Raising a pig for meat

[skeeter]

lol,unreal

 

[ozark hen]

One other thing I just remembered.....our two pigs always "poohed" in the same spot every day! Now they peed anywhere. ha ha We also threw balls inside..large ones..as they love to play with things. Ours were in a maybe 10x15 area.

 

[robot rooster]

How High does the fencing need to be?

 

[ozark hen]

Welcome to BYC robot roo- I wouldn't worry so much about the height...it is the strength of that fencing. You could keep them in a 3 1/2 ft to 4 ft. fence and they will stay as long as it is stronger than they are. Electric fencing around it...I have heard of folks using two strands will do the trick.

 

[ashtray]

i raised 2 pigs about 3-4 years ago feed was high then its probably alot higher now . if i recall correctly to feed and butcher them was around $400-$500 . i gave the meat away to family and friends

 

[Fredster]

Quote:
(sorry for the delay, I lost track of this thread until juts now

)

For the very most part, it still looks like pasture. They root right around the perimeter, and there's a bare spot here and there, but generally speaking it still looks like grass. They like to chew on the weeds, like cows.

Look at these two pictures (specifically, the background) :

Those pictures are from when we got a pair of pigs last September. We had two full-sized pigs (one 325 pounds, one 240 pounds) on that same land just two weeks before, raised from about 6 weeks old. You can see it still pretty much just looks like grass. If they have plenty of room, they muck it up a lot less.

They do like to hollow out spots in the shade to lay in, separate from the big wallow I dug them.

 

[Fredster]

Quote:
Ours are behind standard 39-inch field fence, with a single electrified strand about 10 inches off the ground on the inside. I've never seen them go beyond the electrified strand and actually touch the field fence, but I don't trust the electrified enough to rely completely on it.

 

[partimer]

Hi there little farmers. Hey pigs, hogs or swine interesting animal. Raised a few years ago, great meat and economical at best. Garden stuff works real good, plant a little extra, they eat it all. As to stinky smell, yep, just clean as you go. A very good concrete floor slanted to a pit works great for wash down and removal. Slate floors work but need a bit more muscle to keep clean. To eliminate extra water around the pen, they sell nipples that connect to a water line and they just go up and drink wgen thirsty and don't dump a water pan or trough and less muddy mess.
For me, yes raise your own, breed some and sell. Todays markets are getting better for those looking for quality and non-commercial product.
Have a porky day;;

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

I might be a day late and a dollar short in getting my reply out...Just came across this thread.....
We have raised hogs for the last 2 years now...And getting more in March.
We have always done everything we were told NOT to do...
They get names, they get played with, they get spoilled. And yes they get butchered.
We have our pigs in the back side of the barn...They have a HUGE cement area to run around on and then a sliding door that's opened to the outside...They have a HUGE outside run out there..They have plenty of grass and mud wallows that keep them plenty busy. They always have 24/7 acess to inside and outside. Their area is HUGE we raised 2 pigs the 1st year and 3 the 2nd year. This year again we will get at least 3 (maybe more). for there outside pen we have tin panels/siding(laid length wise). It's approx. 3 feet tall (no taller than that--maybe shorter). They have never (yet) gotten out from the outside pen. We did have them get out last summer from the inside part of the barn though. That was our own fault as the boards inside were spaced far enough apart they squeezed there bodies through there. We chased them for awhile and eventually got them back in the barn...

We fixed there escape route and had no more problems with them. Yes they do seem to poop in the same spot most of the time (inside) when outside I never noticed a 'bathroom' area used more than others. They loved all foods we gave them--with the exception of onions and green peppers(same with our pot belly pigs). The first year we sold 1 1/2 pigs and kept 1/2 for ourself. The second year we sold 2 pigs and kept one for ourself. I don't think we ever really came out ahead in the selling of the pigs...Other than we ended up getting ours paid for from the sale of the others both years. Each year the pigs weighed between 290 and 315 live weight. So we ended up getting lots of meat and it was sooooooo good. The hams were so huge I would have to take the top rack outta the oven and put the other rack on the lowest spot in order to cook it. Like I said above we are planning on getting 3 more this year- possibly more as we already have people asking if they could buy a hog from us this year....
I have never really noticed any smell with our pigs. It's there, but no more than any other animal...They are actually pretty clean animals and as long as you take care of them (cleaning, feeding, watering, etc. etc) the smell shouldn't be to bad...Our male goat smells worse than our pigs ever do. We have had a mix of breeds too...Poland, Duroc, Hamps, Yorks, and crosses and I personally haven't found one better over the other...
Good luck I think you will love having pigs....

 

[AussieSharon]

I am also a first time meat pig raiser. Bishopschickens and I went on Feb 13th and got a pig each from a gentleman in VA that has been raising for years. He crosses 3 breeds to get what he thinks is the "perfect" meat pig.

We got a boy and girl which are 7 weeks old and weighing almost 50 lbs. The boy will be castrated this week. ( oh yeah that is going to be a fun learning experience )

We plan to raise them until mid June when they will go to a local Menonite family that does butchering.