Anyone here raise pigs?

[Budweiser]

Yeah, I talked to my buddy today he told me I should definately do two for basically the reasons you guys listed....And he'll give me a better deal on them.. Have some spare time so going to start working on the pen today

 

[Wannabefree]

Just make sure they have enough space Glad you're taking the plunge and getting some!

 

[Budweiser]

Definitely, I have a bunch of lumber to my disposal. Had an old garage torn down so it'll be a pretty low cost pen

 

[bj taylor]

hi, i'm new to this forum. i saw the thread about pigs & jumped in. we're getting goats fairly soon & i need to focus my attention on learning about them - but i want pigs. i hope to someday. how long do y'all keep your pigs? how old before you process them. do you keep both male and female? (is that barrow and gilt?) - my terminology is woefully inadequate so far.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I got two pigs in mid-September and we're butchering them this weekend. They went from about 15 lbs to butchering weight (we're guesstimating that they're 200+) in approximately 6 months. I would have preferred to have been able to feed them a little more cheaply than I did. I bought commercial feed and supplemented them with eggs, goat milk, whey, kefir and good ol' garden scraps.

They were housed in the large garden area and did a great job of rooting/tilling it up for us. I've moaned and groaned about them occasionally, but honestly, I have really enjoyed their time here. Now, it's time for them to go. They've made me laugh and I don't doubt that I might shed a tear for them on Saturday, but it won't stop us from our mission.

They will be killed humanely and I will thank them for their sacrifice. Then I will enjoy them all over again! Mmmmmmmmmmm, bacon!

 

[Blaundee]

Yes, several of us on here raise pigs. I would recommend talking to your friend who breeds them for ideas. They would know what works best for your area
As for us, we pasture raise ours, as much as possible. When that can't be done, we feed chop with lots of additions. Our pig girls have a nice sized hutch, L shaped for wind protection, piled high with straw. We were told to always have a minimum of 2 here, as they like companionship and will help each other stay warm during our cold months.

How do you pasture them? Are they tame and come when called? What sort of fence do you need, and how big of a pasutre?

 

[pinkfox]

age to process will vry greatly on the type of pig your raising comercial breeds grow FAST pig can be ready to butcher at 6-8 months...but they will also eat alot more, be moredestructive on pasture and tend to be more tempermental, heritidge breed is going to tacke close to 9-12 months to hit a good butcher weight, but they will grow sloer eat less and generally be a little easier on pasture (and tend to be better on the temperment)

personally i now have 2 old spot gilts (young females) and will be getting an old spot boar (male) as soon as theres some on theground.
they will be my breeding group

in terms of soley for meat, get gilts/sows (girls) or castrated males (brrows), boars dont make a great choice for human consumption unless you planning on butchering as sucking (or befroe 8 months) after 8 months boar taint can "damage" the met for people...(still edible and fine for dogs ect) barrows dont have this issue.
pigs are VERY social so getting 2 is oging to be better for them and you...a happy pig is an easier pig.

pigs re incredibly strong and incredibly inteligent...youll need strong fencing or electric (or both) if going electric (which works out easier for pasturing as you can esily move and rotte pastures) youllneed a temporary pen when the pigs first arrive thats fenced and hs an electric line...the fence just prevets them barreling forward when they get zapped that first time.
pigs re INTELIGENT (i cannot re-iteate this enough...) with goats they get zapped once in a while they avoid the electric fece and dont typically bother testing it...
pigs will test the fence...they will purposely touch it once in a while to see if its on...
Yes you can train them to come when called, (you can also train them to do all kinds of fun tricks, just remember if you planning on eating your pigs...dont get too attached lol.)

in terms of on psture...depends on the pig and your propety, the best way to do it is to set up potrtable electric fence pens leave them in once spot for a few day then move the fencing and rotate them through your property...
pigs root and the comercial breeds more so than others...they will tear your pasture up if left in one spot long enough...and long enough for a pig is NOT long at all...they are bulldozers!
heritidge breeds tend to eb a little easier on pasture...

the way illbe doing mine is ill be fencing the majority of my property and the pigs long with the goats and ducks will have acess to it all...they will root but gos are known to be "light" on pasture...but theyll generally choose one spot to realy dig and muddy up as a walow and then graze the grasses most everywhere else.
pasture raised pork tastes SOOOO much better

 

[SSDreamin]

Yes, several of us on here raise pigs. I would recommend talking to your friend who breeds them for ideas. They would know what works best for your area
As for us, we pasture raise ours, as much as possible. When that can't be done, we feed chop with lots of additions. Our pig girls have a nice sized hutch, L shaped for wind protection, piled high with straw. We were told to always have a minimum of 2 here, as they like companionship and will help each other stay warm during our cold months.

How do you pasture them? Are they tame and come when called? What sort of fence do you need, and how big of a pasutre?

In short, what Pink said
We started out by putting our pig girls in a tight woven fenced pen lined with electric. They tested it repeatedly for about a week. Once they settled to it, we moved them to a 1/8 acre pasture (we wanted bigger, but time/money prevented it) that was just three strands of electric - the lowest strand being 6 inches high. We set it up this way to NOT have to add as they grew. As Pink pointed out, they WILL test the fence periodically to see if it's still on! All of our fencing is solar and, in our area - where snow a foot deep is just a normal winter - we had charge issues that the girls were MORE than happy to point out for us After a vicious dog attack, we chose to wrap the entire pasture in woven fencing. If you walk up to the gate and call, our girls come a runnin! We also decided to include a small group of trees in their pasture - it is an extra chore, checking to make sure they haven't rooted any up, but they love the shade in summer and even enjoy running around in there during winter. They get good exercise (leaner meat) and get a good life while they're here. That was most important to me. Pink is absolutely right though - I do my best to stay as detached as possible from them, so it won't be AS hard when their time comes. A quick read through the latter parts of my journal will show how it hasn't exactly worked out for me though We have Yorkshires. Big girl is at weight right now (240), but we are waiting for a break in the weather (she stays to keep the other warm for now). Our guess is, she'll be 260+ when she finally goes. Blue pig girl is only at 180-200 right now, and we will be waffling back and forth between keeping/breeding her and taking her in right up until the last minute, I'm sure Once Spring is really here, we are talking getting three more (or breeding blue girl). We are pork eating fools around here!

 

[k15n1]

What about smell? I mean, if labor and cost are not an issue, how can I control the smell of 1 pig over the whole year in Minnesota? Does the strategy change with temperature? I won't be able to graze the pig, unfortunately.

 

[me&thegals]

We raise 1-2 each summer now. They get 20-50 lb of vegetable scraps per day, plus about 1 gallon of chicken feed (we grind our own) until they're ready to be butchered. We get them nearly fully grown, though, after they've been raised as fair pigs and simply keep them for a few months to hopefully convert their meat to better stuff


ps--They come when fed not called. DS was just reminding me of the time he slipped and fell in their crap. He was worried they would see him as a nice big juicy meal and was scrambling pretty fast to get on his feet!