6 Pig Feed For Growing Pigs That Old-Time Farmers Swear By

That first bag of commercial pig feed is a reality check for any new farmer, a direct line from your wallet to the feed trough. You start doing the math and realize that feed will be your single biggest expense in raising pork. But old-timers didn’t rely on perfectly balanced, pelletized rations from the feed store; they used what their land and their broader farm operation provided.

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Traditional Feeds for Healthy, Flavorful Pork

Before you could buy a 50-pound bag of "Hog Grower," raising pigs was an exercise in resourcefulness. Farmers fed their pigs the surpluses and byproducts of their other activities, from the dairy barn to the cornfield. This wasn’t just about being frugal; it was about creating a closed-loop system where nothing went to waste.

The result was pork with a depth of flavor that’s hard to find today. A pig’s diet directly impacts the taste and texture of its meat and fat. While a commercial ration is scientifically balanced for rapid growth, a varied, traditional diet creates a more complex and, frankly, more delicious final product. It’s the difference between a factory-made table and a hand-built one; both are functional, but one has character.

Ground Corn: The Classic High-Energy Staple

There’s a reason corn-fed pork is a classic. Corn is packed with energy, making it fantastic for putting weight and fat on a growing pig. It’s readily available in many regions and relatively easy to store, forming the backbone of many traditional feeding programs.

The key, however, is feeding it correctly. Simply throwing whole ears of corn to your pigs is inefficient, as much of it will pass through undigested. Ground corn is far more bioavailable, allowing the pig to extract the maximum energy from each kernel. A simple grinder can turn cheap field corn into a powerful feed component.

But corn is not a complete food. It’s high in energy but critically low in protein, particularly lysine, an essential amino acid for pigs. Feeding a diet of only corn will result in slow growth and poor health. Think of it as the fuel, not the entire engine. It must be balanced with other, protein-rich feeds to create a proper diet.

Soaked Barley and Oats for Quality Finishing

While corn builds bulk, small grains like barley and oats build quality. These grains are known for helping produce a firm, white fat, which is highly desirable for both curing and cooking. Soft, oily fat is often a result of diets heavy in certain oils or lacking the right nutritional balance, but barley and oats help counteract that.

The old-timers knew that soaking or fermenting these grains made them even better. Soaking softens the tough outer hull, making the nutrients inside easier for the pig to digest. This simple process of covering the grain with water for 12-24 hours unlocks more of its potential and can even neutralize certain anti-nutrients.

This method does require a bit more daily effort than scooping dry feed. You need buckets and a system for rotating them. But the payoff comes in the quality of the lard and bacon. It’s a finishing touch that separates good pork from great pork.

Dairy Surplus: Whey and Clabber for Protein

If you have a family milk cow or a few dairy goats, you have access to one of the best pig feeds imaginable. The byproducts of home dairying—whey from cheesemaking and clabber (soured raw milk)—are liquid gold for a growing pig. They are loaded with high-quality, easily digestible protein that perfectly complements the high-energy, low-protein profile of corn.

This combination is a cornerstone of historical farming. The pigs were an essential part of the dairy operation, turning a "waste" product into valuable meat. Pigs love the taste, and the live cultures in clabber can be beneficial for their gut health.

The main challenge is consistency and storage. You have what you have on any given day, so it’s not a feed you can stockpile. It needs to be fed fresh, which requires a daily routine. But if you have a source, using surplus dairy is one of the fastest ways to grow healthy pigs while slashing your feed bill.

Pasture and Forage: Nature’s Vitamin Source

Putting pigs on pasture is about so much more than just giving them space to run. It’s about letting them harvest their own food and medicine. Pigs are natural foragers, and they will eagerly root for grubs, worms, and plant roots, all of which provide protein and minerals. They’ll also graze on legumes like clover and alfalfa.

This "salad bar" approach provides a huge range of micronutrients and vitamins that might be lacking in a simple grain diet. It keeps them active and healthy, reducing the boredom that can lead to bad habits in a pen. A pig that has been on pasture has a richer, more deeply colored meat.

Of course, pigs can be destructive. They will turn a small patch of ground into a barren mud pit in no time. The key to success is rotational grazing, moving them to fresh paddocks regularly to allow the land to recover. Pasture isn’t a complete diet, but it’s the most effective free-choice supplement there is.

Safely Feeding Garden and Kitchen Leftovers

The farm pig has a long history as the four-legged garbage disposal, efficiently converting household scraps into bacon. Windfall apples, overgrown squash from the garden, leftover cooked vegetables, and stale bread can all be excellent supplemental feeds. This practice closes another loop on the homestead, ensuring nothing is wasted.

However, this requires common sense and a strict understanding of what is safe. The rule is simple: if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t feed it to your pigs. This means absolutely no moldy or rotten food. More importantly, never feed pigs raw meat or anything that has come into contact with it, as this can transmit serious diseases. Many regions have laws against feeding "garbage" or restaurant waste to pigs for this very reason.

Stick to plant-based leftovers and things from your own kitchen. Think of these scraps as a treat or a supplement, not the core of their diet. They add variety and nutrients but shouldn’t replace the essential energy and protein sources they need to thrive.

Finishing on Mast: Acorns for Superior Flavor

For those with access to woodlands, there is a final, secret ingredient for truly exceptional pork: mast. Mast is the nutty fruit of forest trees, primarily acorns from oaks but also beechnuts and hickory nuts. Finishing pigs in a woodlot for the last 4-8 weeks before slaughter is a time-honored technique for producing pork with an unparalleled nutty flavor and firm, delicious fat.

Acorns are high in tannins, so you need to introduce them gradually. Pigs seem to do best with a mix of acorns and their regular feed, and they naturally prefer the less-bitter nuts of white oaks over the high-tannin red oaks. This isn’t a system for rapid, last-minute weight gain; it’s a method for flavor development.

This is obviously a seasonal and location-dependent option. It requires having the right trees and the willingness to either manage the pigs in the woods or gather the nuts yourself. But for the small-scale farmer aiming to produce the absolute best-tasting pork possible, finishing on mast is the ultimate traditional technique.

Combining Traditional Feeds for Best Results

The real art of old-time pig feeding isn’t in using any single one of these feeds, but in skillfully combining them. No single traditional feed provides a complete and balanced diet on its own. The goal is to build a ration based on what you have available.

A successful program might look like this:

• Energy Base: Ground corn or other grains like barley.
• Protein Supplement: Whey from a milk cow, clabber, or a protein crop like field peas.
• Vitamin/Mineral Source: Constant access to good pasture or forage.
• Flavorful Variety: Daily garden scraps and windfall fruit.
• Finisher: A final few weeks on acorns or extra dairy to perfect the fat quality.

This approach requires more observation than using a commercial feed. You have to watch your pigs’ condition. Are they energetic? Is their growth steady? Are their coats healthy? You become the nutritionist, adjusting the mix based on their needs and your available resources. It’s more work, but the control it gives you over your costs and your final product is immense.

Adopting these traditional feeding methods isn’t about rejecting modern convenience, but about embracing a more integrated and resilient way of farming. It’s about using the unique resources of your own small farm to produce healthier animals and superior-quality meat. By learning from the past, you can build a more sustainable and flavorful future for your homestead.