Eating Potbelly pigs?

NewHopePoultry · Aug 8, 2012

Me and my husband have been talking about getting a pig to raise for meat. We've both had pigs/hogs in the past. Our local craigslist is full of potbelly pigs for around $15 for babies.
I know they are primary raised for pets.

Can they be raised for meat?
Are they good eating?

allmychickens · Aug 8, 2012

my cousin raised one and ate it, he said it was delicious... Idk if I would

Duckchick2011 · Aug 8, 2012

I've heard that it has a lot of flavor though I've never tried it my self...

ugly ducky · Aug 8, 2012

We just butchered two weighing a total of 400 lbs. BIG Potbellies! There is an enormous amount of fat on them. We ground them for sausage, kept the ribs, and made our own bacon from them. The meat is fine, but if I was going to feed out a pig to butcher, I would make it a feeder pig, not a Potbelly. We only did it because my DH got them for next to nothing, so we had no real investment in them. If I had fed them out, I'd have been very disappointed. The dress out percentage is very low.

NewHopePoultry · Aug 8, 2012

Ive heard they are full of fat.
Theres some 8 week old babies for $15 locally.
I havent been able to find feeder pigs arpund me for a decent price.

Sword · Aug 8, 2012

I've never kept one for meat before, but a while back I came across this website.

http://www.windridgefarm.us/potbellypigs.htm

So it seems like they can be good for meat if they're raised properly.

NewHopePoultry · Aug 8, 2012

thanks for the link!

Oregon Blues · Aug 10, 2012

There are a huge number of people who raise them for meat. They call them Asian Heritage Hogs as it is less upsetting to the pet crowd.

If you raise them for meat, control the diet because they will put on a lot of fat if they get too much of the wrong food to eat. With correct diet, they are good for meat and rumored to be delicious.

edc040693 · Mar 17, 2013

They are PETS that's disgusting. Do you eat your dog BC you can't afford a cow?

CarriesPeeps · Mar 18, 2013

edc040693 said:
They are PETS that's disgusting. Do you eat your dog BC you can't afford a cow?

Actually dog meat can be quite good too! Having eaten many things people in the US consider pets, I have to say that I prefer my meat humanely raised and butchered rather than worry that someone considers it a "pet" type animal.

Eating Potbelly pigs?

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