Would like suggestions on ways to lower my feed cost

[damonsulli]

I have 4 Duroc/cross weiners that are around 10 weeks old. They are growing quickly, but they are easily plowing through a 50lb bag twice a week. Apparently feed prices are linked to gold prices around my area. I priced bulk feed this morning, 16% grower is $14.50/50lb. At the local feed stores it goes for around $16.00 a bag, plus tax.

 

[woodsie]

So smart of you to ask for advice...I didn't and had a ton of hog grower delivered to my house....now I have WAY too much feed and am forced to buying more piglets to use up the feed. (I had 3 duroc cross piglets and one just died in a recent heat wave).

In speaking to more pig raisers, I probably next time will get barley and which you soak (water, milk, whey or any combo) and feed to them...they won't grow as fast, but they are more likely to eat other things (veg waste, weeds, etc) and will put weight on a more natural rate. I think part of what killed my pig was the heat in combination with the fact that he grew SO BIG SO FAST...I figure he probably had a heartattack or stroke.

Plus with barley (or barley oat corn mixture) you can feed it to other animals and it is WAY cheaper than commerical hog grower pellets.

 

[AshleyFishy]

Plus with barley (or barley oat corn mixture) you can feed it to other animals and it is WAY cheaper than commerical hog grower pellets.

Depending on your area...Barley here in the south US is ungodly expensive. What area are you in Damonsulli?

 

[damonsulli]

Nice to see some responses . I'm near Olympia, WA

 

[AshleyFishy]

Ok looking at your area you might check into distillers grains. In my area it runs about $10-11 per 50#. What I've used in the past was about 24% protein. Which is high for pigs, so I would cut it with something cheaper and lower protein. Which it looks like wheat is pretty affordable in your area.

If you can get barley in your area barley is great to use. Also check around with your local grocery stores, mom and pop type places, see if they have any unsellable fruits or veg that you can buy on the cheap.

Soaking grains is a fantastic idea, it makes it more digestible. Therefore they get more out of a smaller amount. Hay has also been great for me to use, it is cheap and filling, when used along with a good protein and fat diet. Kind of like salad

 

[damonsulli]

Nice suggestions, I'll see if I can figure out a way to make that work for me. Thank you, Damon

 

[hermityfarmerwomen]

If we buy a pallet we can get the pellets for 15.39/bag....we have nobody here with a cheap bulk feed that is any good. The one place that offers it just recently had corn that was sprayed with a chemical to keep it fresh that killed some very expensive cows so we don't want to use them. Our other option would be to buy all the grains separate and find somebody with a grinder.....which really wouldn't save us either. We have lots of zucchini and other squash from the garden we are supplementing with and are hoping that will help lower costs a bit. Considering what pork costs in the grocery store these days we are still saving money though.