Hey -
Basic question - how much purchased feed (corn, sweet feed, hog chow, etc.) does it take to take to bring a feeder pig up to slaughter weight?
I'm assuming you buy your feeder pig in the early spring and slaughter around 12/1 or so, as soon as it's cold enough to kill and hang the meat.
I am having a hard time finding any numbers on this. I understand you might supplement with free sources of feed, but if I was only feeding bought feed, would I need 200, 300, 500, or more pounds of feed on average to fatten the hog?
Would it make financial/practical sense to slaughter him before winter, or does it do you any good to keep him and let him get bigger? Are you only putting on more lard when you do this?
Also, what's your favorite easy keeping homestead hog?
Thanks very much. I have a hunch that pig raising could be summed up in about 10 good sentences, but I'm having a hard time finding those sentences!
