Raising Pigs To Munch On

[gettinaclue]

DH has been saying for years that he wants a couple of pigs in the back part of our property to butcher and eat. I have always been the nay sayer in this because I HATE PIGS.

Well, more specifically, I hate the smell of pig poop and since you can't have one without the other, I can safely say I HATE PIGS. To me, pigs are the stinkiest of all stinks. I much prefer the smell of sulfer and road kill that has been out in 100 degree heat for days on end with no breeze and lots of blow flies buzzin' around for ambiance. I am not exaggerating or being melodramtic when I say pig poop smell makes me want to vomit.

The thing is DH has always been very super supportive of the things I want to do, and I wanted to ask the people "in the know" a few things before I say okay to my most wonderful man and his piggy ambitions.

1. Since your pigs are going for slaughter, do you give them shots and vaccines? Do you spend money on the vet for them? At what point do YOU draw the line at mediciines and vet visits?

2. How to BEST and MOST EFFICIENTLY and yes, even cost effectively keep THE STINK DOWN.

3. What breed of pig do you have and why.

This is my first stop on pig research, so I'm pretty ignorant about pigs/hogs in general.

Teach me Oh Wise Ones.

 

[Wifezilla]

#2.... pasturing and/or rotational grazing.

 

[freemotion]

1. Since your pigs are going for slaughter, do you give them shots and vaccines? Do you spend money on the vet for them? At what point do YOU draw the line at mediciines and vet visits?

I would never spend money on a vet for a pig destined for the freezer. I'd take my chances or take the loss. If an injury, it would suddenly be slaughter day. If sick, it might be euthanized after attempts to make it well and then buried.

No shots, no vaccines, no wormers. Not needed on pasture. Even the conventional farmer who sold me the pigs started giving me advice on getting rid of mites, lice, worms, etc, then I said they would be outside on pasture, he said nevermind, you don't need any of that stuff.

2. How to BEST and MOST EFFICIENTLY and yes, even cost effectively keep THE STINK DOWN.

Large, large area far from the house. Feed real food. They stink a lot more on corn and especially soy. Mine stink a little now but it is faint and I have to be right up to the fence. They have gotten corn/soy based hog starter. As the gleaned foods roll in, there will be significantly less smell. Vegetables, mostly.

3. What breed of pig do you have and why.

Did a mix of heritage breeds last year because that is what I believe in, and they were on the small size. Bought mixed breed conventional, modern pigs this year and they will definitely outstrip last year's pigs. If I were breeding, I'd go heritage for the smaller size and sturdiness on pasture factors. But I'm not. I want bacon, and lots of it. Will let you know this fall/winter what the verdict is.

 

[justusnak]

I have raised them a few years, just for the freezer, not breeding. This is what I came up with.....JMO.
We had Tamworth hogs. They grow fairly fast, lots of bacon and fat(lard) and easy keepers. When I tried feeding them table scraps...thier poo smelled like sewage. Pigs will poo in one or two corners of their pen. They really are "clean" animals. When the stink starting to get strong, I sprinkle lime on the corner...and the smell is gone. The lime wont hurt the pigs, they wont really try to eat it because it is on their poo. I fed a locally made hog food, from our feed mill. Looked like a powder mostly. Then towards the last month, I added dry corn. On the cob, off the cob, didn't matter...they ate it either way. No meds, no vet..other than to castrate...( I just can't do that) just feed, weeds, grasses, and water. Oh, and LOTS of shade and mud to cool off in. I say...try it....it might not be as bad as you think. And, the end results...

 

[gettinaclue]

Thank you everyone!!!

I won't be able to give them a huge place, or rotate them in pastures, we just don't have the room. That lime tip is awesome!!!

Can you tell me how many hogs/pigs you have and how much you spend on feed from purchase to slaughter?

 

[justusnak]

We usually raise 2 in a 30 x 30 area, under an old willow tree. Most of the time I can get them about 45$ each, and will go through about 400 pounds of feed, in 5 months. At $10 for a 50 -pound bag.....so maybe 80$ on feed. However, we DO supplement A LOT of grasses and weeds that they like....I just cut the weeds here on the farm...what I pull from the gardens...etc. For butcher...I think it was around $200, slaughter, cut, wrap, and smoke. They weighed just over 300 pounds each when dropped off, and I really can't remember how much meat there was, but it was a LOT! We had 4 hams, 10# each....and I think 6 1# packs of jowel bacon, 15 or 20 regular bacon, and I can't remember all the chops and roasts. I think once we averaged it, it came to about $2.00 a pound...something like that. I am terrible at numbers....sorry.

 

[pinkfox]

my grandfather raises Old spots when i was younger on a very small lto too (his "farm" was under 1 acre) he kept 1 female, bred her to a "local meaty" each year and kept 2 babies back to put in the freezer...
momma lived in a 20x20 pen but spend her daytime in movable lots and in th eorchard (gos are known as the orchard pig) she wasnt a big rooter in the orchard, and spent pretty much all late fall/early winter in the orchard cleaning up the windfalls.
he had a second area about 25x25 for the grow outs.

the rest of the time her and the grow outs were in movable pens, in 1 of 4 veggie beds hed marked out...theyd spend a few weeks in bed one at the end of winter/beginning of spring, then hed move them to the next bed and plant the one theyd been in...never did need to till and he got amazing production...he rotated them through each bed year round, spring summer and fall crops,
spring bed got piggy treatment, then theyd move to bed 2, then bed 3, then bed 4, then back to bed 1 after full harvest where they took care of romoving the roots and tilling/turning and fertilizing it again and so forth. movable electric fence took care of keeping them where he wanted them...

he was a big fan of letting the critters do all the back breaking work

in addition the pigs got NO soy, they did get corn when it was available, but only fresh, lots of whey, apples, berries, veggies, dirt and grass, kitchen scraps, extra eggs, slightly spoilt milk and they never realy had much of an odor about it...he swears even now that no commercial feed was the answer.

the freezer babies still always turned out nice and big and meaty, lots of fat and good back bacon (GOS are known for good bacon) plenty of chops and hams ect, enough easily to last them more than a year, and they often sold at least 1/2 of one of the btcher pigs.

once momma was reaching the end of her breeding life hed breed her to a pure bred gos and keep one of her daughters...and she would eventually end up as bacon, even an old sow made very yummy bacon

i think comerical heavy meat breeds tend to be a little more "wastefull" than heritidge breeds (same as meat chickens vs egg chickens) so mabe its worth trying a heritidge breed that mabe doesnt get quite as big as quick, you might find less waste = less smell

i also prefer the temperments of many of the heritidge breeds and plan to have GOS one day...i loved grandads spotted piggies

 

[Bimpnottin]

When I raised market barrows for the fair (got them about 45# and raised them to 250#), the focus was on getting the most weight gain the most effiiciently. We didn't have a large area to keep them, so we had to clean them almost every day. Yes, it stinks a little, but honestly if you clean out the corner they poop in every couple of days, it won't be a bit deal. It makes great compost after it cooks. - We had them on shavings. We did sprinkle lime on the concrete in the shed after we cleaned them to dry it up.

Pigs are very clean animals. They will keep their mess to one area as long as you keep that area clean. If you have them outside, they love clean water. If you can give them a little kiddie pool with a couple of inches of clean water, they will go to that everytime instead of a mud puddle. Try to give them some shade, if they will be outside. They can sunburn as badly as humans - that's why they would wallow in mud, it's to coat their skin with "sunscreen."

We always fed a ground feed, but not a commercial one. We knew what we wanted in the mix and had the feed mill grind it custom for us.

People say goats will eat anything, but pigs WILL try anything. If you don't want them to get a taste for meat, then don't give them any. They are omnivores and will eat meat, milk, eggs, live chickens if the chickens won't move, veggies, grubs, worms, fruit. That is one of the things that kind of freaks people out about pigs, but it's how they survive in the wild.

Also, build the best fence you can. Goats go over. Pigs push through. Also make sure you have it in the ground a few inches, because they will lift it up and go wandering everywhere they aren't supposed to. Pigs are smart enough to ground electric fence if you leave large weeds in their area, otherwise they generally respect a hot line about 6-8" above the ground, where it will hit their ears if they try to dig.

The only vet bills we ever had for raising the pigs during the summer (we had fair weigh in in March and the fair was in August/September) was for the vet to come out and draw blood for the bloodwork that was required at the fair. If we couldn't treat an injury, we butchered at a lighter weight.

Hope this helps. I LOVE PIGS!!!!

 

[pinkfox]

im with you bimp...

i think pigs are one of those love or hate ventures and i think that depends very much on the pigs you get and the time and space you have to give them...

they certainly dont get enough credit, they are soooo incredibly inteligent!

if its somethign that interests dh, mabe try just raising 1 and see how it goes, make it his job to do all the regular clean up and feeding, and if you guys find the pigs arnt much of a bother, do 2 next year...worth giving it a try at the very least.

and if you want to start smaller...you CAN eat potbelly...its got a more "game" taste than the hogs typically used for butchering, and alot more fat (they make great sausage pigs)
but of course most people dont think of pot bellies as meat pigs, but thats what they were origionally developed for. a small meat pig for small lots in veitnam.

 

[freemotion]

Good thing about pigs is....ya don't have to love 'em to raise 'em and eat 'em!