SC - Period pig info
LrdRas@aol.com
LrdRas at aol.com
Fri Dec 8 19:42:38 PST 2000
In a message dated 12/3/00 2:39:48 PM Eastern Standard Time,
jenne at mail.browser.net writes:
<< My reading led me to believe that many pigs in period would have been
free-range scavengers, not generally tended by people who fed them but
allowed to range around the woods and eat what they could find. Obviously
those pigs who were kept outside of towns wouldn't have much chance for
kitchen scraps! >>
Our pigs were what I consider free range. they were confined to a field that
had both open and wooded areas. We still fed them or 'slopped the hogs'
(slop dates from the 15th century) with 'pig swill' which was excess milk
that had been allowed to soiur. A bucket or so of this was dumped in the pig
trough by the fence at the corner of the pig lot every day. The pigs pretty
much got used to the feeding schedule and showed up on time. I would venture
the opinion that free range period pigs were not roaming about the coutry
side at will but rather confined in larger areas that included oak trees as
well as meadow and that they were most likely fed on a regular basis with
slop and/or swill. Often times we think that everything we have or do in the
modern world is somehow changed or different from the middle ages. While this
is true of many things, it is ludicrous , imo, to see such basic
agricultural and animal husbandry practices changing all that drastically
over the years. Indeed, there is absolutely no reason to think so. What
changes have occured have been mostly technological or commercial farming
oriented and have occured well within my life time.
Ras
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