiogoatgirl]

i'm thinking of getting two potbelly piglets. i've raised pigs for meat before but never pb's. i've read that they should have a special mini pig feed but at tractor supply here the feed was almost $16 for a 25 pound bag. they had "sow and pig" feed that was $13 and "hog feed" that was $12 and each of these were 50 pound bags. was thinking the sow and pig one would be fine for them. just read that when using regular hog feed to feed pb's to use about 1/4 of the recommended ration b/c regular feed is made for fast weight gain. what would you recommend and how much would you recommend if the bag didnt give a recommended ration?
i would also appreciate any advise on hay you might have. types and how much, etc.


PS i live in maryland now, in case that might change any tips
thanks so much!

 

[elevan]

Are you raising the pot for meat or for pet?

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i'm gonna get 2 female pb piglets and have em as pets. i'd like to train em to be very friendly and be able to take em on walks etc. if i can fing em a boyfriend when they are old enough maybe i'll have a go at breeding em. but right now only as pets, though i might raise one later on for meat if i end up breeding and cant sell one of the piglets er somethin.

 

[elevan]

If you're getting piglets and they're pets, spend the extra money for the mini pig feed. You won't use a lot of it to begin with and it'll help them maintain their health for the plans that you have for them. And it takes about 3-4 years for a PBP to reach their adult weight...I think in this case it's money well spent to buy the feed appropriate to them.

As to training...it's very similar to training a dog. Lots of human interaction to keep them human friendly too.

Consider your market for PBP if you want to raise them...a lot of areas are saturated and you won't be able to give them away. Also PBP boars bring the same difficulties as large breed boars and can be just as dangerous.

 

[FrenchToast]

I also found the mini pig food to be quite expensive and paid $15 for 25 lbs of purina brand. My local feed mill has some on order and is only $10