CrealCritter
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What's the best breed of hog for meat?
Hogs for meat
- Thread starter CrealCritter
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That is a loaded question to which you will not find a simple answer. Depends on what you're looking for in your meat and what's around you for breeds, and a whole bunch of other things. Do you care if they're heritage breeds?
I am personally pretty impressed with Duroc/Old Spot crosses. But I've heard Large Blacks are fantastic, and Berkshires are supposedly great. Just stay away from Yorkshires and mass produced hogs, they'll have low fat and not do well on the homestead.
I am personally pretty impressed with Duroc/Old Spot crosses. But I've heard Large Blacks are fantastic, and Berkshires are supposedly great. Just stay away from Yorkshires and mass produced hogs, they'll have low fat and not do well on the homestead.
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CrealCritter
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Put one of these on each side of your driveway. Amazing how many people it prevents from coming up on your property.
baymule
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I’ve read extensively on what Walter Jeffries of Sugar Mountain Farm has to say about pigs. Everything you ever wanted to know plus a whole lot you never thought to ask is on his site. His coverage of taint is very good.
We bought 2 grown hogs last year, a one year old boar and 2 year old sow. We fed them soured corn for 30 days and took them to slaughter. Best pork we ever had!
Get some cow panels and build a pen. Tpost the crap out of it. Lure him with sour corn and feed him sour corn.
To start sour corn, 1 can of beer, 16 oz live culture yogurt, or a half gallon of raw milk. Put in a bucket with 2 large coffee cans of corn, top with water. Repeat for several more buckets. I keep 5-8 buckets going at a time. Pour most of the juice into another bucket before serving and continue the process. You can add more milk as you go. Raw milk makes good pork!
Talk to the butcher. After slaughter get a piece of the meat and cook it. If no taint, proceed. If taint, make sausage, pepperoni, salami and such. The bacon off such a large hog will be awesome!
We bought 2 grown hogs last year, a one year old boar and 2 year old sow. We fed them soured corn for 30 days and took them to slaughter. Best pork we ever had!
Get some cow panels and build a pen. Tpost the crap out of it. Lure him with sour corn and feed him sour corn.
To start sour corn, 1 can of beer, 16 oz live culture yogurt, or a half gallon of raw milk. Put in a bucket with 2 large coffee cans of corn, top with water. Repeat for several more buckets. I keep 5-8 buckets going at a time. Pour most of the juice into another bucket before serving and continue the process. You can add more milk as you go. Raw milk makes good pork!
Talk to the butcher. After slaughter get a piece of the meat and cook it. If no taint, proceed. If taint, make sausage, pepperoni, salami and such. The bacon off such a large hog will be awesome!
sumi
Rest in Peace 1980-2020
Do watch with huge boars, the chops will be huge too! I butchered a big boar once, hanging weight was 220 lbs. One of my meat customers asked me for chops… Should've seen his face when we handed him 4 bags of meat lol Big old boars can make some nice sausages, there are the ribs too, ham… LOTS of bacon 
frustratedearthmother
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Wannabefree
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Im just in it for the bacon...I need a t-shirt that's says that 
NH Homesteader
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Honestly I don't think it matters much. I've never heard a bad thing about any of the heritage breeds so just see what's around you. Try a few out over the next few seasons and see what your favorite is. The Old Spot is delicious but they tend to get overly fatty if you overfeed them, as they do have a higher proportion of fat in the first place (which is what makes them delicious).
baymule
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Do you have a fenced in garden? Perfect place for a couple of pigs. Do you have 4 cow panels? How fast can you go get them? You gotta get going on this pig thing...... Now that you know the difference between REAL meat and crap......
baymule
Sustainability Master
GO GET THOSE FREE PIGS!!! A pig is a pig is a pig is a pig. Little bites, big bites, it's still pork. That old dog fence would be just fine for a couple of small pigs. Put a doghouse or some type of shelter in there for them, with some hay in it. Is the pen in the sun? Even better yet, put a sheet of plywood on each side of a corner. Go inside the pen and put up another sheet, and put a roof on it, making a 3 sided shelter. Make sure the afternoon sun does not "set" in the open end of the shelter.
Feed. You don't know how these pigs have been fed. To clean up the meat, feed them for 30 days. Soak whole corn in milk mixed with water, toss in a capful of Braggs ACV and let it sour for several days to a week. You can use the water to sour the next batch. The last pigs we had, I had 7 or 8 buckets going and fed them twice a day. Best pork I have raised yet!
A 4 year old pig? Grind it up and make sausage.
Feed. You don't know how these pigs have been fed. To clean up the meat, feed them for 30 days. Soak whole corn in milk mixed with water, toss in a capful of Braggs ACV and let it sour for several days to a week. You can use the water to sour the next batch. The last pigs we had, I had 7 or 8 buckets going and fed them twice a day. Best pork I have raised yet!
A 4 year old pig? Grind it up and make sausage.
