Fermenting Pig Feed
Raising feeder pigs on our homestead has been a resounding success.
There is nothing more satisfying than serving guests gorgeous pork chops that you raised, right there, on your own property, and then the very same guests swearing that it might be the best meat they've ever had, never mind pork! That feeling when you open the freezer to pull out something for supper and you know exactly what went into that pork roast is second to none.
The way we produce pork that good is by fermenting pig feed!
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Why Ferment Pig Feed?
Fermenting pig feed improves the performance of weaner and growing-finishing pigs, possibly through the increased nutrient digestibility. Fermented feed improved daily weight gain, but studies noted that it didn't affect actual daily feed intake, more simply put, the pigs gained more weight on the same amount of food.
Pigs fed fermented feed have been shown to have improved gut health and lower incidence of coliform (E.coli) and Salmonella counts in their gastrointestinal tract. Fermenting feed reduces waste. The sticky, wet grains tend to hold together in the feed trough and less is lost on the ground.
Anecdotally, since we started feeding our pigs fermented feed last year, we've found our pigs eat less and gain better from fermented grain. This could be due to the swelling of the grains, better nutrient availability, high quality feed we purchase for our pigs, less waste or even a combination of all of the above.
How To Ferment Pig Feed
This part is easy as pie!
I asked Kevin for his best advice as I was writing this article and he tells me "fermenting feed is an art!" so basically, he's no help! HA!
Step 1: Start With A Quality Feed
You are what you eat, and you are what you eat eats.
If you're raising animals for consumption, it's always in your best interest to feed them high quality feed. Healthier animals produce more nutrient dense meats.
We choose to feed our pigs corn-free, soy-free, GMO-free, and as close to organic as possible without being labeled as such. We've found a (sort of) local farmer who practices regenerative farming, and Kevin and I truly believe that regenerative farming results in the most nutrient dense products, so we are happy to travel to pick up this feed for our pigs! (We also purchase our chicken feed from this farm)
Step 2: Get Your Set-Up Set Up
Dry feed bags can simply be tossed into a feed bin and the pigs (and gravity) will take care of the rest.
Wet feed or liquid feed would clog up the dry pig feeder we have, plus it would be a nasty nightmare to clean. So to facilitate easy feeding, we needed a new plan.
Kevin built a trough for the fermented grains out of 2x10s. It's long enough that we were able to secure it to two posts from our pig pen. We tilted the trough slightly and used a hole saw to drill a hole on the low end to allow water to drain when it rains.
This trough works for us in a few ways:
- its location immediately beside the fence makes it easy to dump in a heavy bucket of feed
- its open top makes it easy to clean, we just use an old ice scraper
- its large and easy for both pigs to fit and eat without running out of space
A wooden trough might not be for you, but there are other options. We tried rubber animal feed tubs last season with The Franks - it was not a success! They dumped a ton of food even if we pegged the bowls.
Let me know in the comments what works for you!
Step 3: Start Your Brew
Grains are typically really easy to ferment as they tend to have tons of natural lactic acid bacteria and yeast present on them - which is exactly what you want! I always joke that our fermented pig feed is like a big, chunky sourdough starter. haha.
The very first batch is the most important one, because it's the one that's going to kick off your fermentation for the entire summer!
Generally, the ratio is 1 part feed to 2 parts water by volume, not weight. Though this will depend entirely on your feed, a pellet will require different amounts of water than a fine mash or whole grains.
So let's get to it:
- Add 1 part of feed to a food safe 5 gallon bucket, then add 1 1/2 - 2 parts water, stirring consistently while adding water to ensure all grains are completely combined. Place a lid on the bucket, but do not clamp down. Set aside to rest for 8-12 hours.
- After 8-12 hours, open the bucket and take a peek, chances are the grains have absorbed most of the water and the feed has floated to the top. Give it a good stir, and if it's still thicker than peanut butter, add water to thin it out a bit. Recover and set aside for 8-12 hours.
- Open the bucket again, and observe. The feed should smell faintly sweet, and you should start to see bubbles forming on the surface of the water. If not, give it a good stir, recover the bucket and check it again in 8-12 hours. Once you see the bubbles and smell the sweetness, you're pretty much ready to start feeding your pigs.
- Pour of any excess water into another bucket before feeding this batch to your pigs. Keep the reserved liquid and don't scrape out your bucket - the liquid and remaining bits will act as a starter culture for your next batch.
Step 4: Get A Rotation Going
Because feeding fermented requires a bit of time we run a rotation of three 5-gallon buckets, adjusting the amount of feed required as they grow, for our two pigs and keep an extra bucket on hand to pour off the water. They don't need the water in the trough and it helps to inoculate the fresh batch to speed up the fermentation process.
Once you have the starter going, fermenting feed is super simple.
- Pour the reserved liquid back into the original bucket, then add 1 part feed, and about 2 parts water, less a bit to account for the liquid. Stir well and cover.
- Stir the feed once every 12 or so hours, just to ensure everything is well distributed.
- The feed will look like the image below when fully fermented. The grains will have swollen, there will be bubbles on the surface of the feed, and it will have a faintly sweet smell.
How Much Did We Feed Our Pigs?
We took these photos in the fall, so the pigs are quite large and at butcher size - for stage our ratio looked like 1/2 a 5 gallon bucket of feed + water nearly to the top. When they were smaller, it was closer to 1/4 bucket and water to the halfway point.
You'll likely have to work with that a bit to find out what works best for your homestead and how much your pigs eat, but it is a good jumping off point if you've got two feeder pigs.
In 2024, we purchased 6 bags of pig starter (20kg each = 120kg total) and 841kg of bulk hog feed.
961 kg = 2,118 pounds for Estelle and Fancy between mid May and mid October.
How Often Did We Feed Our Pigs?
Our goal was to always have feed in the trough but ensure turnover. So we'd feed them, allow to them to finish as much of the feed as possible before scraping and cleaning the trough, and then adding a fresh batch.
When they are small, the feeding schedule isn't as intense but if I know anything about pigs, it's that they grow quickly and are hungry! We fed our pigs twice a day until they were about 5 months old, and then switched to three times a day.
We always feed them first thing in the morning, around 8am or so, and then circled back to the trough around lunch time to check the situation. If necessary, we'd top up the food, and then check again at the end of the day.
This works for me, because I work from home, but if you work outside of the home and aren't available to check their feed as often, you can absolutely stick to a morning and evening feeding rotation.
Thoughts From The Homestead
Fermenting pig feed is a breeze and we believe that elevates the whole pig-raising experience. Sure, it involves a bit more effort than just dumping in dry feed, but the benefits—from healthier pigs to that moment of culinary triumph when your guests rave about your home-raised pork—are well worth it.
Our method has been 100% successful here on the homestead, but as with all things farming, a little tweak here and there might be in order to suit your own lifestyle and piggy preferences. If you’re juggling work, a personalized approach can turn feeding time into a seamless part of your day.
So go ahead, try fermenting feed, and let me know what you think!
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Sources:
https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2049-1891-6-4
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0377840119303359
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