Pasture Raised and Grass Fed on Stony Brook Farm

[Note: I no longer feed organic grain.]

To date, I have been raising heritage breed feeder pigs. Heritage breed pigs are older breeds that were abandoned by commercial farmers as more modern breeds were developed. There are two reasons that I raise heritage breeds. First, the meat tastes better because it has not had the fatty marbling bred out of it. Second, I think it is important to preserve genetic diversity. The commodity pig market is based on the genetics from just a couple of breeds, and I think so drastically reducing genetic diversity is a recipe for disaster. Raising feeder pigs means that I buy weaned pigs from another farm and feed them until slaughter weight. Factory farms wean pigs at about four weeks (on the most industrial farms, pigs are weaned “early,” at ten days) to make sure that they are able to get the sow bred back in time for her to have three litters per year (pig gestation is three months, three weeks, and three days, so it is possible). Non-factory farms generally do not wean before six weeks, and many wait until seven or eight weeks. Beginning next year or the year after, I will switch from raising feeder pigs to farrow-to-finish, which means that I will keep breeding stock (sows and boars) and have the pigs that I raise for meat born here on the farm.

After arriving at the farm, I immediately place the feeder pigs on pasture, season permitting. To me, pasture is a good stand of actively growing (or stockpiled for grazing after the growing season ends) green grass, legumes, and/or weeds. I rotate the pigs off of one section of pasture to another section of pasture when they have grazed down most of the green stuff, or if they have started rooting up the pasture too badly. The purpose of pasture is three-fold, it permits the expression of the pigs’ instinct to root and forage, it provides essential nutrition, and wandering around it gives the pigs exercise.

The material essentials for pigs on pasture are food, water, shelter, and a wallow to cool off in, all of which I provide. The non-material essentials are a low-stress environment and calm conscientious handling and/or herding, both on the farm and at the slaughterhouse.

Food
I feed the pigs a locally grown, ground, and mixed feed that I purchase directly from the farmer, cull vegetables from a local vegetable farm (when available), and farm-grown forage, which is grown with no synthetic chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. I do not use hormones. I do not use antibiotics unless required by the presence of an infection that cannot be resolved by non-synthetic chemical means. In three years of raising pigs, I have had to treat one pig with antibiotics.

Currently, I hand feed the pigs three times a day, using a tractor tire cut in half as a feeder. One of my next capital investments is a bulk range feeder from which the pigs will be able to eat at their leisure. Hand feeding is time consuming and causes too much excitement. According to Morrison in Feeds and Feeding, free-fed pigs consume slightly fewer pounds of grain per hundred pounds of gain, so the feeder will pay for itself over time, even not taking into consideration any labor savings.

Water
Water is the weak link in my system. I use a six gallon open tub placed in truck tire to keep the pigs from tipping it over. I clean and fill it three times a day, once or twice more if the temperature is over eighty degrees. When the weather is cool, this watering system is not a problem. However, when it is hot, and the pigs have been wallowing, they dip their dirty snouts in it when they drink and the water quickly gets muddy. Next year I will set up a an automatic gravity-fed watering system. This system will ensure that the pigs not only do not run out of water, but also that they always have clean water.

Shelter
For shelter I use an 8′x14′ Port-a-Hut, which is an all-steel hoop-style shelter with an open front and a hinged window in the back for ventilation. This shelter provides shade and protection from the rain. One thing that I would like to do is rig up an extension on the back of the shelter to provide additional shade outside where the airflow is better. This shelter is built on skids, so as I rotate the pigs from pasture section to pasture section, I use the tractor to drag the shelter along.

Wallow
Pigs do not sweat and they cannot shed heat adequately by panting like dogs do, so they need to have a way to cool off when it is above seventy degrees. In nature, they use wallows, either streams, naturally occurring pools of water, or they dig deep holes until they hit the water table. If no water is available, they spend the hot hours of the day lounging in the shade of woods/forest. On a farm, wallows and/or woods must be provided. I dig a wallow for the pigs with the bucket on the tractor and then fill it and keep it filled with water. For a wallow to do its job, there must be liquid water in it, not just mud.

Environment and Handling
The pigs have plenty of space and everything they need or want right in front of them, so their environment is low-stress. The only time they get excited is when I feed them three times a day. Once I switch to a range feeder, their excitement level should remain pretty consistently low. To make handing easier, I spend time walking amongst the pigs, petting and talking to them. The Berkshires I have right now have been flighty since the first day that I got them and they have been very slow to get over it. I do not know if it is the breed or just this bunch. I am getting five more Berkshires from another farm in a few weeks, so it will be interesting to see if they are flighty too. When I need to move the pigs, I do my best to set it up so they will want to go where I want them to go, or if I need to drive them, I try to do so without making them too anxious. I work them slowly and deliberately, and only occasionally have to move rapidly to keep them together. If my frustration level rises to the point where I feel like hitting or kicking them, I walk away and cool off. Usually, the pigs have cooled off too and things go better with a fresh start. If I don’t have the opportunity to walk away, I keep an iron grip on my temper. For the most part, pigs (like other animals) happily move to where the best grass or food is, so I just take advantage of this natural tendency. I do not have a sorting system set up yet, so sorting for trailering will be more stressful than I would like it to be. I already have the sorting system planned out in my head, but will not be able to set it up until next year.

Trailering
My preferred method for loading pigs on a trailer is to entice them with grain. However, if there is a loading chute set up, I do not mind driving them through it and onto the trailer as long as the driving is done slowly and the pigs are given a chance to get over whatever has them frightened when they balk. Given that chance, a gentle nudge with a knee is usually enough to get them moving again. If all hell breaks loose, I try to get things squared away as quickly as possible. If things completely break down, I walk away and to calm down and catch my breath, and then try again in a few minutes.

Slaughterhouse
If the pigs I raise are treated poorly at the slaughterhouse, then I have failed in my effort to raise pigs according to the highest welfare standards. The people at the slaughterhouse need to handle the pigs in a low-stress manner, both from the trailer to the holding pen and from the trailer to the kill floor. This year I am working with a new slaughterhouse and I am hopeful that their handling will meet my standards.