Natural Pig Habitat
Southern pigs live near trees and in wooded areas in the summer and sunny spots during the winter.
Proper pasture and paddock rotation is essential to healthy land and fit pigs. No person or animal can thrive
stuck in the same place all the time. We all need movement and fresh grass from time to time. On chilly
nights, they build a nest and pile up together. In the summer, they run for the shade and look for water to lay
in. On a sunny winter day, you will find them laying out like girls on the beach. They know what they
like and will move around to find it.
Natural Pig Diet
Pigs are omnivores. They are not herbivores like cows nor carnivores like cats.
There are folks trying to make money off the grass-fed movement by applying it to pigs. Pigs should be pastured but
they are not soley grass-fed. They eat a range of foods which include grass A pig's anatomy is different than
cows. They root for bugs, grubs and tubers in the sole and they eat nuts, fruits, vegetables, legumes
and grains.
On the other hand, today's industrial food complex pig is on a narrow diet of corn and soy beans. That
is why all pork tastes the same. Most people don't realize that pigs have the unique ability to
take on the flavor of the things they eat. The French, Spanish and Italians are famous for flavoring their
pork with specific foods like whey from milk production or nuts from one region verses another. Here in the
South, pigs enjoy lots of things. They love grasses and legumes in their pastures. Yes! they do eat
grass. They like a variety of grains and nuts.
Over the centuries and in all cultures, they eat what is in season. The common sense
of my grandfather and great grandfather have been replaced by very narrow "feed rations" that limit the scope of
a pigs diet. A Boutwell Farms pig can enjoy excess pumpkins in October, squash in June, tomato overage in July
and a variety of seasonal grains, grasses and legumes all year long. Fill a feed trough in the fall
and they will ignore it to get the last tasty nut that has fallen to the ground. A diverse diet makes the
meat more nutritious, the pigs healthy and the land more environmentally sound.
