Got roped in to hogs.....

[rebelcowboysnb]

One of my relatives wants me to raise 5 hogs.

He is going to buy 5 an bring to me. He has a suppler of free food.
At the end of the season he would get one an so would his food suppler.
Leaving me with 3 to split between me, my brother an my dad.

Anyway I have a wooded lot far behind my house, far from any other houses that is a little bigger than my 3 bedroom house. It is fenced but I plan to add a hot-wire or 4.... Horses, dogs an chickens I know but this is my first time with hogs so I could use any advise ya have an any good websites to check out.

 

[herfrds]

What sort of feed?
Heard about a guy who fed his old bread and they turned really fat.
I fed mine vegtable scraps only, no meat. They also got soaked barley and some free choice pellets. I also soaked and fed them some cracked corn. They loved it. I would fill 4 5-gal buckets with the dry grain and then fill it with water and let it sit overnight.

What is the dimention of the area you are going to put them in?

They like to root around and need shade and fresh water. I had a small stock tank that I filled with water and the pigs loved laying in it to keep cool.

Pigs also like snakes too. so you won't have a problem with them being around.

I would run at least 2 strands of hot wire. Since they like to root keep an eye on the lower wire because they could cover it with dirt. Mine grounded out doing that.

Finish weight should be around 225#.

There is a book out there called How To Raise Your Own Pigs.

 

[saddina]

Storey's just came out with a new hog book in Jan, i've been reading it while on bedrest. It's pretty good, updated and solid info.

http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide...r_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269212643&sr=1-27

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I highly recommend the book "Living with Pigs" by Chuck Wooster

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Pigs-E...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269212310&sr=8-1

I have Storey's Guide, but it really wasn't helpful for my small-scale endeavor.

We raised our first two last summer. We got piglets at the end of June and sent them off to the freezer Thanksgiving week. The farther from your house, the better - downwind is best!! Make sure you have some way to transport water easily; they drink a lot! We fed no meat, lots of kitchen scraps and pig & sow pellets. Near the end we found a source of free cows milk from a local farm, that was awesome and they loved it. We'd also build a self feeder if we were to do it again, hauling grain 2x/day is no fun! And we'd go the hotwire route too; there were a couple of times they came close to escaping the fenced in enclosure we built.

It was a learning experience; mainly I learned that I don't like pigs cause they stink

but the end product was soooooooooo worth it

As for a website rec: BackYardHerds (naturally

)

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I think its about 40 feet by 60 feet, all woods. Really just a guess. I wanted to pasture them on 2 acres but my brother keeps horses on that part of the summer.

Not sure on the feed. He said he feeds it to his chickens. I think is a corn based broiler feed.

I use a truck bed liner for a water supply for the horses. I have another.

 

[seedcorn]

Largest problem you are going to have is keeping them in the pen. A hog can destroy anything including cement walls. They are smart and have time on their hands and a will to see what's on the other side of their pen.

I'd make a habit of giving them a treat, scratch them, become their friend. That way when they do get out, getting them back will be much easier. I'd bet you a coke, they will get out at least once. If that's all, consider yourself lucky.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

let me guess... 4AM.... thats what the horses like to do

 

[lockedhearts]

We just got 3, they are LandRace and should top out around 700 lbs each. We built a "stall" off the ground, it has a wood floor and that is how we are raising them. The 2 Girls will have babies for us, the Boar will help with the girls and then heads off to Freezer Camp. We get a feed from Southern States and feed them that it is sold in bulk and fairly inexpensive. They also get alfalfa cubes and other "treats".

 

[seedcorn]

Quote:
Have you ever eaten boar meat before? Good landrace will finish off a lot closer to 1000 lbs. each. Don't really understand what kind of pen you're going to have them in. If it's wood, good luck..

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
Have you ever eaten boar meat before? Good landrace will finish off a lot closer to 1000 lbs. each. Don't really understand what kind of pen you're going to have them in. If it's wood, good luck..

He will never get that big, as soon as the girls are pregnant off he goes. I am using the same set up as the breeder I got them from, it is wood and it is solid. The guy I got them from has been raising pigs for over 50 years and this set up has worked well for him.
Why would you ask if I have ever eaten Boar meat before? That seems an odd question. But to answer it, I grew up in Florida and my Uncles, Grandfather all hunted Wild Hog, so not only have I eaten Boar Meat before, I have eaten Wild Boar meat.In fact I raised Hog Dogs for years.