Raising a pig for meat

[hatchaholic]

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That sounds like the ticket. We bought ours when we first moved to our property. It was completely unfenced at the time. The previous owners had a dog pen that was hodge podge. After the initial escape I bought 6 hog fence panels and made a secure enclosure. We had one other escape from one of the kids leaving the gate open. Putting them on a much larger plot would solve the stink problem somewhat. 2 pigs in a 32 x 32 enclosure with snow and rain liquifying there refuse is a nasty mess. Unless yopu have a tractor with a scoop cleaning it up is not an option. Their poop is not like a horses poop. It is much closer to human poop. We fed them cracked corn and table scraps. 3 years after they were butchered I rototilled the area for a garden and the smell was still horrible. Maybe I just have a sensitive nose. I can handle cow manure and horse manure doesn't bother me at all but pig poop? I'll stick to chickens and horses.

I have 3 pigs in one 32x32 enclosure and 2 pigs in another that size. We actually shovel poop out on a regular basis using a rake and shovel. So, I can tell you it is possible. I have neighbors with dogs and their yards smell worse than my pig pens. Everyone that comes to visit comments on the fact that they thought the pigs would smell much worse than they actually do.

 

[Beekissed]

You can try spreading some carboneous materials in their pens to "fix" the nitrogen and cut down on any smells~wood chips, straw, hay. In order for this to be effective, you have to keep the mix "sweet", I think the ratio is 30:1. That way, the manure is composting right where it is and you can use it on the garden quicker. Or....pen them on your garden spot, using electric fencing, and let them deposit the manure while plowing up the ground for you.

And yes, there are many, many people who use electric fencing to confine hogs!

 

[mcg30_40]

We have raised one pig for meat, started out my stepson's pet till he got bit about day two..lol He was alot of fun but they are right, he was smelly and attracted alot of flies. I've always said that if we raise another one I want it during the colder months, not in the heat of summer. It's an experience that will teach you alot and I'm always up to tring to raise an animal at least once. Now I've got chickens and goats. I grew up raising baby calves till they were about two years old and love it!

 

[Jenlyn9483]

We are raising a pig for meat. I grew up on a farm and my dad was BIG into hog hunting. So Im very familiar with having a pig or 15 around, LOL. The pig I have is a big black gilt. I got her at the auction for $15. She was about 30 or so lbs. That was only about 2 months ago. She's now close to 75 or 80 who knows she may be closer to 100. I havent weighed her I just know about how much she was and how much bigger she is not. She is VERY long bodied and growing like a weed. We feed her Lots of cracked corn, acorns and tons of vegetable scaps and other table scraps. We do our own processing and Plan on Butchering her the end of february to the first of march. Considering the size of her I think we will be definitely making a profit off her meat. We will be consuming it all ourselves. She's very long and lean so I expect some great chops off of her.

 

[Amyable]

When I was growing up my family raised 2 pigs every couple years. We'd buy "spring pigs" and grow them til fall. My dad used a dry ground-up feed mixed with water, plus they got our table scraps and too-big zucchini (always lots of that, and they thought it was candy.) He still takes his animals to a small processing facility that is family-owned; has used them for 20+ years and always happy. Not sure how cost effective it was compared to grocery stores, but oh, you can't buy bacon like that! And you know what they were eating and (not) being injected with.

As far as smell, if the pens aren't cleaned then yes they will get odiforous. My dad had 2 large barn stalls and rotated the pigs between them, plus they had access to the outside. They're great rototilllers, and we composted the manure. When they got fresh straw/shavings, they'd run around so happy; one pair was so exuberant they kept sliding into the walls!

My hubby and I will probably raise pigs for ourselves once we have a farm. we're all about greater self-sufficiency.

 

[Riocotesei]

I'm in the learning process myself. I got two pigs a week ago.
I had sad, irritating experiences from being in FFA and sharing the ag barn with about 50 pigs (I had a lamb) Most of the kids there did not take care of their pigs like they should, and it was always a nasty smelly mess. I think if you take care of them like anyter animal they will be happy healthy and worth the experience.
The breeds of mine is a Yorkshire and a Hampshire. In my opinion Hamps have better flavor, and mature and gain weight faster.
Another thing hat is good for your pigs is for them to have exercise.(sorry sp?)
I beleive for meat purposes a Barrow (fixed male) is the best to raise and grow out. I have a gilt (young female) and a barrow.
I got mine for $75 each and they are 100lbs or so.
For their pen I have hog panels. They've been good with that so I don't see the need for hot wire.

 

[kenny671]

we butcher 2 to 6 hogs a yr depending on the family we would buy hog feed from tsc until 2 yr ago now we have a feed mill make it $$$ as for the smell we clean the pen ever week on sunday that keeps the smell way down if we miss a week i can tell it just keep them clean

 

[ozark hen]

We purchased two female pigs at 6 wks of age, from the Amish, last spring. They were about 20 lbs each. We paid a total of 40 dollars. We fed them for 5 months and took them to our local meat processing plant. Meat is unbelievably (sp?) so much better than store bought! My dh and I decided it was so worth it to raise our own. We know what we feed them. Our local grocer gives all the outdated produce and it is free! I was amazed to find such a deal. We will use it the next time we raise pigs. We split one hog up between our daughters for a Christmas gift. They didn't think they wanted much of the meat until they tried it. Now each wants a whole one for themselves and have offered to pay for feed and processing. Now that is a deal I can live with.

I don't ever want to have to buy store bought pork again! Hopefully, one day we can raise our own beef.
My dh built a large "pig house" out of wooden pallets and covered it with a large semi-truck's heavy duty tarp. Worked great! We will use electric fencing around the pen this time though. They wallered out a large pit in the ground so I kept it filled with water all summer and they loved it.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

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How bad do they root up that large of an area? Does it still look like pasture or have they tore it all up?

 

[mtnhomechick]

I bought two castrated male pigs about 3 weeks ago. I can't report too much right now. Just wanted to say that I clean the run every morning when I put out the food and water and there is no smell at all. It's like picking up after a dog. It takes 5 minutes a day and it's better for me if I keep up with it everyday.