Pigs
We added American guinea hogs to our farm in November 2010. They are the original American homestead hog. Historically, they lived on homesteads and ate whatever was available -- garden produce, nuts, snakes, rats, and so on. Our guinea hogs live in the pasture and eat plenty of grass and weeds, as well as whatever is available seasonally. During the summer, that means lots of overgrown zucchini, and during the fall, that means winter squash from our garden, as well as acorns and hickory nuts that they find on their own. We currently have one pair of guinea hogs -- Julia Child and James Beard, named for famous chefs because they'll be making excellent pork for us.
Julia is due to farrow (give birth) in August 2011, so we will be processing our first guinea hog meat in 2012. Unlike modern pork breeds, guinea hogs are much smaller. Mature weights are in the 200-300 pound range, so rather than having a 200-pound hanging weight for a processed pig, it will probably be closer to 100 pounds.
We had piglets on our farm from 2004 through 2010 as temporary residents. We referred to them as "temporary" because they were only here for about six months. We purchased Tamworth piglets at weaning from a farmer who raised them without antibiotics or vaccines, and we raised them on pasture until they weighed about 200 pounds, at which point they were sent to the processor to become pork. We chose Tamworths because they are a rare breed of pig from England and are noted for their delicious pork. They are also an old-fashioned breed that is considered "unimproved" by modern livestock standards. That means it does well on pasture, although it does not gain weight as fast as modern breeds.
Our pigs are never given vaccines or other medications, and we have never had a pig get sick. If a pig did ever become ill, we would provide it with appropriate care. They can eat as much grass as they want, because they are kept on pasture, and if they root up all the grass, we provide them with hay. Of course, they have a shelter so they can get out of the sun and the wind when they want. In the fall, we provide them with acorns from our burr oak trees, which they love. They are also fed conventionally-grown corn and/or oats -- organic when we can purchase it locally -- fresh milk from our goats, eggs from our chickens, and scraps from our kitchen. However, they are NEVER fed pork or any food that contains artificial ingredients. Depending upon the season, they may also eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from our orchard or garden.