Is This True?

[deb1]

Silkie's Grandma :

thats what I was saying -The hogs & cattle are run together - with no special feeding of the hogs. (they just "clean up" after the cattle)

From what I understand, the hogs eat the pasture also.

At one point medieval villages used to have hog herds who would take the pigs out to eat grass, and acorns. Sort of like a shephard but for pigs. So, my uneducated guess is that pigs don't have to eat just grain?

There is a man who owns a blog called Sugar Mountain(Sorry you have to google it i don't know the web address) He explains his system very well. I don't think that he has cows though. He does allow his chickens to go behind the pigs and eat the maggots from the poop. This cuts down on flies and diseases and gives the chickens natural protein. You can write him though and ask in more detail.

I am a bit fuzzy in how he explained this but it made sense.

I know Salatin runs his hogs behind his cows but I don't think his cows eat corn? So perhaps the hogs aren't then attracted to the cow patties?

I am neither a cow expert or a pig expert so take anything I've said worth a grain of salt.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
I honestly don't know ANYTHING about hogs. The following is just from my very limited observation.

My hubby and I used to drive pass a large farm with hogs who were clearly on pasture. This was awhile back but the pigs always had grass beneath their feet and not dirt. I was struck by that because this seemed so out of sync in how I see most hogs raised. Maybe the farmer rotated the pigs often? Could larger pastures keep pigs from rooting so intensely?

He didn't seem to have any other animals out there with the hogs though. I wonder if that made a difference.

See, I am strange. I find such questions and their answers interesting.

Sorry.

After reading about your farm and that you are able to produce your own meat, I might just try to convince you to adopt me. Are you looking for a middle aged daughter?

 

[utahmethodist]

Salatin also runs his layer hens behind the cows. He waits about three days specifically to allow the grubs/parasites/maggots/whatever in the cow manure to mature enough for the chickens to have a feast. Circle of life, people.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Salatin runs a deep litter method with his cows over winter. Add shavings and corn to the poo. It composts, keeps the cows warm, and eventually reaches 3' deep or so. In the spring, he lets the hogs go in. They aerate the litter looking for the now fermented corn.

The result is aerated compost, fat & happy pigs, warm cows over winter, and a great life cycle.

Gosh, I loved that book!!

 

[JessicaGrant]

Quote:
Those two books changed my life! Well...my food life, anyway, which is a big part of my life. And the way I think about local politics, too.