Estimated feed costs per pig
From a variety of sources…
As a rule of thumb, you feed 1lb (450g) of food each day for each month of age, up to a maximum of 6lbs (2.75kg) per day. […] On average, taking a weaner from 8 weeks to slaughter six and a half months later will use about 380kg of feed (19 x 20kg bags).
[…] If you are feeding large quantities of fruit and vegetables, reduce the amount of bagged feed on a 1:4 ratio i.e. if you feed 4kg of bananas, reduce the bagged feed by 1kg.
Between weaning to market at 100 kg (220 lb.), a pig will eat about 270 kg (600 lb.) of hog grower.
That’s a big difference between 270kg and 380kg of feed per animal…
I’m not anticipating making money on pigs (it’s strictly for us and a couple of close friends), which is probably for the best given this bit that starts a 1970 Mother Earth News piece on raising pigs for the homestead:
“You can breed the pigs and buy the corn and get on. You can raise the corn and buy the pigs and get on. If you buy the corn and buy the pigs to feed, you haven’t got a chance. But, if you breed the pigs and raise the corn, you’ll make money.” — Louis Bromfield.
An article on Epicurious states:
After four to six weeks of feeding from its mother, an average pig will eat roughly between 700 and 900 pounds of food (depending on many factors) until finish weight.
Converted to kilos, this at least gives us something in the range we’ve begun to outline:
317.515–408.234 kilograms
Maybe we could say 350 kilo per pig between weaning and market weight?
That’s 14 bags at 25kg, at a price of $18.95 per bag, or $265.30 per pig. Expensive!
