How we Raise Kunekune Pigs - Part 2 - Grazing, rooting, acres/space, and feed
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Welcome to part two of how we raise Kunekune pigs!! If you haven’t read part one I cover a bit of background information of how and why we rotational graze our pigs. In part 2 …this part….you will learn the following topics, please feel free to clink the links to skip ahead to those particular topics.
Do our Kunekune pigs actually graze and do they root?
How many acres/space does a Kunekune pig need?
What do we feed Kunekune pigs and how much?
Real quick! I want to reiterate a few points from my first post. There are a million and one ways to raise an animal, grow a garden, eat nutritious food, and just live a life. I am sharing how we do things at our farm to hopefully help and encourage anyone who has a desire to become more resilient in their life. This is how we do things here and I have thought and analyzed why and how we do things many many times (probably more than necessary!) But how we do things isn’t the right or best way for everyone and I personally think that is beautiful! We all can become more resilient in or food, life, and health in whatever way fits us best! So take all these ideas as jumping off points and build your life for yourself.
Do Kunekune pigs actually graze and do Kunekune pigs root?
I feel like our pigs love grazing more than our goats do. Which does make sense because goats are a browsing animal. Our pigs love to eat fresh pasture and anybody that moves their animals on a regular basis knows there is nothing happier or more enjoyable to watch than an animal moved to fresh paddocks!!!!
Our kunekune pigs really do not root …..that much anyways! They almost always root in mid april and mid october. I have several guesses as to why they do this during this time. The ground tends to be more saturated and easier to dig up as opposed to the summer when there is less rain. My second guess and the one I become more convinced of over time is, during that time of the year they are searching for more minerals/vitamins in the roots of plants and soil. Mid April is when things really get growing in Michigan and after a long winter of hay and ration there is something in the roots of certain plants that the pigs need. Same with October it is going into winter and maybe they feel the need to go to town and load up before winter sets in.
Other than those two times of the year they really do not root much. Now if they are not moved on a regular basis they may root more but our pigs rarely root in the winter and they are not moved during that season and the ground is not always frozen in the winter so they could root if they wanted. They will also try to make wallows during the hotter months and that can result in little mud pools in your paddocks. If you don't want that then you can use kiddie pools as a way to let them cool down. They are pretty darn smart though and some pigs will just sit on the sides of the pool to let the water out and make themselves a little wallow anyways.
How many acres or how much space do I need for my Kunekune pigs?
How many acres or how much space do I need for my pig is actually not the right question. The better question is how do you want to manage them? The space they would require is dependent on how you want to feed them, how you want to manage their poop and impact on the soil, and how much time you have to manage them.
Let's start with how do you want to feed them? If you want to have them get most of their calories/nutrients from your property then you will need a fairly large area for them and moving them often. If you want to provide them with a hog ration and hay then they don't need that much space for nutrition purposes.
How do you want to manage their poop and impact on the land? Do you like scooping poop or providing plenty of carbon material to mix with the poop? If yes, then a smaller area is probably ok. If you would rather them spread their poop across your pastures for you and not need a reasonably priced carbon material, then moving them from paddock to paddock will likely be a better route for you.
Lastly, how much time do you have to dedicate to managing your pigs? Moving pigs weekly takes time, although so does scooping poop…how do you want to spend your time. Maybe you have a tractor that can make cleaning the smaller paddock up quick?
At our last property we had 2.5 acres but only 1 acre or so was used for the pigs. During the growing season we move our pigs very often but during the winter we keep them in a permanent paddock. Usually the ground is frozen during this time and their impact is less and we provide straw or woodchips to absorb their urine and poop. We view this as a sacrifice area but it always recovered to be regrazed by July.
Your type of soil will also play a role in how long they can stay in a spot and how much carbon material you will need. Sandy/gravely soil will drain easier and have less compaction from the constant animals but high amounts of clay will mean less drainage and more easily compacted from constant animals activity. Our new property is glacial moraine which means pockets of sandy/gravel mixed with other areas with very high levels of clay.
We raised 4 adult breeding stock year around, with three litters, and 4-5 meat pigs each year all on 1 acre of our 2.5 acre property. You did NOT smell pig poop/urine and likely would not even know they were at our property while driving by. If you have a smell you need to make adjustments to your management. At our new property we have quite a bit more space for the pigs and our goals are a bit different but our methods are generally the same. We like to keep the pigs moving!
What do we feed our Kunekune pigs, how much do we feed, and do you need to feed Kunekune pigs grain?
We try to feed our Kunekune pigs an organic custom grain feed. We have been able to feed them a custom organic mix for several years but due to our local organic mill being bought out we are currently feeding them a traditional organic hog feed. What you feed them will be slightly dependent on your goals for your animals and your farm. The age of the pig, the purpose of the pig, and stage of life will all also impact how much you feed them.
I like the idea of feeding our animals as varied of a diet as possible so I really enjoyed our custom mix of alfalfa pellets, corn, wheat, oats, soy and peas and flax and the appropriate vitamins and minerals for a pig. We also feed our pigs hay during the winter and during the growing season they are moved often and eat the pasture. We have too many pigs at the moment for our food scraps to really make a meaningful dent in their feed. But if you have just a few pigs your food scraps could really help decrease your grain.
I personally think a pig should have some kind of grain/feed ration other than just pasture. If you are just raising your animals for meat, have ample amount of protein rich pasture year around, a large amount of protein rich food scraps and are ok with slower growth rate you might be able to get away with no formulated hog feed. We do not have that kind of pasture and I am raising breeding stock so we choose to do an organic feed. If a pig is going to have a shorter lifespan with little strain on their body other than just growing, then I feel a bit more at ease experimenting with feed rations, quality, and amount. When I am breeding an animal I really want them to be set up for the most success and health from the get go.
We have generally followed the same feeding regime for the past few years and we have been fairly happy with the outcomes. We start by feeding piglets between the ages of 2-4 months 1/2 lb of feed per day, from 4-9 months they are fed ¾-1 lbs per day, and at 9 months to slaughter they are given 2 lbs per day. Our breeding stock are fed the same amounts, 2 lbs per day. We do not increase our pregnant sows feed until she farrows at which point we increase her feed by quite a bit. She is given 3-4 lbs of feed plus an additional 1/2 lb of feed per piglet she is nursing. So a momma with 6 piglets would get about 3-4 lbs of feed plus 3 additional pounds of feed for a total of 6 pounds of feed per day.
Now these amounts should be used as a jumping off point and not an absolute. I find that my pigs seem a bit leaner than other Kunekune pigs on the internet and I am ok with that. I really want them to be agile and capable of foraging and grazing our very hilly terrain on our property. I also need my breeding stock to not be overweight. Too much weight can make breeding more challenging and make farrowing harder on the sow and possibly more dangerous for the piglets. We are constantly experimenting with the amount of feed and growth rates for our meat pigs. However I do not experiment and will alway err on the side of too much food for a lactating sow. The reason there is a bit of a range for lactation is certain sows will hold body condition better than others so watch the sow and piglets to determine if she needs additional feed or not.
We also rotate our pigs during the growing season so they are foraging pounds of feed that way. Depending on our goals for a particular paddock we are sometimes moving our pigs every 4 days meaning they are getting more pounds of feed from a pasture. If we are clearing out an area and we are leaving them in a paddock for 2-3 weeks they are not going to be getting nearly as much food from that paddock. We feed hay in the winter to give additional pounds of feed. Ultimately your goals for growth rates will play a part in how much grain you want to feed them but remember Kunekune pigs are not particularly fast growing and when fed too much feed they will put on fat. My large animal veterinarian’s tip early on was to feed them a bit more in their early stages when they are putting on bone/body growth and level off later in life when they slowly put on the meat and fat.
The last feeding consideration I have is we soak and ferment our feed for all our animals, including the pigs. I find this decreases on the amount of dust they get in their face, makes it easier for them to consume all the feed, and also provides additional water for them. Soaking and fermenting the feed can also make the feed more digestible for the animals.
Well that was a lot of information and I thank you for sticking with me! Please look for Part 3 where I will be covering the following topics.
How do we house our Kunekune?
How do we fence our Kunekune pigs?
Do Kunekune pigs do well in the summer?
Do Kunekune pigs do well in the winter?
Can you Raise Kunekune pigs for meat?
And if you want to learn more about our Kunekune breeding stock and available piglets click here!