Feeding acorns What does a wild boar eat.

Since pigs are omnivores, they can be raised using a wide variety of feed and food waste that is available in the backyard. Like other pets, pigs need protein for proper growth and development. It is important to remember that an excess of protein in the diet reduces the appetite and productivity of animals.

Carbohydrates are essential for building fat and maintaining a stable body temperature. However, the issuance of products with a high content of carbohydrates causes obesity in animals. It should also be borne in mind that fiber (one of the carbohydrates) is poorly digested and reduces the nutritional value of other foods. Used to feed pigs different types feed, detailed information about which we will give below.

Feed for pigs at home

Most often, barley, oats and corn are used to feed pigs (Figure 1). They are very nutritious, they have a pleasant taste, and in the body of animals they are quickly digested and absorbed. Concentrates are high in starch and protein, but low in minerals, especially calcium.

Note: Barley can be fed to all individuals, regardless of age, since the beneficial substances of this grain crop are absorbed almost completely. In addition, barley, which is part of the diet of fattening animals, significantly improves the taste of fat and meat.

Oats contain more fat and fiber, so their nutritional value is slightly lower than that of barley. However, it is oats that are considered best product for lactating queens, and young animals need to be given it only in a sifted form. It is better not to give oats to fattening individuals, as it worsens the quality of the product.

Corn contains a lot of fat and carbohydrates, but much less protein. However, due to its good digestibility, corn can be fed to all age groups. Before slaughter, corn should be excluded from the diet or significantly reduced in its quantity, since this cereal adversely affects the quality of fat and meat.

Peas contain a lot of protein and improve the quality of meat products. Peas can be given to all age groups, but it is better to steam them first.

Figure 1. Grain concentrates: 1 - barley, 2 - oats, 3 - corn, 4 - peas

Feed of animal origin includes waste from dairy, fish and meat production. Whole cow's milk used only for feeding suckling piglets. For the nutrition of adult animals, skimmed milk, buttermilk and whey are used.

Any dairy products have a positive effect on livestock productivity, as they contain a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals and sugar. In addition, dairy industry products improve the palatability of meat, so it is advisable to include them in the diet of animals intended for slaughter.

Meat and fish waste also saturates the body with useful substances. However, all such products must be thoroughly boiled before issuance, and at the end of fattening completely excluded from the diet so that the pork does not acquire an unpleasant odor.

In addition to the diet, you can include such products(picture 2):

• acorns have the same nutritional value as bran. They are fed raw, but in combination with succulent feed, as acorns can cause constipation. It is not recommended to feed suckling and pregnant queens with acorns (in the second half of pregnancy).
• Mushrooms are also a favorite product of pigs, as they contain a lot of protein.
• Silkworm pupae- a valuable source of protein for all age groups. The pupae are pre-boiled or dried for further grinding into flour.
• Food waste are the most common forage in household plots. You can use any waste that is left over from food processing and soap-free liquid.

Figure 2. What else can you feed pigs (from left to right): acorns, silkworm pupae, food waste

Food waste is thoroughly boiled and fed along with succulent feed. Waste from home table additional cooking may not be required.

How much feed do you need per year

Before you start pigs in a private household, you need to consider what kind of feed you need to purchase, and how much feed you need for one individual per year. The main difficulty in acquiring concentrated feed.

Note: A healthy single uterus should eat approximately 2500 grams per day. feed, pregnant - 3500 gr. A lactating sow should eat especially well - 6 kg per day.

It is difficult to determine how much feed a pig needs per year in advance, since in addition to eating dry food, the development of each individual animal plays a role.

Also, during the reception of dry food, the role of water is important, especially in the summer. Therefore, animals should have free access to food and water.

Feed composition

It is difficult to determine which products are better to use, but in most cases, preference is given to compound feed, supplementing them with other products. Compound feed is a food product intended for animals that are bred at home or on farms. Nowadays, there are a large number of factories specializing in the manufacture of animal feed for pigs. When choosing feed, the age of the pig and the composition of the product are taken into account.

Note: Cooking it at home with your own hands is possible only if the farmer has access to a food base, as well as skills and knowledge in cooking. various kinds feed.

For self-preparation of compound feed, you should study the most popular recipes and choose the one suitable for an individual of a certain age. The main thing in cooking is to observe the proportion of ingredients.

When feeding piglets and fattening young animals, finely ground products are used. The consistency of such feed for small animals should be in the form of thick porridge and slightly warm, for better absorption by the body.

To obtain compound feed, the cereal is first crushed, then the remaining components are added and everything is mixed. Potatoes, peas and bread are additional components to the feed for small piglets.

Adult animals are fed for slaughter, for this coarse grain feed is used. When kept on brood, then medium grinding is used for cooking. The finished product should have a consistency similar to liquid porridge. In this case, the grain must be crushed to a medium size. You can also mix in the premix.

Feed yeasting

Having determined how much food is needed for one individual, it is also important to properly prepare the feed for distribution.

Yeasting is the most suitable method of preparation. Using such feeds and the method of an individual approach to animals, a large weight gain can be obtained in fattening individuals (Figure 3).

Note: In such feeds, yeast and lactic acid bacteria multiply, which increase the palatability of the products. Yeast products are rich in B vitamins, protein, enzymes and vegetable insulin.

Prepare food in a separate ventilated room. With the systematic mixing of the mass with hands or mechanical mixers, the food is saturated with air, which contributes to yeast. An important role is played by the quality of products, temperature and acidity.

Foods with a high content of carbohydrates (barley, oats, corn, beets) are well yeasted. You can also add legumes (peas, vetch, etc.) and cake to them.

Figure 3. Feed yeasting principle

The starter method of yeast is recognized as the most practical. Its essence lies in the fact that before the yeast is propagated in advance, and then added to the feed.

To prepare the sourdough, pour into the box warm water and yeast well diluted in water and passed through a sieve. They are mixed with water, and then food is poured into the box. The contents are kept for 6 hours, partially stirring. Then half of the starter is taken for yeast, and feed is added to the other half, after which they begin to give out livestock.

Vegetable feed for pigs

This group is especially importance for rearing sows and young animals. Animals perfectly eat green clover, alfalfa and other leguminous plants. They are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.

You can also use leafy greens, nettles and dandelions. They need to be crushed and mixed with concentrates, and the nettles must first be steamed. In summer, it is greens in combination with concentrates that form the basis of the diet.

Note: In winter, green fodder can be replaced with special silage and green grass, tubers, root crops, carrots and grass or hay meal (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Vegetable (green) feed: 1 - clover, 2 - dried nettle, 3 - tops, 4 - silage

Young leguminous plants can be dried to produce high quality hay, which is later milled into flour and fed in small quantities and without prior heat treatment, as this reduces the nutritional quality of the feed.

succulent feed

The best juicy food is potatoes, as they contain a lot of starch. However, potatoes must be boiled so that the toxic substance solanine is released from the vegetable. It gets into the water, so the liquid in which the potatoes were boiled cannot be used for further preparation of feed. If the diet is based specifically on potatoes, it must be supplemented with protein products. Examples of succulent feed are shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Types of succulent feed

Beets for feeding can be sugar and fodder. The best fattening results are achieved when the beets are supplemented with protein feeds. It is better to use sugar beet, as it is nutritionally superior to fodder. You can feed beets in raw chopped form along with tops, as heat treatment does not improve taste and nutritional qualities.

Carrots are also an excellent juicy food, as they contain a lot of carotene. Carrots can be used as a vitamin supplement for pregnant and lactating sows, suckling piglets and weaners. The author of the video will tell a few practical advice preparation of succulent feed for feeding.

Bran for pigs

This best group feed for nutritional properties, as they are balanced in accordance with the requirements of the animal organism (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Bran and compound feed

Compound feed for pigs - quantity, consumption

Feeding compound feed can significantly reduce labor costs. In addition, these products allow a short time get a large increase in live weight (Figure 7).

Since the use of compound feed belongs to the dry type of feeding, animals should be allowed to drink ad libitum. To do this, drinkers are installed indoors or on the range so that the livestock has free access to water at any time.

The composition of the feed is balanced. It contains all the necessary foods, vitamins and nutrients for the growth and development of animals. When buying compound feed, you need to focus not only on the age of the animal, but also on the type of fattening (meat, bacon or to fatty conditions).

Figure 7. Feed based feed ration

The calculation of the daily rate of feed is carried out according to the age and physiological state of the animals:

• Piglets up to one and a half months give from 15 to 550 grams per day;
• Older piglets (up to three months old) the rate of compound feed is gradually increased to one and a half kilograms per day;
• Single sows 2.5 kg of feed is given per day;
• Pregnant pigs you need up to 3.5 kg of compound feed per day;
• pigs for fattening consume from 1800 to 3300 grams of feed per day.

The only disadvantage of using compound feed as a staple food is its high cost. But if you have the necessary ingredients and diets, you can cook feed with your own hands. From the video you will learn how to make feed for pigs with your own hands.

Feeding the pigs crucial point in pig breeding. High-quality feed for pigs is a guarantee of good meat and fat, a guarantee of rapid growth and health of piglets. However, often the owners of these animals cannot create an optimal diet due to a lack of knowledge about certain popular products for fattening pigs.
Therefore, today we’ll talk about what kind of feed for pigs is desirable, which can be introduced into their diet moderately, and which products are better to refuse altogether.

Feed for pigs: classification

First of all, we mention that food for pigs is:
- vegetable (grain, meal, cake, bran, green and succulent fodder);
- feed for pigs of animal origin (dairy products, meat and fish waste, meat meal);
- additional feed (food waste, mushrooms, acorns).
However, this classification of pig feed is not the key, because the main thing is how food affects the quality of the final product - bacon, lard and meat. Conventionally, there are three groups of products according to the quality of influence:
1 group. When feeding feeds of this group, pork is the best. These are juicy and green feeds (potatoes, pumpkins, sugar beets, carrots, nettles, amaranth, alfalfa, clover), some grains (barley, peas, millet, rye), legume hay flour, as well as high-quality dairy and meat waste. Feeding pigs with products from the first group will provide tasty meat and dense, granular fat.
2 group. This group of feed for pigs includes products, with constant feeding of which lard and meat will turn out to be tasteless. Therefore, they are recommended to be introduced into the diet along with feed from the 1st group. These are buckwheat, corn, bran of wheat, barley and rye.
3 group. The quality of lard and meat when fed with products from this group is very low - lard becomes loose, poorly stored, the meat acquires an unpleasant texture, and becomes unsuitable for canning. Products from the 3rd group should be excluded from the diet for fattening, and for bacon and meat, they should be introduced at the last stages of fattening. These are oats, cake, soybeans.

Feed for pigs: vegetable

Vegetable feed for pigs is combined into the following groups: juicy, green, concentrated, coarse and vegetable waste.
Concentrated feed for pigs
Barley for pigs
Perhaps the best concentrated food for pigs is barley. The disadvantage of barley, like other cereals, is only a small content of minerals in them. But everything is fine with proteins, digestibility and assimilation: this grain is digested up to 90% by weight. organic matter, for protein - up to 85%. Barley for pigs can be 40-65% of the nutritional value of the diet of an animal of any age. 1 kg of barley for pigs contains about 80 grams of digestible protein.
Corn for pigs
Corn is rich in fats and carbohydrates, but compared to other grains, it is inferior in protein and other nutrients. Corn for pigs is good because it is 90% digestible organically. This grain is suitable for feeding all age groups, however, at the end, the amount of corn for pigs is reduced - its excess negatively affects the quality of meat and fat.
Oats for pigs
Oats are high in fat and fiber. The amount of protein is about 85 grams per kilogram. For fattening pigs, it is recommended to limit the amount of oats and use it together with barley - so Negative influence oats on the quality of lard will be smoothed out. And for lactating sows, oats are an excellent vegetable concentrated feed. In the latter case, it is better to sift oats for pigs.
Peas for pigs
Peas for pigs are digested before feeding pigs for better digestibility. This is a protein-rich product (1 kg up to 200 g of protein). Peas for pigs are suitable for all age groups.

Succulent feed for pigs

Beets for pigs
Both fodder and sugar beets are used in pig breeding. This product should make up 20-35% of the pig's diet. Beets for pigs, as a rule, are given in combination with protein feeds - this way they are better absorbed. But you should not cook beets - this will not affect either its digestibility or the improvement in taste. You just need to clean the beets from the ground and chop them - pigs love such a delicacy. Sugar beets are preferred for pigs because they are twice as rich in nutrients.

Potatoes for pigs
One of the most popular feed for pigs is potatoes. The starch in potatoes is highly digestible. In the diet of pigs, about 25-30% falls on potatoes, but this feed must be combined with protein feed, otherwise the pigs quickly stop growing and become salty. Potatoes for pigs are given exclusively boiled - when cooked, poisonous solanine is destroyed. Partially, it passes into the water, so the water from cooking potatoes for pigs must be drained.
Carrots for pigs
This juicy used not as a basis, but as an additive to the diet of a pig. Since carrots are rich in carotene, they are recommended for lactating and gestating sows, weaners and suckling piglets. Carrots for pigs are an excellent, easily digestible feed.

Green feed for pigs

Feeding pigs with green fodder is of great importance for young animals and sows: there are a lot of vitamins, minerals, and proteins in greens. It is recommended to give chopped greens in combination with concentrated feed. Green feed for pigs is clover, nettle (brewed with boiling water), alfalfa, vetch, quinoa, beet tops, dandelion, peas. In summer, green fodder can be the basis of the diet, and in winter, green fodder for pigs is replaced with silage.

Rough feed for pigs

Roughage for pigs is high-quality hay, but it should be given only in crushed form, best of all - in the form of flour. Grass meal contains vitamins, protein and minerals that pigs need. It is not necessary to brew, steam roughage for pigs. In the diet of pigs, hay meal should occupy no more than 10% of the total volume. Clover, alfalfa, sainfoin, cut on early stages vegetation.

Plant waste for feeding pigs

Meal and cake as feed for pigs
These products are protein feed, waste products of the oil extraction industry: 1 kg of meal or cake contains about 400 grams of protein. It is best to use sunflower, soy, linseed cake for feeding pigs. Before feeding the pigs, the cake must be steamed, left for 4 hours, the water drained and not used as feed. Since the cake for pigs worsens the quality of fat in the last stages of fattening, it is completely, or at least partially, excluded from the diet of fattening pigs.
Bran for pigs
Bran for pigs is valuable for a large amount of fiber and proteins (about 130 grams per 1 kg of bran). It is best to use vitamin-rich wheat bran. Pig bran is suitable for all age groups, but should be added to pig feed in small amounts.

Feed for pigs of animal origin

Dairy products for feeding pigs

It is used in small quantities - no more than 10 liters per 1 piglet. Whole milk is given to suckling pigs. But whey, buttermilk, reverse can enrich the diet of all pigs - they improve the quality of pig products, increase productivity. Dairy products for pigs have a high biological value, rich in sugar, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

Fish waste for pigs

Fish waste, minced meat, flour, weed non-food fish are excellent for feeding pigs. If there is salty fish, before feeding it must be soaked, that is, pour water for a day. Fish waste for pigs increases the productivity of these animals. However, so that meat and lard do not smell like fish, at the final stages of fattening, fish is excluded from the diet of pigs.

What else can you feed pigs?

Mushrooms for pigs
The remains of forest edible mushrooms - wormy, overripe - are perfectly eaten by pigs. But they must be boiled and given along with regular feed. Mushrooms for pigs have a good effect on digestive processes.
Acorns for pigs
This type of feed for pigs can be given both boiled and raw, but not more than 2 kg per pig per day. Please note - acorns for pigs can cause constipation, so they can only be given with juicy feed. It is preferable to feed acorns to fattening young animals, but not to sows and suckling piglets. In terms of nutritional value, acorns for pigs can be compared with bran.
Table and food waste for pigs
Ordinary kitchen waste - peeling fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, milk washes are of considerable value for feeding pigs. The main thing is not to use chemicals when washing. detergents and boil food waste before consumption.
We examined the main types of feed for pigs (for pigs was discussed in the previous article). Do not forget that the pig's diet should not only consist of quality products, but also provide the animals' needs for nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Moreover, for each type of fattening - and greasy - there is a program. But we will talk about this in future articles.

Tatyana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board of the Sobcorrespondent of the online publication "AtmAgro. Agroindustrial Bulletin"

The question of what a wild boar eats is becoming more and more relevant not only for hunters, but also for farmers, because recently the breeding of these animals in subsidiary farms has become increasingly popular. Many hunting farms have been breeding these pigs for a very long time and have impressive experience in this matter. However, the breeding of wild boars, living freely in natural conditions, is somewhat different from their enclosure.

The question of what the wild boar eats is becoming more and more relevant not only for hunters, but also for farmers.

The fact is that animals come to the feeders installed in certain places of the hunting economy for additional food. They find the bulk of their varied menu in nature. Of course, wild boars are quite capable of feeding themselves only on natural products, but by feeding pigs, foresters and rangers contribute to a significant increase in their livestock. The more feed a pig receives, the more piglets it will be able to give birth and feed. And in winter, human care for the inhabitants of the forest often saves them from starvation.

Almost everyone knows that this is an omnivore. Wild pigs easily adapt to the food that they can find in their habitat. And he is simply grandiose in these animals. Wild pigs live on all continents and can occupy almost any habitat. Most of all they prefer broad-leaved and mixed forests. They willingly settle near water bodies. However, wild pigs are often found in forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert areas. Wild boars can be seen quite high in the mountains. The composition of feed for wild pigs varies significantly depending on the time of year. They feed on everything they can find in their habitats.

The basis of the diet of wild boars is plant foods. Throughout the year, these animals, with the help of sharp fangs, hooves and a long, elastic and movable patch, dig up tubers, roots, and bulbs of various plants. The underground parts of the oak anemone, mountaineer, kupena, marigold, calla and other plants are fed to wild boars. With the advent of spring and the appearance of juicy young greenery, artiodactyls begin to eat more vegetative parts of plants. Green mass in the spring-summer diet is at least 30% of the total food.

Wild boars are happy to eat the green parts of dandelions, marsh thistle, nettle, marigold, impatiens, gravel. In autumn, their diet diversifies with various fruits, nuts, acorns, mushrooms and berries. They willingly eat carrion of wild apple, pear, cherry and other fruit trees. Wandering to the fields of agricultural land, wild boars can eat vegetables and root crops. cultivated plants, which include beets, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. Most of all they love milk cobs of corn.

Many hunting farms have been breeding these pigs for a very long time and have impressive experience in this matter.

In winter, the menu is noticeably poorer. It includes the bark of trees, young twigs of bushes and rhizomes of plants dug out from under the snow. Of great importance in the diet of wild boars are protein feed. Digging up the forest floor, animals not only promote seed germination, but also destroy many insect pests and their larvae. Boars and worms, snails, frogs, lizards and snakes do not disdain. They can eat rodents, eggs and chicks that have fallen out of the nest. In times of famine, wild boars do not refuse carrion either. Interestingly, in the diet of wild pigs living along the banks of large rivers and other water bodies, in large numbers there are fish, water mollusks, crayfish and plants growing along the banks of reservoirs: reed, cattail, chilim, arrowhead and umbrella susak. During periods of mass reproduction of locusts, wild boars actively eat adults and larvae of this insect, which greatly contributes to reducing the spread of locusts.

The composition of feed is very dependent on the geographic habitat of wild boars. So, in Central Asia, they are found mainly in mountainous and foothill regions, and bulbs and roots of geraniums, tulips, mountaineers, cuffs and dandelions occupy a significant share in their diet. In autumn, the animals feed on the carrion of wild apple, pear, cherry plum, hawthorn, Magalep cherry, and barberry. Walnuts, almonds, pistachios are eaten from nuts.

In Eastern Siberia, wild boars often get pine nuts, underground parts of lilies and grasshoppers. In winter, they get dried plants, lingonberries and mushrooms from under the snow. With starvation, a wild pig eats even the needles of larch and fir.

Wild boars are fattened in the Far East pine nuts and Mongolian oak acorns. In summer, they dig underground parts of lespedeza, rowan, spirea, rhododendrons. Mumps can profit from horsetail, wild grapes, umbrellas and nettles.

In winter, the menu is noticeably poorer. It includes the bark of trees, young twigs of bushes and rhizomes of plants dug out from under the snow.

Usually wild boars come out to feed at dusk. But in places where they are fed, they can eat during the daytime. The wild pig is a very intelligent and cautious animal. Approaching the feeding place, the animals stand in the bushes for some time and listen. After making sure that nothing threatens them, they start feeding. First, large adult billfish are eaten. Having eaten, they leave the feeders. After them, sows with piglets approach the food. The last to eat leftovers are single grown gilts. Animals are fed with hay and grain waste. You can feed a wild boar by simply scattering hay on the ground. Sometimes special feeders are arranged for them. The wild pig loves rock salt very much.

Gallery: wild boar (25 photos)

Wild boar (video)

Content at home

If the breeding of wild boars is carried out in captivity, the basis of their diet is compound feed and concentrates. Almost everything is eaten by a domesticated animal. Just like domestic pigs, wild boars can eat any waste from the garden and the master's table. One adult wild pig eats up to 5 kg of feed per day. Therefore, all food waste goes to the feeder. They can be fed with vegetable and fruit peelings, plant tops, freshly cut grass and hay. Any grains (wheat, oats, rye, barley), legumes (peas, beans) are fed.

A special treat for domestic boars are acorns and nuts. They enjoy eating bread and corn.

From cereals they cook porridge, which pigs willingly eat. Protein products must be present in the composition of the feed: minced meat, fish and meat waste, cottage cheese, milk, meat and bone meal. You can feed dead chickens or chicks of other poultry to wild boars. They are fed 3 times a day. For pigs, groove-type feeders are installed directly on the ground. Their size should be 30x300 cm.

Wild boar in nature (video)

Nutrition Process

Pig in early spring gives birth to 4 to 12 piglets. For 3.5 months she feeds the cubs with milk. Piglets grow very quickly and gain weight. By autumn, their weight reaches 20-30 kg. Individuals at the age of one year are used for meat.

Chestnut fruits and oak acorns are valuable feed additives to the diet of cattle and small cattle, pigs, rabbits, chickens and ducks.

Chestnut fruits and oak acorns surpass wheat and corn in their nutritional properties, protein and fat content.

1 kg of chestnuts contains 1.24 feed units, 40 g of protein, 4.8 g of calcium and 1.5 g of phosphorus.

Composition of whole dried acorns: Calories - 387 (458kJ), total carbohydrates - 40.7%, total fat - 23.9%, saturated fat - 3.1%, water - 27%, ash 1.3%

The fruits ripen together, fall from the trees at a strictly defined time - usually at the end of September, beginning of October, they are easily collected in any weather, well stored and easily crushed.

Harvesting chestnuts and acorns

In the central part of Russia, the average time for collecting acorns can be considered the end of September - the beginning of October. Depending on local conditions and weather patterns in summer and autumn, the dates may slightly shift in one direction or another.

Acorns should not be damaged rotten or moldy. The nutritional value of affected acorns is low, they cannot be stored, and there is a great danger of poisoning animals with them, especially young animals.

To select high-quality acorns, acorns must be placed in water. All acorns that have surfaced must be thrown out. acorns good quality drown.

The fruits of horse chestnuts are not inferior in nutritional value to acorns and are also a valuable feed for pigs, cattle and small cattle - cows, bulls, goats, sheep, as well as for rabbits, chickens and ducks.

For long-term storage, chestnuts and acorns must be dried - for small volumes, an attic of a barn or a house with warm, dry air is suitable. You can also dry directly under the sun on wooden shields or tarpaulins. Readiness for long-term storage of chestnuts and oak acorns for storage, you can determine if the fruit is split - the contents should be solid, the pieces can easily be separated (fly off) from each other.

Fresh acorns contain a lot of tannins, so they have a fixing effect on the stomach of animals. However, this property of them can be weakened by the addition of beets, wheat bran, oatmeal, green grass. To remove bitterness, acorns are boiled or soaked for two days in cold water.

Acorns for pigs

Iberian pigs raised in oak pastures have genetic characteristics and rearing techniques that are different from other breeds of pigs fed on fattening farms. They move more, the main element of their diet are grasses and acorns. The whole secret lies in the fact that acorns are high in oleic acid and carbohydrates (starch). In the stomachs are vegetable oils that penetrate the meat of the animal. From this, jamon is obtained with an original, incomparable taste. In addition, the fat formed as a result of this type of diet is more liquid and is distributed more evenly in muscle tissue. It is acorns, as a feed additive to the diet of pigs, that make it possible to produce jamon.

Jamon is a title awarded to the dry-cured hind leg of not every pig, but only a pig of a certain breed and fattened in a certain way. And the most important thing in getting jamon is Acorn. Yes, it can be capitalized and referred to as "you". Without an acorn there can be no ham, and without ham it is hard to imagine Spain.

It is possible and necessary to fatten pigs with acorns. Before distribution to pigs, it is advisable to crush acorns, since animals digest them better in the form of grains. Due to the presence of tannins in acorns, they have a fixing effect on the body of pigs, so they must be given along with succulent feed. Together with acorns, you need to give beets, wheat bran, as well as oatmeal and green grass. Before giving acorns to pigs, they must be fried or soaked for two days in cold water. The advantage of feeding pigs with acorns is that you get granular fat and good quality meat. More than 2 kg can be given per day. per pig, while starting to introduce acorns into the diet should be gradual, starting with 800 gr. in a day. Pigs fattened on acorns give strong grainy fat and excellent quality meat.

Acorns and chestnuts to feed cows and bulls

There is some bitterness in chestnuts, so horse chestnut fruits are added to the diet of cows gradually and carefully. Chestnuts are boiled, although some believe that, for example, cows are more likely to eat fresh chestnuts mixed with beet pulp or potatoes. Chestnuts can be ground into flour and given daily as top dressing (cows eat up to 5 kg per day). It is not necessary to peel the chestnuts. Chestnuts are so nutritious that it is better to use them in the form of flour or chopped pure when fattening animals before slaughter.

Acorns and chestnuts for chicken and duck food

From acorn or chestnut flour, pellets are prepared for food for chickens and ducks. To do this, chestnut flour is kneaded in water, pellets are made from the dough, which are dried in an oven, and crumbled into food in winter. Ducks with great appetite eat chestnut flour in the form of gruel with potatoes and kitchen waste. On a diet with acorns and chestnuts, ducks can be fattened without much hassle in 15-16 days.

Acorns and chestnuts for goat food

Not all owners of part-time farms know that they are very useful when fed to goats. Crushed chestnuts and acorns are given as an additive to feed for goats in small portions - 200 g per day for each animal. For the usual feeding of goats and chickens, a mixture of crushed chestnuts, acorns and grains is steamed or porridge is boiled.

In the morning, before milking, goats are given a mash of boiled root peels, potatoes, and other kitchen waste. Then milking, after which they give hay (in winter) or grass (in summer), autumn foliage of trees or brooms (in autumn and spring), expose a trough with chestnuts and acorns and separately put raw root crops, swill. Goats should always have clean, slightly salted water.

Crushed chestnuts and acorns can be given in their pure form without mixing with anything. All leftovers after feeding are removed from the feeder, aired (otherwise the goat will not eat after itself) and serve it next time. The bitterness of chestnuts and acorns does not discourage goats from eating them with special pleasure every time, because bitterness is also felt in the branches of many trees, but goats also gnaw them with pleasure.

At noon, the animals receive the same mash as in the morning, hay or grass. In the evening, during milking, again a mash, then raw root crops and chestnuts with acorns. At night: in winter - hay, in summer - brooms.

Acorns for rabbits

Rabbits can be fed a variety of different foods, including acorns. If you have enough acorns to feed your rabbits, then feel free to feed them. This will only benefit the eared, since acorns contain a lot of useful things, and in general they are very good nutritious food. By the way, you can feed both still green and already dry acorns. At the same time, many experienced rabbit breeders recommend grinding dry acorns before cleaning them from the shell, although this is not necessary.
It is important to note that acorns strengthen the intestines. As for the feeding rate, then 50 grams of acorns per day will be quite enough for an adult rabbit. Of course, in the case of smaller rabbits, this rate should be less.
It is necessary to start the feeding season with acorns gradually, giving small doses at the beginning, going up to those same 50 grams per day. By the way, ground acorns are very often used as one of the elements in the preparation of various feed mixtures for rabbits, they are mixed with potatoes, bran, and many other feeds.
And yet, giving whole acorns to rabbits, you can be sure that they will definitely not gnaw at the cages, since they will be loaded with enough acorns.

Krylov's fable Pig under the oak - original text from the author, morality and analysis of the fable. Read the best Krylov's fables in this section!

Read the Pig's Fable under the Oak

Pig under the ancient oak
I ate acorns to my fill, to satiety;
Having eaten, she slept under it;
Then, tearing her eyes, she got up
And she began to undermine the roots of Oak with her snout.

"After all, it harms the tree, -
Raven says to her from Oak, -
If you expose the roots, it may dry up.
"Let it dry," says the Pig,
Nothing worries me
I see little use in it;
Even if you don’t have it for a century, I won’t regret it at all;
If only there were acorns: after all, I get fat from them.

"Ungrateful!" Oak said to her here, -
Whenever you could raise your snout,
You would have seen
That these acorns are growing on me."
The ignoramus is also in blindness
Defends science and learning
And all scholarly works

Moral of the fable Pig under the oak

The ignoramus is also in blindness
Defends science and learning
And all scholarly works
Not feeling that he is eating their fruits.

Fable Pig under an oak - analysis

Whatever you say, but Krylov knew how, with only his inherent ease, and even in a joking manner, to present to us the vices of people in all their glory on a silver platter. So the fable Pig under the oak is no exception. By the way, it is a moot point who is the main character of the fable. Do you think it's logical to assume that a pig? Rather, it’s an oak tree that succinctly explains the moral of the story to us. But, let's consider everything in order. So, the characters of the fable:

• A pig that can't see beyond its nose, much less change its mind. The pig is an image that ridicules the laziness and ignorance of people. Krylov chose this particular animal for a reason. We all know a certain feature of pigs - they are not able to raise their heads up. It is she who reinforces the image of a person who not only does not want to listen and know anything, but is no longer capable of this.
• A raven is a character trying to reason with a pig in his naivety and not understanding that the pig is hardly listening to him, and if he is listening, he is unlikely to hear.
• Oak reflects the image wise man, rather, even an old man who does not try to guide a pig on the true path, but only speaks the truth in his hearts. Through his mouth, Krylov conveys to us the moral of the fable The Pig under the Oak.