It's no secret Big Willy has stolen our hearts with his personality. I've referenced him in many of my posts. We love him!! He's like a enormous dog. He comes when he's called, he snuggles us with his nose, let's us know he loves us too. But, he's really huge! He's about a year and a half now and he never uses his weight as a threat or to control a situation.
But, with this beautiful beast comes a even bigger food issue. We feed him only the best. Since we live in the desert, there isn't a whole lot to find readily available. So, we buy 70 lbs bags from the feed store. He gets COB (which is corn oats and barley) and of course swine finisher. We buy one of each every three to four days. Also, he's privileged to our much wasted scraps. Now that's between both our pigs.
Since Hubby coming off the road we taken a huge financial loss. Well worth it, since he's always with me. However, we can no longer afford to feed like this. So, we tried downsizing portions. Poor Willy is so used to eating like he was, he's starting to act like he's super hungry. Trying to eat everything in sight. Even trash that's blown in!
Here's my dilemma. He'd be an expensive pet, that's for sure. Times are tough. I can't imagine selling him and knowing he'd stay alive! Should we or shouldn't we? It was our intention to raise him to be butchered. We have a new litter coming at any moment. These are the issues I'm weighing. What do other people do in this situation?
So confused and heart broken! Please help.
