As I am about to send my first pig off to slaughter I figured I would share what I have learned from my first go round. I went into this with the best of intentions with "Hank". I was going to raise her on a diet consisting primarily of apples, acorns and whatever she naturally foraged from the land. It took all of 24 hours to come to the conclusion that she would spend her short existence in a fenced off area that she could destroy at her leisure but would minimize her exposure to the rest of the property. (I was told putting a ring through their snout limits the rooting.) To give you the simple answer to your question about what you should feed it...anything and everything. Hank seems to dislike onions, peppers and raw potatoes. Just about anything else seems to be to her liking. I did feed her left over garden clippings and other vegetation for a few days before quickly moving to a pig slop mixture consisting primarily of dried ground corn. I was paying about $11 per 50lb bag. Hank is now pushing about 200 lbs and needs a lot of food. I decided to go around town and speak to the managers at various restaurants I frequent. I now collect on average of 50 gallons of leftovers from the local diner each week. Hank is a VERY happy animal since the switch to leftover home-fries, donuts, pies and your various diner fare. She has been pretty easy since we secured and raised her fencing. She grew faster then I ever could have imagined. They're relatively friendly and intelligent animals. I'm greatly looking forward to consuming her. I will get some pictures up in the morning.
