Potbelly pigs for meat?

[OkieChickenGal]

Hi
I want to raise a couple piglets for meat but potbelly's are basically all people sell around here.. So my question is how many pounds of meat do you typically get off a potbelly?

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi
I want to raise a couple piglets for meat but potbelly's are basically all people sell around here.. So my question is how many pounds of meat do you typically get off a potbelly?

Pot belly pigs are pets. Heritage pigs is where the taste as well as economics of raising pigs for consumption.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Pot belly pigs are pets. Heritage pigs is where the taste as well as economics of raising pigs for consumption.

i thought pot belly pigs was there pet name and there other name was Asian heritage hogs when they raise them for meat?

 

[Clucking_Crazy]

This is hearsay, but:

My friend has what was supposed to be a mini potbelly pig. Its 320 lbs. Her cousin had a full sized potbelly pig (not sure of the total live weight, but it was at least as big as her pig by her comparison). They butchered it for meat. The total amount of meat obtained from the 300 lb+ pig was 40 lbs. All the rest was fat.

She stated that she would never recommend a potbelly to be raised for slaughter.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

What age do you have to butcher pigs at?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Potbelly pigs are pet pigs these days. They were once considered a lard pig. They are not good for meat, instead they put on tons of fat and very little muscle, leading to an amazing lard harvest and very little meat. If you want meat, I would not bother with a potbelly. Travel a little further and get something better.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Craigslist is full of pigs. Even in Oklahoma.
Potbelly pigs can and do get eaten but they are fatty and poor tasting.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

Thanks everyone! What breeds do you all recommend? A lot of the pigs people sell on craigslist around me are mixed breeds, would they be good meat pigs?

 

[Zinjifrah]

Potbelly pigs are generally severely overfed. They need to be on a restricted diet to keep the fat from packing on, and in that situation, they don't get nearly as large. Not a good meat pig.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

i thought pot belly pigs was there pet name and there other name was Asian heritage hogs when they raise them for meat?

All the time/money spent on such a small yield
The slaughter window for tender pork is between 5 to 6 months. 6 mons the pig stops growing and starts aging.. Growing = meat.. aging = fat.
Next factor-
Potbellies only produce 3-4 offspring- Heritage pigs produce up to 15+.

This is my Gloucestershire sow with a litter from 2 nights ago. 11 piglets yielded and bread with a Hampshire boar.
Next factor-
Taste, Our Berkshire/Hampshire/Duroc/Old Spot taste different- each breed has different flavors and characteristics.
Potbelly tastes funky, more of a cook it in a stew to mask the flavor.

In the six months it takes to raise a pig for tender non fatty meat, the Traditional Heritage pigs will reach 250-300# within that window and the pot belly will produce far greater less.
If you want quality bacon.. Heritage is going to scratch that itch.

If you want quality tenderloin-

Steaks--

sausage-

Ribs-

So I guess you can eat a pot belly but why?