Free's piggie thread...new pics p 19

[Farmfresh]

Remember this children's chant, sung when someone said, "Hey!" to you? Hay is for horses, sometimes for cows, pigs would eat it but they don't know how. Wrong. Pigs will eat it! They DO know how!

We always said it like this:

"Hay is for horses, straw is cheaper, grass is free - buy a farm and you can grow all three!"

 

[freemotion]

More free pig food! Dandelions while walking the dogs, of course. The farmer next door dropped a bucket (as in bucket loader!) of pumpkins over the fence, just as the last of the previous pumpkins were eaten up. And he told me that they are done for the year with selling pumpkins and such and that he would wait for word from me before discing the leftovers under. We will be hauling pumpkins for a while.

Dad and I got 9 more sacks of corn. I have to get as much as I can before he plows that under, too. This time we picked it right off the stalks and took the stems off as we went. We fit more corn this way, so 9 sacks today was probably more like 12 previous sacks. They were HEAVY! And the corn was in great condition.

We dumped most into the pasture and I reserved three sacks on the porch. With the wood stove going full time now, I will begin to cook for the pigs. I have a three gallon pot right now, filled with scraps and ears of corn and chunked pumpkin. Tomorrow morning I will cool it with some sour milk or whey from the fridge. There are going to be some happy pigs tomorrow. Well, there had better be. They need to appreciate the good service they are getting by gobbling up more food and putting on more bacon....er....weight.

 

[big brown horse]

Yea! How big are your piggers now?

Big Ben is on "Farmer George's" chopping block schedule...maybe this week. Feeling bittersweet about it...mostly sweet though. He has been eating like a king this past month, so we can eat like kings too later.

 

[freemotion]

(Sept 19) Talked to the farmer again....he told me his knee was really hurting this week, and it was interfering with his sleep it was getting so bad. He'd had xrays, etc, but nothing was revealed. I asked a few questions, got permission to palpate it, and I think he simply has a whopping case of tendinitis. Well, he definitely does have tendinitis, I'm hoping that is the entire source of his pain and not just part of it. I gave him some self-treatment protocols, and will follow up in a few days. I SOOOO hope I am right and he feels better. That will lead to....more corn and pumpkins!

Plus I really like helping people to feel better...

I finally remembered to ask him about his knee this afternoon....it is ALL better! He did just as I told him, icing it and massaging it the way I showed him 3-4 times a day and for the first time in years he has no pain!

And most people think massage is just for relaxation....

 

[freemotion]

Yea! How big are your piggers now?

Big Ben is on "Farmer George's" chopping block schedule...maybe this week. Feeling bittersweet about it...mostly sweet though. He has been eating like a king this past month, so we can eat like kings too later.

Mine are still pretty small, surprisingly. My dad says that they will gain a lot of weight now that the weather is cooler. We were watching them tonight while dumping the corn into their pasture. The girl pig grabbed an ear of corn, shook it, then bounced and whirled with it in her mouth until she fell down, dizzy! The boy got caught up in the joy and they both ran circles and bounced around together in pure pig happiness. I don't care if they aren't huge like they would be if confined. This is so important to me. I will wait a couple more months if that is what it takes. At least so much food is free right now, even if I go to purchased food towards the end, it is still going to be a bargain and just what I hoped for....happy pigs.

It always is bittersweet....your piggie has had such a wonderful life...a banana a day! Plus so much freedom and being waited on hand and foot....er...hoof. It is a good thing he fell off that truck, or where-ever he came from, and landed in your yard. I know you will enjoy many meals guilt-free, also knowing that you are providing your family with the best of the best in healthy food.

 

[freemotion]

I still have not fed any purchased food since Sept 22!!! They are no longer on the corn kick...although they could be and I wouldn't know it, as there is a pile of sweet corn in the middle of their pasture that they have free access to. I offered them some fermented corn yesterday, and the two ears are still sitting there on the ground, untouched. Harrumph. I have a five gallon pail of the stuff in my warm kitchen, fermenting with some whey.

Right now they are really plowing up the areas where the acorns were dumped, so those must be reaching a peak of fermented deliciousness. They are not touching the fresh pumpkin other than to gut a few for the seeds. In the cooler weather, stuff isn't spoiling....er....fermenting as quickly and they prefer a lot of stuff almost liquified and certainly stinky.

I have been cooking pumpkins every day for them. I brought them some twice once, but they didn't eat the second batch, so it is once a day now. They don't finish as much as I'd expected, but they do enjoy smaller amounts of warm pumpkin. I've started throwing some to the chickens, and the meat birds really plow into it. I put extra on the stove for overnight for them for tomorrow...it is supposed to snow and rain. Ugh.

A friend cleaned out her cupboards and fridge and I got tons of great stuff for the pigs....all kinds of stuff that went into the pot, mostly in the morning to cool it down and soak up all the liquid. She also gave me a big bag of dog food that is mostly corn....guess what brand...Hill's. I can't stand Hill's. You know they know how bad corn is for dogs, yet it leads the ingredient list on most (if not all) of their foods, including their prescription diets. Sold by vets. I resent the vets for not doing their own thinking and allowing themselves to be fooled when a representative from the pet food industry comes in to teach them a one hour class on cat and dog nutrition....basically, let the giant corporations do the "research" and design the foods and you don't worry your pretty little head about it, dear. Yikes. Well, it gave my friend's dogs diarrhea (no, really, Hill's? Really? I feel like smacking someone right now, someone who works for Hill's!) but the ingredient list is just fine for pigs. A big scoop goes into the pumpkin pot each morning and makes it smell NASTY and the pigs LOVE it and flip each other in WWF moves to get to it. There is enough for one more day, then they will be disappointed little pigs.

They also get very excited when they see me coming with their daily dandelion greens. Silly pigs.

They do seem to be gaining weight now that the weather is cooler.

 

[FarmerDenise]

You are going to make me want pigs

Actually it is too late. I want pigs. Fortunately I feel I already pushed the envelope enough with getting the goats, especially Flower, she is LOUD! We are not getting pigs, we are NOT getting pigs, but I love pork....SO needs to go pig hunting.... that's my solution

wild pork, mmmmm yummy

 

[freemotion]

I got pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins! I stacked them in the yard for now, any that survive the next week or so will be moved into the cellar for longer storage. I am feeding 3-5 a day now, which seems to be capacity for what they can take in right now....meaning every critter, not just the pigs. The goats get most of that chopped and added to their feed pans along with sprouted oats (no more barley, but it looks like my folks will be taking a trip to ME soon so hopefully I'll get some more) and I've been filling a four gallon stock pot once a day with 2 good-sized pumpkins and cooking them. The pigs will eat one, maybe 1.5, and the young chicks have developed a taste for the cooked ones, so they get about half a pumpkin thrown into their pen every day now.

I brought a hatchet with me and got three big wheelbarrows full of pumpkins that I whacked and tossed right into the pig pasture. I can only chop, cook, and store so many, and I want the pumpkins to bring us to slaughter if possible. If I get too many, they will compost and improve the soil. I'd rather have too many than run out.

I gave up (for now) on the fermented corn. They just aren't eating it, for some reason. It smells just the way they really liked it earlier, but they have not touched the ears I gave them and I'm tired of that bucket in my kitchen. I think they are really getting a lot out of the acorns. I expect that to change once the acorns are gone.

So I gave the last dozen or so ears of fermented corn to the chicks. They ate a few already, tossed whole and huskless into their pen.

One of the meaties flew at me when I brought food today. He hit the poultry netting above the four-foot fence post, close to the top...it is five feet high. I thought they weren't supposed to fly? These guys are eight weeks old today!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

obviously that meat was trying to kill you! run for your life!

ha!

8 weeks?? dont worry they will be heavy enough not to get any lift soon
;-)

our are just about done




great work on the pumpkins!

 

[freemotion]

Yup, vicious meaties! I think he was trying to get into the food bucket I was carrying. Those birds are getting plenty of the pig's food as I carry it by their pen...cooked pumpkin, corn ears, and sometimes some warm milk mixed in with the pumpkin cooking water. I didn't have to feed the chicks tonight since they were full, with big crops and not much interest in me. I also bring them some dandelions when I get them for the pigs.

I got five more wheelbarrows of pumpkins this afternoon. Four went right into the pig pasture, axed first, and the pigs now just look at me like, "What, MORE food? Groan....we're so full! Not another bite!" One came into the yard. I really have to stop. I'm out of control.

I counted today and depending on the size of the pumpkins, a wheelbarrow holds about 18-24 of 'em. Yup. Life is good. And free!

Looks like we just might make it to the two month mark of free bacon! Twelve days to go!