Felicia pig is expecting...

[mandelyn]

Priscilla has been running with Timmy for months now, she was just in heat again last week. She's not making it easy on him but they get along good, he's a respectful little guy and doesn't get pushy. If she so much as squeaks at him he backs off.

I think we have enough space to pasture 2 medium sized hogs, but I've not looked into processing yet. We moved away from the city, so there must be somewhere out here that does it.

Our market has a lot of variety, but the little pig market is frustrating. Lot's of "micro" advertisements for future 150 pound pigs... hopefully people are doing their research. Meat type go anywhere from $50-$200 or more depending on breed and age.

We raised our own Turkey and processed ourselves, the flavor makes it worth it! Retaining a breeding group of Bourbon Reds and some neat cross colors.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Big pig market here isn't very good. Like Connie said a lot of people thinking theyre gonna get rich. Weaned pigs sell for around 40 some as low as 20.
I think I do better overall with the little ones.
Have you sold any piglets yet? It is frustrating to say the least. Most want one that stays 20 lbs. They all know someone that has one that stayed that small.
Funny though when I've looked for one no one has any even as small as ours and ours sure aren't 20 lbs.
Actually had the teacup pic with an ad and someone thought it was full grown and got made when I told them that piglet was 2 days old and would get much bigger. I don't use those types of pics anymore.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Oh, they are adorable. I wish I had a farm so I could have pigs. How many babies is she likely to have? (I know nothing about piggies)

My berks top was 14. The bottom was 6. Her average is 11.
This was a really cool moment during a delivery....

She took a break in the middle of delivery. She was wore out but had 1 side to go.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Big pig market here isn't very good. Like Connie said a lot of people thinking theyre gonna get rich. Weaned pigs sell for around 40 some as low as 20.
I think I do better overall with the little ones.
Have you sold any piglets yet? It is frustrating to say the least. Most want one that stays 20 lbs. They all know someone that has one that stayed that small.
Funny though when I've looked for one no one has any even as small as ours and ours sure aren't 20 lbs.
Actually had the teacup pic with an ad and someone thought it was full grown and got made when I told them that piglet was 2 days old and would get much bigger. I don't use those types of pics anymore.

Pigs use to be nicknamed mortgage savers for farmers. I call them mortgage breakers now. I mostly breed for person reasons rather than profit. Profit is not going to happen unless folks start castrating.
When I started, just weaned piglets prices were:
Barrow @ $75
Gilt @ $90-$150
Boar@ $250+
NO BOARS LEAVE OUR PROPERTY. We have had people practically beg for a boar back in the day. They asurred me they would only use it for personal use. Still, no boar from us.
It's like if you have a lemonade stand and help someone across the street set up their stand. The guy across the street helps the guy down the street..... Now lemonade is everywhere.
I have seen boars go for $10 or free from people desperate to get rid of them because they are not a desired bbq item. I sell Chickens for $15 to $20!! OMG!
Now everybody has a boar. Backyard breeders don't know how to castrate and dump off new born boars into the local area. As time goes by, hundreds of people have boars and are flooding the local market.
When we started, craigslist had only 2 or 3 ads for swine. Now there are page after page. It is so bad a bunch are offering the parents along with the piglets as a package deal.
We are holding out and waiting for the niche to fade away like disco and the pet rock did.
Until then my bbq smoke will continue to tease the neighborhood.

 

[User395221]

and are flooding the local market.

Isn't it strange how people just don't "get" supply and demand? Lately, there've been a lot of "car washing" places start up. All over. I think many of those new business will fail, there just can't be the demand they'd need to stay in business. I suppose with animals, people aren't sinking a lot of start up capital and with "times tough" they think they'll get some extra money. I don't think they can be taking into account the feed costs if you DON'T sell...Or the costs of buying an extra freezer.

 

[mandelyn]

Haven't sold any yet through advertising, have a list going that we've gathered along the way once people started figuring out we had tiny pigs and not potbelly hybrids. Our biggest is 70 pounds and 17 inches tall at 3 years old. The UPS guy stops by to check every couple of weeks and to visit with the pigs. LOL Everyone local has pigs of dubious breeding and a variety of sizes, none of them tiny besides the male they're breeding from. Lot's of immature potbelly females being used, and throwing around the usual misleading jargon.

Thinking we'll do rotational grazing once their pens are done, to have final say on who breeds when, and only breeding once the list is long enough. We're also going to do the lifetime return option, to keep pigs that we bred out of the already flooded rescues. If someone wants a medium-large pig, there are plenty out there. Very few seem to be raising consistently small pigs or the Juliana, likely due to the cost to get good breeding stock. Not gonna get rich off any breed... LOL... most of our focus is on the poultry as well.

Could NOT come close to keeping up with the demand on Turkeys. Seems the strongest market for them is hens as well... they go broody and disappear it seems. We keep ours penned on pasture or tractors, it's just not worth the risk.

We LOVE our pigs though... they're right up there with dogs or... children. Hahahaha It started as an experiment... to see if they were what people said they were, and to see if you actually could get a small one. So I carefully searched around and am pretty pleased with the little herd. We raised each one in the house under foot, got to know them, messed with them, trained them... we don't have people kids so it's let us know all about tantrums and hissy fits and back talking. We know their phases well! I can see why they're good pets, and I can see the appeal... I've fallen in with them for life. With how hard it is to find those that stay under 100 or even under 70 pounds, hovering around 15 inches or so... there is a niche for those "in the know" that genuinely know what they're getting into.

Then you have all the beginners... the impulse buyers... the ones filling up the rescues or giving them away for free once they've become too large or have developed behavioral issues. They're not a pet for the faint of heart, that's for sure!

Saw this lady's post on FB... and she said she was trying "Move the Pig" but it wasn't working. She described the situation... and the only comment that popped into my mind was "Move the pig only works if you move the pig"... thought it sounded snarky so I kept it to myself. You have to apply enough pressure until that particular pig moves. Sometimes it's a step in their direction, a foot stomp, a word, a series of words, or you straight "charge" them... just like working with horses, and your timing is everything.

In a perfect world, every future pig owner has horse experience. Or at least dog training experience. Pigs are too smart to be left to their own devices/vices!

If your pig is out of sight and you hear a noise, you better go look! All those teachable moments...

 

[User395221]

once they've become too large or have developed behavioral issues.

Some friends had a piglet live at their house, but he had to go back to the country when he hit puberty. He was just an ordinary farm pig. What happens with the little pigs, do they develop undesirable (from a pet perspective) behaviours? Do they mount your leg? spray? What happens with them? Do you get them spayed/castrated before the hormones kick in and they 'stay nice'. I don't think we are allowed pigs at all where I am. I bought a bird cage off a guy who had a full-grown adult pig at his place (different local council). He used to take it for walks on a leash around his neighbourhood.

It is such a shame that people grab "cute" animals without finding out first what it involves. I have rabbits, but I don't think they make very good pets generally speaking. I'd tell people to get a cat if they want cuddly and nice. Bunnies can be cuddly and nice, but you have to make them like that by a lot of hard work.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Some friends had a piglet live at their house, but he had to go back to the country when he hit puberty. He was just an ordinary farm pig. What happens with the little pigs, do they develop undesirable (from a pet perspective) behaviours? Do they mount your leg? spray? What happens with them? Do you get them spayed/castrated before the hormones kick in and they 'stay nice'. I don't think we are allowed pigs at all where I am. I bought a bird cage off a guy who had a full-grown adult pig at his place (different local council). He used to take it for walks on a leash around his neighbourhood.

It is such a shame that people grab "cute" animals without finding out first what it involves. I have rabbits, but I don't think they make very good pets generally speaking. I'd tell people to get a cat if they want cuddly and nice. Bunnies can be cuddly and nice, but you have to make them like that by a lot of hard work.

Intact male mini pigs are about like any other intact male. Some are better then others. I would absolutely insist on a male pet pig to be castrated. Females. I don't insist. They're not like dogs where their cycles are messy. And its not likely that a neighbourhood pig is gonna stop by and get here pregnant. Some say they get mean when they cycle but ours have always got even friendlier during their time.
Males are usually not too bad when they get mature but usually get bad habits once they become breeders.
Our boar wart will huff and puff to protect a female but really his only concern is that he will at times think the leg mount may be a good idea. Never had him do it but seen times I know he was thinking about it. Our other mature boar has no bad habits usual for a boar.

 

[User395221]

Thanks, you are meant to be telling me lots of "horror stories" so I stop wanting one.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Isn't it strange how people just don't "get" supply and demand? Lately, there've been a lot of "car washing" places start up. All over. I think many of those new business will fail, there just can't be the demand they'd need to stay in business. I suppose with animals, people aren't sinking a lot of start up capital and with "times tough" they think they'll get some extra money. I don't think they can be taking into account the feed costs if you DON'T sell...Or the costs of buying an extra freezer.

Haha.. Freezers.. We have seven freezers. Of course they not always in use but plugged in when pigs don't sell..