If you just feed whole corn to your cows, you will find a lot of it in their manure in a virtually unaltered state.) (Actually, animals with multiple stomachs only do a little better at this. It would pass right through because pigs and hogs have only one stomach and can’t break down the grains in their whole form as shown above, at least not very efficiently. If I were to feed it to the pigs just as you see it above, they won’t be able to digest it. Now, if you know a bit about the digestion of whole grains, you are probably thinking that my pigs can’t prosper on this stuff because they won’t be able to digest it. They are spreading the cow manure so I don’t have to.) So, whatever you feed them above and beyond that is just bonus! Third, it is part of how they earn their keep. Second, a good friend of mine who raises pigs all naturally and has put a great deal of study into the matter recently told me that they actually get just about all the nutrients they need from it.

I couldn’t stop them from it if I wanted to do so.

Sounds gross, right? First, I don’t make them eat it. (For example, you will notice that the list includes cow manure. Pigs are omnivores, and, given the chance, they will have a very, very varied diet. Of course, the pigs are also pastured, so they are free to eat whatever they find in the fields, which includes various grasses, plants, shrubs, roots, grubs, cow manure, etc., etc., etc. We use whole corn, whole oats, whole field peas, and whole soft white wheat. It is a mix of four all-natural, non-GMO, locally-sourced, soy-free whole grains. This is a picture of what we feed the pigs, or at least what we start with.

Diy pig feeder