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Thanks for your help, George. I'm going to kinda reference two threads at the same time here, so my apologies in advance...
I just picked up these two girls last weekend:


I'm known to be about the most efficient (ahem, read: stingy) guy around these parts, so it drives me crazy feeding grains from the feed store, but like you say in another post... if that's what's needed, so be it. The girls came from a confinement building where they were eating corn/soymeal blend. They're about 100 pounds each right now, and I've been feeding them 2 # a day each of soy/cracked corn/oats blended equally which comes out to about 14% protein- right about the recommended level. But, they're on pasture too, where I've got legumes, rye, and oats pretty thick. Like you, I'll definitely throw something in behind them to seed, and plan to feed fruits and squashes...

Anyway, what troubles me about their feed is that I see what comes out they're back end looks a lot like what goes in the front end, they pretty much don't digest much of the corn at all, and, well, like I said, I'm stingy so that really bothers me. Not to mention, a lot of their feed ends up on the ground. I really like the idea of that trough that Youngblood casts out of concrete, but I see them little girls just pushing their food and water out onto the ground again. I started with one of these:
Seems like it works ok but it's too big for them to get their head in at this size unless I tip it on its side, and the little Tamworth just gets in it and lays down and eats; won't let the Berkie in. So I added an old tray for Berkie to eat out of:

Like wise, a lot of this ends up on the ground. My quick answer is putting some birds in there to clean up the ground but I'd like to just be more efficient all in all. I think I might make some mini- v-bottomed troughs for them, one for each one, and mount them to their little A-frame shelter so they can't knock them around too much.

As for water, the reason I asked is because I bought one of those Trojan auto watering devices and mounted it to an old plastic barrel:

Trojan makes two kinds, one that attaches to a hose, like from a faucet, and one that is gravity feed. I ordered the gravity feed one. Trouble is, it dribbles water out so slow... I think maybe they sent me the wrong one, but I'm afraid I can't send it back because I already got the adhesive all over it where it goes onto the barrel. (I didn't get adhesive in the line, I already checked that). SO, long story short, I'm wondering if anyone else has experience with these gravity waterers, maybe this thing is working right and I'm just paranoid. Just want my girls to be fat and happy! Otherwise, I really like the barrel idea. All my rain water goes into big horse tanks, so I can just fill the pig's water up from the rain tank.

As for the feed, I'm gonna check out that book that George recommends in his other post. Hopefully they got it down at the library.

EDIT: I don't know why those last three pictures are showing up sideways??? Hope you get the idea.

I also have one of these but it's not in use at the moment.

Be aware that these nipple waterers have adjustable settings. (To adjust, remove the filter at the rear and dial the flow adjustment washer to the appropriate setting.)

Hey George,

Do you remember the incident with Maxine and the goat?

BARRY WHITE DOMINOED!!!!

PIGLETS EN ROUTE!!!

Went out to feed this morning and all signs pointed to Mr. Barry White having spent the night wallowing in piggy pleasure as he turned my sweet little virginal gilts into all-grown-up, worldly women.

Then Lou tried to horn in on his feed and he whipped her ass . . . again . . .

Details of the Soap Opera over, August 29th +/- 2 days should see (hopefully) somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 new additions scurrying about our farm.

Great news, George!

I have visions of Barry lying in the wallow with a confident smile, with a cigarette perched in his hoof. But then in August he'll be passing the cigars around the sty... I really must get out more...

In spring a young woman's fancy turns to thoughts ... I'm glad that nature took the turn that was intended.

A few days ago, the uncle that taught me how to plant black walnuts came in for a visit. Being my father's only sibling, he inherited half of my grandmother's estate. Youngblood's land is on one side of the road and my uncle's is on the other. On my uncles land is an old hay field that was planted in pecans about forty years ago by which is now overgrown with mostly pine trees and privet.

I saw the opportunity for a mutually beneficial partnership: if he would let me rotate my hogs through his pasture, the hogs and I would clean up around his pecan trees and prevent his field from becoming even more overgrown.

He agreed and yesterday, Linda and Lou were moved to a new home.

Here is Linda in her new home:

Man, George, that is one happy pig! Well, two happy pigs, I imagine. A happy pig is a delicious pig, in my opinion!