1st timer***Market Hogs????

[greyfields]

Generally since your homegrown pigs are actually allowed exercise, there is more blood reaching the muscles and thus they'll get that very nice pink/red color to it. Pork should not be a white meat! The pork industry has marketed it as such and have chosen feeding regimenes to make the meat look pale. It's completely unnatural.

I sell beef, lamb, pork, chicken, duck and goose at the Farm Market. The people who come to buy from me directly from the farm are doing so because they want higher quality meat coming from animals which were treated humanely. They are also all foodies and chefs. They wantevery scrap of fat on the meat they can possibly get their hands on. My butcher is well instructed that he is to not over-trim the meat and leave a nice, thick even layer of fat on all the cuts.

So my point is that even with all this public 'awareness' on avoiding fat on foods, obesity and heart disease is at an all time high as a percentage of people affected by them. So why if we are avoiding fat is everyone obese? Well, a part of it has is due to the fact that most meat you eat comes from animals grain fattened before slaughter (i.e. feedlots). The chemical profile of fat from a grain fed animals, versus a grass fed animal is entirely different. So I challenge anyone to look up the health benefits of grass fed meats over grain fed, then see if you don't put two and two together like many of my customers have!

Oh, this doesn't apply to pigs and chickens, of course, which can't eat grass. lawlz

 

[FarmGirl01]

About the fat. We eat pork fat and any other natural fat we can get. We even use real butter. Its the man made oils and the unnatural diets of the animals that is hurting everyone. And you are right about the color of the meat. The pork does have a real nice color. It feels wonderful to go to the grocery store and just walk by all of the processed meat at the counter. The real reward of raising you own meat. It feels great. You made a great point.

 

[greyfields]

I would say that tasting 'real' pork was the biggest surprise to me. It was SO good... where as grocery store pork always just tasted like some firm meat, placed there to give texture, but with no actual flavor. Of course to offset it, they inject the pork with brine and artifical flavorings to try and replace the void.

I was in Seattle at Wholefoods about a month ago. I remember walking past the butcher counter and looking at the pork chops. They looked just like mine... a dark rose/pink color. Then I saw $15 per pound for them! I think I'm on the right track as people are spending lots of money to get good meat from humanely treated animals.

 

[nadams4]

My boyfriends father went to Athens Greece last year and said that he had the best lamb he has ever eaten.

The difference between is: US lamb is grain fed.
And the lamb in Greece is grass fed.

Does this mean it is better to feed growing swine only kitchen/garden leftovers and let them have lots grass (in their pasture)???

Or do you do both and give only small amounts of feed??

Can someone give me an example of feed for a growing pig??

Also what type of feed is best/ protein %??

 

[greyfields]

Pigs are not ruminants so can't survive on grass or forage. You must feed them something if they are to gain weight. Most the commercial rations are made off grains and seed meal for protein. Pig grower is usually 18% protein or so.

I am going to attempt to grow fodder turnips this summer to feed my pigs and cows with. The real alternative food source for pigs is vegetable matter. Mine scarfed down my neighbor's pumpkin patch (On November 1st). Five pigs managed to eat about 3,000 lbs of pumpkins in about 2 weeks.

 

[texaschickmama]

Those wild hogs are mean as all get out. They will chase you. How do you keep them, are they domesticated? These wild hogs are a big problem around here. Everyone is upset because they tear up your land in a hurry. YUMMMMMMM, BACON.

 

[nadams4]

alright

would you say about half of their feed ration is grain and half is garden/veggie matter??


Wow thats a lot of pumpkins!!!

 

[texasgirl]

Quote:
They're as tame as any dog I've met

Most of them we've had since piglets so they will play with you and eat out of your hands...the boars can get a little pushy but the sows are fine.

 

[GwenFarms]

I've raised many, many pigs. They shouldn't stink. If you have them in a large enough, dry area. Its okay for them to have a muddy area to wallow in, but I've seen other farms where they were in a thick soup. You want to talk about stink. It was much more awful for the animals than the people. My pens have never smelled.

I've also never been bitten by a pig. Not even once. I feed them and see to their needs, but I pretty much let them be pigs and they've never bit me, not even sows with a brood.

I will say that the hard part to keeping pigs is...keeping pigs. They like to roam. If they can get out of a pen they will. They will plow up your garden, or lawn in no time. I know alot of people say that you can keep them in string of wire, but that has not been the case on this farm. In fact we don't have any pigs right now because we are trying to build an escape proof pen.

Overall I enjoy keeping pigs. They are very giving animals. I feed commercial feed , along with veggie scraps, like most others here. They also love leftover milk, if your a goat milker. You can also give them your leftover baked goods, if your a bread maker, I know there are several here. These are all good ways to supplement them and keep your feed bill down. A pig makes really good use of surpluses and gives you more in return than most farm animals.

 

[redoak]

Check with your local grocery stores/mini-markets for day old bread/almost expired milk, soft vegetables they are going to throw away and feed the pigs with it. You'll save money and keep the waste out of landfills. Most of the stuff is still good to eat but doesn't "look perfect" to sell.

Pigs as mentioned before in this thread will get out even when you think the fence is pig proof.