These pigs are approximately 7 months old, and will be slaughtered in 3-4 weeks. It’s VERY important not to overfeed pigs at this stage. They should be pretty hungry and creating a racket at feeding time…just like these fellas. It is very easy to overfeed pigs -lets face it, the phrase “greedy as a pig” has some basis in truth!
We find that when raising pigs beyond the 6 month stage, it’s easy to end up with an over-fatty final product, so we are extremely careful with their rations and check their covering of fat constantly. A good rule of thumb is that when pressing on their spine you should be able to feel the bones.
As well as a basic ration of rolled barley, rolled oats and soaked peas, we provide them with plenty of vegetables & fruit – e.g. carrots, apples, bananas, turnips etc. The more vegetation they eat, the healthier the fat in the final product…you end up with pork that has a higher level of softer unsaturated fats.
In a couple of weeks I’ll create a blog post on the slaughter of these guys!
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