Best Hay Feeder For Guinea Pigs

Pigs love grass, hay is dried grass, ergo pigs should love hay. Here are tips on what kind of hay to feed and how to get your pigs to start eating it. One common solution is to simply remove all other options, letting the animals' hunger drive them.

Because I closely followed the example set by a man known for functional frugality, I purchased the same model I observed on the inspiration farm: the Speedrite 1000, a low-cost energizer with built-in strength indicators that can operate on battery power.

Gardening: Let Pigs Do The Cleanup The end of garden season presents a budget buffet for growing pigs, but getting garden waste from plot to pigs requires both effort and the removal of nutrients provided by decaying plant matter.

Rather than increasing nutritional availability, it's advisable to actually limit feed during the first two-thirds of gestation, as obesity can result in smaller litter sizes (check) and farrowing problems (check).

In conventional hog operations, this material drains into gigantic lagoons, but these fill up quickly and require emptying. Pastured pigs also deliver better-quality fat, with a healthier omega 6:omega 3 ratio , which is kind of ironic when you consider...

They produce a quality carcass, though it's fattier than that of a commercial pig breed. Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders United is the largest breed registry in the U.S. Hereford iStock/Thinkstock This breed has a red coat; white markings on the...

Of course, then it's too late, as anemia—decreased hemoglobin in the blood—becomes a problem long before a piglet tries out food. A piglet's rooting instinct awakens very early, causing the little oinkers to root the soil with their infant noses.

As helpful as pigs can be in managing invasive species, they can also be destructive if left to root and trample one section of land for too long. “Pigs are non-ruminant animals.

Gloucestershire Old Spots A large, predominately white pig with a few black spots, the Gloucestershire Old Spots has huge lopped ears that droop over its face and a long, slightly arched back.

Livestock trailers are built to contain animals, and allowing the pigs a night to acclimate to the trailer generally results in calmer pigs when you arrive at the processor and need to coax them into a holding pen.

Healthy Pork Pasture-raised heritage pork is more nutritious than supermarket pork. Nearly all commercial pork is raised in large, confinement settings known as CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations).

It's not required to give pigs grass, nuts and legumes, but they'll be healthier and happier (and their meat will be tastier) if you can. Heritage hogs like to browse, and though they'll eat corn and other grains, they prefer legumes, grass, roots and...

Before starting a vaccination plan, it's important to first consult your veterinarian. Tags Martok , pigs , pseudorabies , swine brucellosis Have an animal-related question? Farm-wide vaccination using a modified live virus is usually recommended, according...

Farmers who run small operations or hobby farms might not suffer from noise-induced hearing loss caused by machines as quickly as large-scale producers who are running equipment all day, but it is important to be aware and protect your ears, even if it's...

There are two major ways to combat this: feed changes and housing-management strategies. Slope animal areas by about 5 percent to promote drainage and drying; southern or southeastern exposures are best.

And so we embarked on our third farrowing feeling pretty confident. So, after a few days of mourning, mama rejoined the boar and set to work on producing a replacement litter due in early summer.

Like mites, lice ­irritate their host, causing itching, reddened skin, secondary skin injuries, anxiety and weight loss; they can also transmit some diseases. Hog lice are large for lice—adults are 1/4 inch long—and dark; they prefer to hang out...

Offer shelter from the heat. In addition to protection from the sun, Fretwell believes pigs welcome the chance to root around for grubs, persimmons and acorns in the shade. “Mud is a pig's form of SPF,” Whitney says.

As such, your best prevention is to implement stringent biosecurity practices on your farm, including but not limited to quarantining new additions and recent returns from shows and exhibitions; quarantining symptomatic animals; utilizing separate supplies,...

Green Mountain Girls Farm/Flickr Preparing For Pigs Pigs are naturally curious and intelligent, and these traits make pig farming a venture that requires thought and planning. “When choosing a breed, consider temperament,” the organization recommends.

Tags dewormer , feed , Lists , milk , mother , parasites , piglets , pigs Make sure milk is warmed up to slightly above human body temperature. Prevent Anemia Some vets recommend iron shots to prevent anemia in piglets, but these can result in diarrhea...

Year-round, feral pigs stay fairly close to water sources, but they can make themselves at home in a wide variety of environments, from sea level to up to 13,000 feet, and from prairies to swamps.

Well, timing is also the first rule of hog breeding, and it's no joke. Here's another thing: Piglets can't get cold. But what about us, the sustainable farmers who don't outfit our land with heated birthing shacks?

George works to make us laugh, walking alongside the fence line as we do our chores, snorting through his intimidating tusks in response to our every comment and question aimed at him.

Here's a quick breakdown of bacon pigs and lard pigs, though be aware each pig is its own animal: You can get a fat Yorkshire, just as I'm sure somebody's raised a buff Large Black.

Is snuggling with a piglet allowed? Courtesy Fair Haven Farm Courtesy @thurlow94/via Instagram Courtesy @goatladynikki/via Instagram Courtesy @goatladynikki/via Instagram Courtesy Michael Kappal/Flickr Courtesy Madaise/Flickr Courtesy Kim C.

Water is easiest to keep sanitary by using a watering nipple. A farrowing barn is a space designed for sows and piglets during farrowing. While you can set up a single farrowing crate for your sow, there are other alternatives for small farms.