Start with a feed made for pigs
The foundation of a balanced backyard diet is a feed actually formulated for pigs. That base matters because pigs need a particular balance of protein, energy, fiber, and minerals that kitchen leftovers and random grains cannot reliably deliver. Match the feed to the pig in front of you: a pot-bellied pig does best on a feed blended for pet pigs, lower in calories and higher in fiber, while a growing farm pig needs a grower ration with more protein behind it. Dog food and cat food are not substitutes — their protein and fat levels are built for carnivores and will quietly wreck a pig's waistline and mineral balance over time.
Vegetables and greens: the fresh half of the diet
Around the formulated base, vegetables and leafy greens do real nutritional work. Cucumber, zucchini, leafy lettuces, cabbage, green beans, pumpkin, and similar produce add fiber, hydration, and micronutrients, and they give a pig something interesting to work through. Fruit — apples, berries, melon — is welcome in small amounts, but its sugar makes it a treat rather than a category. Rotate what you offer with the seasons and the garden, introduce anything new in small quantities, and wash produce as you would for your own table. Variety inside the vegetable family is the goal; variety built on bread, sweets, and leftovers is not.
What to keep out of the bucket
Pigs have a remarkable talent for looking hungry, and a long tradition of being fed whatever was left over. Resist it. Salty scraps are a real danger, because pigs are sensitive to salt and a heavily salted diet combined with limited water can poison them. Fatty meat scraps and fried food drive obesity without meeting nutritional needs. Moldy feed of any kind should be discarded, never fed on the theory that pigs can handle it. Raw dried beans and green potato peelings are also poor choices. The safe rule is simple: if it was not grown as food or made as pig feed, it probably does not belong in the bucket.
Portions: the obesity trap
More backyard pigs are harmed by generosity than by scarcity. A pig that waddles, whose eyes disappear into fat rolls, or who struggles to get up is carrying weight that damages joints and shortens life — and pot-bellied pigs are especially prone to it. Measure the daily ration instead of eyeballing it, split it into at least two meals, and judge amounts against body condition, not appetite. Scattering part of the ration through clean straw or across the pen stretches a meal from minutes to a long, satisfying forage, which serves the pig's mind as well as its waistline. Treats should come out of the day's allowance, not on top of it.
Water and warm-weather notes
Fresh water must be available constantly, in a vessel heavy enough or secured well enough that a rooting pig cannot tip it in the first hour. Pigs cannot sweat, so in hot weather appetite often drops through the day and returns in the cool of the evening; feeding the larger meal then, and making sure shade and a wallow are part of the setup, keeps intake steady. Watch water consumption alongside food — a pig off both is a pig that needs prompt attention. Recording each pig's measured ration, treat rules, and seasonal shifts in KinsLe Care Teams keeps the whole household feeding to one plan instead of five different guesses.