Raising a pig for meat

[suenrob]

Thank you all for your help. I think I have talked myself out of pig farming for now. I'm going to just stick with chickens.

 

[ArabiansR2Cool]

What would be the best way to make use of a 1 acre woods for a couple of pigs? What would be the best sort of fencing for that? It's actually 10+ acres of thick woods, but I was hoping I would only have to use a small area of it. Thoughts?

 

[partimer]

Just fence in a small section at a time. The grunts will help clean it up. A double electric fence would work easier thru thicket, for installation. This is also easier to move locations. Ok go have a pork chop....

 

[RhodeIslandReds]

Hey there I am looking to get a pig and you are the only around me that has been able to find a pig. Where did you get your pig suenrob?
If you have a way I can contact them please let me know.

Thanks,
RIRs

 

[Ilovepork]

If your raising a meat pig its best to get a mix breed. The growth rate is faster than a purebred. I prefer a york/hamp cross. I feed a 12% allstock feed that costs .17 cents a pound. Your feed costs for feeding out a pig should be around 180-200 $ to get them to around 225-250. Don't be afraid to get spoiled vegetables from your local veggie stands.

 

[naturalfeddogs]

Rather than feeding a ton of feed, if you had the pasture for it would it be possible to feed a pig on grass only, and maybe some veggie scraps as well? I would love to have our own in the freezer as well, and share the meat with our dogs. I would rather have grass fed for us all. I'm sure it would take longer to get them up to the correct weight, though? It's just a thought. If we have cattle, that's how we will do it. Just wondering about the pigs as well.

 

[Ilovepork]

Hogs aren't like graizing animals they have a single gut so they don't digest it the same. If you want natural your best bet might be to grow a crop of corn and feed it or other home grown protein rich crop. Soybeans maybe.

 

[Arielle]

While the modern method is raising hog on grain, there used to be another way. I raises 5 hogs some years ago and bought many bags of grain. I'm not willing to do that anymore, so I found this and Youtoo might be interested in a blog about a farmer that raises hogs on pasture: a well stocked pasture of root crops, legumes, pumpkin patches and more. Including chikens to freerange and provide eggs to the growing piglets. THis pasture is supplemented with whey and brewer grains. No commercial feed at all. SOme 40 sows have piglets twice a year on this system. Try sugarMtnfarm.com

 

[Isaac D]

how hard are pigs to breed? and about how many piglets?

 

[Balloonjuice]

It looks like this thread died. But I thought I would throw in some info I have gleaned from raising a couple of feeders. First, don't believe the folks who tell you that you can raise a pig to slaughter on 250 square feet. You'll have a stinking mess unless you love to shovel. I have a quarter acre fenced off with welded wire and a strand of electric fence inside at about 8" off the ground. They quickly learn to back up if the fence is there. They are not so quick to learn without the fence. However, if you train them from the time they are born to be used to backing away from the electric wire rather than going through it (i.e. if there is a fence beyond the electric wire), you will not need a strong fence. They will see the yellow standoffs and avoid the fence most of the time and will hit "reverse" when they do accidentally run into it.

My recommendation is to start the small piggies (weaned usually at 10-15 lbs) in an area with an electric fence and a welded wire fence beyond that. If you want to, you can then move it to a larger area with an electric fence only. Be sure to provide shelter from the rain, dry bedding, and your feeder. Some people here on BYC ferment their feed for their chicks. Your pigs will also love fermented feed. It will help their digestive system (which on a pig needs all the help it can get), the swine seem to like it better, and they seem to eat less feed per pound of weight gain. I have not charted that last bit, though, so it could be just me.