Holistic De-Wormer....

So, this is my fifth year raising hogs on my small half acre.
The pigs only occuring maybe a 50x12 foot area, and I have a Boar, Sow and a pair for meat.
Obviously my area has to be getting "Pig Sick".

The first two years I fed them a conventional de-wormer.
The last few years I've done nothing.

I just butchered a 6-8 month old gilt last weekend, and while making bacon with the belly, I noticed small "specks" of greyish/black only in the fat.
I am assuming they are some type of protozoa, parasitic thing.....

I remember working at a fish cannery and frequently we would find parasites and worms growing in the fish "belly meat", not just the guts....

Since grazing and rotating are not options on my current plot of land, what would be good ways to preventatively treat for parasites?

What are (experienced) opinions on the commerical and harsh de-wormers? Alternative methods? How can diatamacious earth work in food if it obviously gets wet?

Thanks.

Raw milk. The old books I read, and old timers I talk with, both concur that raw milk is a highly effective de-wormer in pigs.

Raw milk has always worked for me, that much I can say for certain.

good luck!

Interesting, Adam. I have not read about that. Though, I just started researching about natural deworming methods. Here is a link detailing what Walter has been doing on his farm. Walter's Deworming

Andre; Have you added food grade diatomaceous earth earth to your feed ? add 2% to your bulk feed and you will have healthy happy pigs , also as it goes thru their system you will see less flies on new poop and the smell will be greatly reduced . I also walk around with a container and spread it over new poop piles. I have been doing this with my pigs for 4 years now and have had no parasite or worm problems. Price is around $50 for a 50# bag. Also known as codex food grade. I found it first on ebay , then found it in a farm / ranch store (big R). I won't raise pigs without it.

Raw Milk- Interesting. Best I could muster in my area is to purchase raw goat's milk. If Adam sees this thread, would you think this has the same deworming properties as cow's milk? Also, when you say that raw milk worked on parasites for you- do you mean you or your hogs?

Diatamacious Earth- I've always been skeptical on this one... I understand how DE works when it is dry, but can't seem to believe it works once wet and in the digestive tract? Doesn't it function by shredding and dehydrating the exoskeleton of a insect? Any input on how it would work when digested, i.e., what is the process by which it kills worms/parasites?

Garlic Powder- I've long known of the anti-parasitic effects of garlic, so this sounds promising. Is the effectiveness of garlic POWDER very good, however? I would assume the bitterness and pungency of garlic is also what is very anti-parasitic about it. A clove of fresh garlic burns your mouth and stomach... garlic powder doesn't nearly as much, thus lower anti-parasitic properties? Based on the recommendation, I just ordered a 2.5 # bottle of it to mix with my hog food.

Rotational Grazing, Paddock Shift- This seems like the best, most preventative method, but sadly space and facilities do not allow it. KEEP ON ROCKING IN THE (PERFECT) FREE WORLD!!!

Thanks for the input folks.

Also, I mentioned tiny blackish/greyish specs in clusters in the white belly fat when I was cutting my bacon. Could this be parasites? Remarkably, I found very little about it on the net. I found a couple folks who found those spots in thier commercially-bought bacon, but nothing concrete about what it was. Below is a link to someone else's photo when they saw these in their Hormal bacon. Mine looked very similar....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anulyra/5654231888/

Andre LaS wrote: ..... Also, I mentioned tiny blackish/greyish specs in clusters in the white belly fat when I was cutting my bacon. Could this be parasites? Remarkably, I found very little about it on the net. I found a couple folks who found those spots in thier commercially-bought bacon, but nothing concrete about what it was. Below is a link to someone else's photo when they saw these in their Hormal bacon. Mine looked very similar....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anulyra/5654231888/

I have seen spots like that in some bacon I had purchased. I cut it out and cooked it. I usually find it difficult to throw out bacon. I wonder if the spots are blood. Just a thought.

Andre, is the any chance that you could take a tissue sample to someone that could examine it with a microscope? That would likely clear up any forum arm-chairing.

Happy bacon eating!

hardwood ash works well,garlic I have been told works but never tried it.

What frequency of deworming is used (monthly, quarterly, daily, etc)?

The pigs only occuring maybe a 50x12 foot area, and I have a Boar, Sow and a pair for meat.

That is only 600 square feet.
Not even enough space to raise one chicken sustainably, certainly not 4 hogs.

I think that you will need to find some new ground if you want to keep raising hogs.
Even with just the sow & boar, that small an area would be nearly impossible to maintain in a livable condition.