Someone wrote in a comment to a previous day’s posting: “I would like to raise pigs for meat for my family. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while. Is it hard to do??? How much space do they need? Do they have to have pasture or can I just keep them in a pen? How badly do they smell??”
Note: feed, butchering and piglet prices have gone up considerably, even doubling, since I originally wrote this article.
Keeping pigs is very easy, they don’t take up much space and they don’t have to smell bad. I would suggest getting a book such as “Small Scale Pig Raising” by Dirk van Loon. That is full of information and will get you started. There are also a number of hog oriented discussion lists such as PasturedPork at Yahoo.com’s groups. But, don’t let all the information there overwhelm you. Read a bit and then dive into the muck!
At the most basic level you can imitate commercial factory farms: simply have a pen for your piglets, buy grain, fill an automatic feeder, have an automatic waterer, toss in a few bales of hay or sawdust, watched the pigs grow and then take the finished pigs to the butcher. This will work. It is the fastest and maybe the easiest way to raise a pig if you don’t have much land. The pigs don’t need to have pasture and don’t require much space (about 10′x10′ each). They will smell the worst with this method and it is the most expensive way to do it since you are providing all of their nutrition from commercially bought feed.
Here’s the math: If you’re pen raising them figure on:
- $125 for 800 lbs of grain per pig for the feed. Grain prices have been shooting up so beware that those are 2005 Vermont bag prices – adjust for your time and place.
- $65 for a piglet
- $35 slaughter
- $65 for butchering (40¢/lb based on hanging weight of 180 lbs = ~250 lb live weight)
- and what ever costs you have for the pen.
- $290 or more in total
For that investment you’ll get hundreds of pounds of prime manure for your garden (compost it with hay, straw or wood chips), about 120 lbs of pork cuts (fresh hams, fresh bacon, pork chops, shoulders, etc), bones for soup and scraps for dogs. Be sure to ask the butcher for the bones and lard! Smoking is additional and runs about a dollar or two per pound for the smoked portions. If you just look at the value of the pork you get it comes to about $2.47 per pound. Doing it this way won’t be cheaper than buying pork on sale at the supermarket but it is comparable to quality pork and a much healthier product where you know what went into making it.
Update: The multiplier from 2005 to 2007 feed costs is 1.259 based on USDA data. This makes the 2007 cost of feed $157, Piglet were $85 this spring. Butchering has gone up to about $45 for slaughter and $0.65 per pound based on hanging weight for cut and wrap. The final cost per pig is now about $404 and the price of pork $3.45 per pound. Add your pen and labor costs to that.
We do it a little differently here since we have plenty of land – we pasture the animals during the warm months and then during the coldest months they are in garden corrals. This saves on facilities too – we have no barns but just some open sheds and dens for the winter months.
I don’t like shoveling shit so I have the animals spread it for me. They do a most admirable job of distributing it across the pastures which improves our fields. They also till and fertilize our gardens, cut the brush and mow the fields. This saves me a lot of labor, gas and equipment. The key there is intensive rotational grazing – moving the pigs to a new spot every week or so as they use up the area they are grazing. Same idea as with sheep, goats and cattle.
Many breeds of pigs can live virtually just on pasture and then hay during the winter. This was how we did it for years before we lucked into the excess milk from the local dairy. The pigs do grow faster if they also have some other feeds besides pasture. On just pasture it takes about seven to eight months for a piglet to grow to market size (~200 to 225 lbs). On commercial feed it is only about six months. With the dairy plus pasture it’s back to about six months from birth to market.
To supplement our pasture and hay we get expired bread from the bakery, excess dairy and cheese trim. We also feed garden gleanings as well as extra pumpkins, corn and other crops we grow here on the farm. The piglets and occasionally the adult pigs also get excess eggs from our chickens during the height of production in the spring and early summer.
Pasturing the pigs is the easiest, cheapest, least smelly way to do it – in fact pigs on pasture don’t stink and are a clean animals other than a pleasant roll in their mud bath on a hot day. The pigs are a lot healthier and happier for it. On the topic of smell, a balanced diet makes a difference since most of the smell is wasted feed that are excreted when there is an excess of proteins. This isn’t so much the total protein content of the feed but rather the balance of types of proteins.
Adding carbon to the pigs diet in the form of pasture or hay as well as plenty of high carbon bedding (again we use hay) soaks up the nitrogen (often in the form of ammonia) which is the source of much of the smell. This binds the smell producing chemicals and saves them for composting into your garden. Healthy pig poops smell less.
Of course, one solution to pollution is dillution. If you had to live in a 10′x10′ box you would get pretty stinky too. If you’re raising the pigs in a pen, clean it out frequently adding fresh bedding and it will smell less.
Since I don’t like to clean pens I pasture the animals. Given the opportunity to graze on pasture in the warm months and eat hay in the winter the pigs don’t stink because they spread their own manure, keep cleaner and get plenty of fiber and carbon in their diet.
Here’s a trick: If you’re going to keep them in a pen consider using your garden or a new space you want to turn into a garden. Divide the space up into four to six sections and then rotate the pigs through the sections. Put them in each section for about one week. After they leave a section, rake in some red clover, buckwheat, turnip seeds, grass or other fast growing crops. By the time you get the pigs back onto the first area it will be a wonderful treat for the pigs and you’ll be growing some of your own feed. The pigs will appreciate rooting in the soil. Just as importantly, they need iron which they can get from dirt – otherwise you need to give them iron and vitamins for good health like the factory farms do. Doing it this way, in just one year you’ll have a very rich soil for your new garden. This technique works very well to make a garden corral for raising pigs in the winter. Note that it is important to give them plenty of hay to work into the soil to absorb the nitrogen from their pee and poop. This also adds organic matter to the soil making it fluffier – great organic gardens!
You can of course do any mix of the above techniques from small pen to a garden corral to truly pastured pigs. Do what ever fits your budget and resources. Pigs are very versatile and grow well under a wide variety of conditions making them an excellent source of meat that you can raise yourself.
Also see: Pastured Pigs
I’ve heard that pigs can be aggressive, especially bores. Have you had this difficulty?
Yes, pigs like any animal can be agressive. They are big. They have teeth, and hoves and simple body mass. To keep them gentle, interact with them in a positive manner from the start. Tame them. Get them used to thinking of you in a positive frame. But never let them think they are boss. You must be the boss, the alpha, the leader. Any overly agressive animals should simply be eaten. You want to cull the herd of any who are nasty. That must be a firm rule – Be nice or be dinner.
Oh, and I meant to mention, don’t feed them from your hand. Drop the food on the ground in front of them. If you feed them from your hand they can come to associate your fingers with food. Fingers are for petting. Yes, you can train them to gently take food from your hand – but you will feel very bad the first time they nip off a child’s fingers who is trying to hand feed them or just reach out to pet them. So don’t hand feed them. Use your hands to pet them, scratch their back’s and sides, rub them behind the ears, etc. Hands are not food.
All that said, pigs can be very gentle and fun.
hi my family is setting up to have pastured pigs and we are wondering when it comes to boars do they need to be kept seperate or can they be left to mix with the females for breeding
We leave our boars mixed in with the females and the whole herd. If I have a female I don’t want bred like a young gilt not quite up to size, or a male I don’t want breeding, I’ll separate them out but that is a lot more work than keeping everyone together.
thanks for your reply and another question so then you have pigglets random through out the year or do they only have pigglets in the spring
There is some clustering. My guess is like with other species the sows have a certain amount of social cues to their fertility and ovulation cycles. But in general it is through out the year. See this article about winter farrowing from the right sidebar Favorites.
some friends of ours with 4month old piglets have offered one to us. we have built a 10×10 pen for it and have a large overgrown garden it can dig up for us (switched over to raised beds this year). my question to you is can we let the pig roam free in this garden (unfenced) or could we put it on a leash(?!!). also will this little pig be ready for the butcherby xmas? longer? is it ok to take just one pig – will it be lonely, does it need companionship?
sorry if these questions sound ignorant – thanks for your response!
If it is four months old now I would expect it to be ready for slaughter by Xmas. That put it at 7 months and probably about 250 lbs or so.
I would not try a leash. Pig necks are well suited for that. I have seen drawings of people making a harnass for the pig and pinning it but I think fencing it into the garden would be a much better way to go. I would use electric with a physical barrier as well, especially if it is new to electric.
They are competative feeders and social so companionship is great but not required. You do what you do.
Have fun!
I was wondering what breed of pigs are the best for raising meat?? and where are the best places to go to buy them cheap. i need help figuring out where to start and with what…
Jessica, I suspect that most any pig will do. My experiences is just with our pigs which are a mix of primarily Yorkshire (Large White) with a dab of Glouster Old Spot, Durac and Tamworth perhaps. I have heard that some people even keep pot bellied pigs for meat because they want a smaller size. If that were my goal I would just slaughter a little earlier.
That all said, there are characteristics to look for. In our case we want pigs that graze well. I have read others accounts of pigs who just laid around and didn’t graze. Perhaps they were overfed or maybe some do graze better than others. Grazing and hay eating is important since this means less parasites/worms, a more natural approach to management, better quality meat (in my and others’ opinions based on taste tests) and lower feed bills. Grazing and hay eating also produce healthier meat that is higher in the good Omega-3 fatty acids.
Other things I’ve read about breeds:
Yorkshires (Large Whites from Yorkshire, England) are a large muscled, large boned traditional breed (the oldest and definitely a heritage) that are good on pasture and excellent mothers weaning big litters. They have white skin, which matters to tanners and movie makers, excellent quality meat and just the right amount of fat. They are a bacon breed as well as pork chops with their long bodies. This is our experience and supposed to be the reason Yorkshire genetics are used extensively now in commercial hogs.
Tamworths while good grazers have less meat on them and are very lean but make excellent grazers but poor mothers.
Bershires are very tasty and a little fatty (I like that) making for an excellent meat.
Most people will say, I suspect, that their pigs are best. That is probably true. :) Pigs are great and great tasting! Check out this to read about lots of breeds.
How much all of that is real and how much of it is opinion I don’t know. The Yorkshire part does seem to hold up in practice, at least with our Yorkshire crosses.
Most of all, you want pigs that taste good. :)
As to your other questions:
Best place to get them? Look in your local classified newspaper and on bulletin boards at farm stores, general stores, hardware stores, feed stores, etc. Support your local pig breeders rather than buying in piglets trucked long distances. What you don’t want is to get the culls, especially not from factory farms.
If you are going to do more than just raise piglets up over the summer then ideally get pigs from someone who is doing it similarly to how you want to do it. That way the genetics are already selected in your favor.
Best way to get them cheap? Buy in the fall of the year. Piglet prices are extremely seasonal. Spring and summer are high. Fall is low. Winter may be high. It is easy to raise pigs up through the winter, even in an extreme climate like ours. Not as easy as summer but given the difference in price it is well worth it – this is what many farmers around here do.
Hi – I just talked to a lady from the Philippines who said if male and female piglets are not castrated / spayed the meat will have a slight urine taste. I’m raising 10 piglets right now. They are about 14 weeks old. The males were fixed at 8 weeks, but females weren’t. Should I look into fixing the females too? Many thanks!
Lindsay, what you’re referring to is called ‘boar taint’. Some boars show this some don’t. Additionally some females of some breeds of pigs show this too although that is much less common.
I have done testing up to 14 months of age and find that at least with our pigs there is no need for castration of the boars – we’ve not found any taint. Normally pigs are slaughtered at about 6 months of age which is before boar taint shows up anyways even in most pigs that do have it. Females are not normally spayed except if they’re being kept as pets.
There has been quite a bit of research done on this. See the articles To Cut Or Not and Boar Meat for more discussion. Please do go and read those articles. From there you can find links to additional scientific research on the topic.
We have a small heard of cattle and one horse that thinks he’s a cow. We have then in a pasture for the summer that is about 5 acres with some thick woods and 5 strands of electric wire.
Last year we raised two hogs in pens, very smelly, kept having to expand it because they rooted so much.
I was wondering if it would be feasable to put a few pigs in the pasture with the cattle? My husband is worried that they will tear up too much with their rooting. How can this be curtailed and will they get along with the other animals (we have 2 due to calve any minute..
Thanks
Sheri in KY
Sheri, I don’t have cattle or horses so I can’t comment exactly on your situation. Our pigs are with our sheep and they seem to get along fine.
We don’t find that the pigs root up the pasture much if they have plenty of room. They are more interested in grazing the plants. On the other hand, if you do want them to root then confine them to a smaller area. The one time we see serious rooting is right in the spring when they first get back out on fresh pasture. I think they’re very interested at that point in getting into the dirt. But that subsides and they switch to grazing.
So they will do some rooting. If you want pasture that looks like lawn you’ll be unhappy. We have scruffy mountain pastures so a little rooting here or there isn’t a big deal. I almost never see them go more than a few inches deep and mostly just around the brush.
We are raising pigs this year and I read the comment about grazing and hay being good for them. They will be in a pen about 10 by 10. Will they consume any kind of vegetation mother earth produces, that we will toss into the pen for them and will straw work in their diet or does it have to be hay?
Gladys, a 10′x10′ pen is rather small. I would suggest a lot more space for your pigs. Even for a single pig more space would be better and ideally you want to rotate them across different spaces. They will be happier, healthier and smell better.
All that aside, they will eat virtually anything you give them. I prefer not to give them meat, just veggies. Out on pasture ours love the grasses, clovers, burdock, thistles (ouch!), colts foot, lambs quarter, brush, briars and other plants. According to the books there are poisonous plants but I’ve never had a pig get sick eating forage out on the pastures. My guess is they would not eat something that is poisonous but they do seem to eat everything out there.
Just avoid using herbicides, pesticides, etc and then you can give them all your lawn clippings if you have that, veggie compost and other veggie matter. They also love milk, cheese, eggs, etc.
Have fun,
-Walter
Hi, We have a hampshire/yorkshire cross barrow and it’s our first time raising a pig. We have about 1 1/2 acres here in south louisiana but we let our pig “Charlotte” have the run of the fenced in acre (which also happens to be where the house is, her wooden pen we built didn’t hold her long :D). Will field fencing hold in a pig, we are wanting to make the house “off limits” to her since she is curious and gets into everything, not to mention she tries to sleep on the porch at night! Also she gets all kinds of scraps as well as grain and pasture, is there a way to make sure she is getting all the nutrients that she needs? Also if we wanted to fence off an area just for her would purchasing a boar be a bad idea, and would there be enough room? Sorry for all the questions and Thank you :)
Angie, You’ve got a situation. Unfortunately your pig is already trained to some things you’ll need to breaker her of. I would do the retraining before you get a boar or breeder her.
You can keep a pig in with simply two wires of electric fencing, especially if you use high tensile (pulled tight) smooth wire.
Most importantly she needs to learn to respect electric wire. That is going to be the hard part since she already thinks she has the run of the place. To train her to electric you need to build a very hard fenced corral that is physically fenced such that she can’t break through it. Inside of that put two smooth electric wires, low nose and high nose positions). Use a strong wide impedance electric charger for the fence, ground it well, wet the ground and put her in. Training may take a month or more.
While she’s training work on fencing the areas she’ll go. I would subdivide it into four or more paddocks and rotate her between them as she uses each one. This gives them a chance to regrow and prevents soil compaction. Typical rotation might be as little as three days in a paddock or as long as a week.
At the bottom of the electric fencing in the paddocks lay a log, stones, etc to create a visual barrier. This helps her to know – don’t go there.
She’s not going to be happy with the learnign process but likewise you are not likely to be happy unless she learns to respect boundaries.
Alternative fencing after she is trained: electrified poultry netting works – clip the bottom two wire leads to prevent grounding. Step in posts about 5′ apart with polywire will work. Tape also works although it is more expensive. If you have the money, you can do woven wire fencing around the perimeter or even in the paddocks with one or two hot wires on the pig’s side. That may be necessary if she won’t train.
If she is already too set in her ways then you’ll either need to give in to her, keep her tightly penned or slaughter her and start with a new gilt who you train to electric from a young age.
Good luck!
Hello and thanks for this brilliant website – fantastic stuff! I’m thinking of buying a pair of Wessex saddleback gilts to breed from – the breed is critically endangered. I have 8 acres of (very short) pasture, and I would like to eventually give them as much room to move as possible. However the fences on my land are for cattle – no way will they keep in a determined pig. My question is: how large an area would you give a couple of growing piggies? An acre, more, or somewhat less? You answer will inform how I go about purchasing an electric fence. One more thing: I have read about the idea of growing a block of Jerusalem artichokes and folding the pigs on that for them to dig up – would you consider this worth doing, or more trouible than food value?Thanks again, – Kim from Australia.
In order to promote good grazing you want to give them only a small amount of pasture at a time and rotate them quickly, say every three days to a week. This is quite easy to do with two sections of electrified poultry netting. Clip the leads to the bottom two horizontal wires to reduce grounding and electrify the fence with a good pulsing charger. I would go with 1.5 joules or more. As the pigs eat down one section to about 1″ or 2″ of grass (depending on moisture), move the pigs to the next section.
As they get bigger they’ll go through a section more quickly. Eventually they’ll come back to the original section which is regrown. Be sure to not come back to a section within 22 days or more, I prefer at least 30 days, in order to break most parasite cycles.
We also pasture our sheep and poultry with the pigs. They graze together very complementarily.
If you allow your boars and sows to pasture together with their previous offspring how do you prevent the boar from mating with its offspring? Or doesn’t it matter?
Deb, the vast majority of the offspring go to the butcher making that a non-issue. The only ones that remain are the best of the best. A little inbreeding is not a problem and then we change boars ever couple of years. At some point I’ll do a post about breeding mathematics. I figured out the math behind the genetics and it is quite fascinating. Cheers, -Walter
Walter,
Some questions: I understand you have plenty of land for pasturing, so smell in minimized and the rooting and damage is not spread beyond the land’s capacity to continuously rejuvinate. How much would you think is the minimum to pasture a single pig?
Also, to get an idea of comparison for our local hay, may I ask how much you pay per bale in your area?
Bill, see this post for estimates of land per pig. Hay varies from about $25 to $40 per 800 lb 4×4 wrapped round bale here in northern central Vermont in 2005 through 2007. I pay about $3 to $5 per bale for delivery in bulk. Small square bales (40 to 60 lbs) go for about $1.50 (mulch) to $3.50 (horse hay) and about 25¢ to 50¢ per bale for delivery. Cheers, -WalterJ
We are currently and have for the past three years raised mixed breed feeder pigs.They belong to an intentional community and receive buckets and buckets of household compost per day,are allowed to root in a large pasture(there are five pigs).We get them in late summer and butcher them in spring,usually 300 pounds plus and are happy with this.
the price of the organic grower and finishing grain mixes we offer them have risen in price dramatically.Can someone recommend a home made grain mix to offer them,it would be much cheaper.We have the time and manpower available.Thank you,Lisa
Lisa, organic grains and mixes are quite expensive. Think about why you are buying them. Is there something else that would be a substitute that would achieve the same goals? For example, can you get excess milk from local farms? Whey? Produce from your local coop or health food store? How much can you grow yourself? If you plant more legumes in your pasture you will cut the need to buy feeds. Just watch to balance the proteins. Lycine tends to be the limiter. Cheers, -WalterJ
Hi, I own 40 acres in Eastern Ontario that had last been grazed about 12 years ago. The fields are now filled with willows and weeds, and some grass still holding on. I hope to one day turn it into hobby farm, but I am not there yet. I am in the process of building a log home on the land, until the house is done I am living near the land but not on it. I work in the city so I dont get home until at least 6pm.
I have been bush hogging some of the fields to try to get the fields back into productivity and having read your site Im wondering if instead of bush hogging, put some hogs in my bush and get the land cleared and some pork chops to boot!
my property has a perimeter fence and I can fence some smaller sections off , and provide water but I am concerned about having pigs on the property and me not being around to protect them from dogs and other predators.
What do you think? Should I wait till im living on the land before I get pigs? What type of non-electric fencing would you recomend ?
Thanks a bunch!
jeff
Jeff, personally I like being there with the animals. Evaluate the situation. Most of all I would worry about two legged predators.
For fencing, I would strongly suggest electric. There are solar powered electric fences for remote locations. Pigs respect electric and train to it very well.
I will be using pigs to open up 2 new garden plots that are currently in hay and infested with quackgrass. I am hoping that the pigs will do the work of a tiller while dropping valuable manure. Each plot is 40′ x 100′ and I was planning to get 3 pigs to do the job. Do you think 3 is enough for this size area? I want to move them in an intensive grazing system. What size chunks should I give them at one time? After the pigs leave a section, I plan to seed daikon and peas. I believe they do like the peas but I can’t find any info on whether pigs will eat daikon? I’m assuming ‘yes’?
I will be using pigs to open up 2 new garden plots that are currently in hay and infested with quackgrass. I am hoping that the pigs will do the work of a tiller while dropping valuable manure. Each plot is 40′ x 100′ and I was planning to get 3 pigs to do the job. Do you think 3 is enough for this size area? I want to move them in an intensive grazing system. What size chunks should I give them at one time? After the pigs leave a section, I plan to seed daikon and peas. I believe they do like the peas but I can’t find any info on whether pigs will eat daikon? I’m assuming ‘yes’?
KC, I would suggest a few more pigs. It would be just as easy to do six as to do three and they will do a better job. The key is going to be to subdivide the plot into small sections. Realize that when the pigs are little they are… well… er… little. That is ten little piglets won’t do as much plowing and tilling as one big pig. So, start your early areas smaller to account for this. It is key to move them to a new area before they’ve compacted the soil. Weekly rotations are generally good but it really depends on soil conditions, soil type, plant growth, etc. When they’re in smaller areas each rotation they’ll dig deeper in general. I’ve never heard of them eating diakons or not. I know they do eat radishes, beets, turnips and just about anything else. It also flavors their meat very nicely.
thank you for the extremely interesting, inspiring and informative blog. I am enjoying it nightly, having located it from the homestead hogs group. Not sure if you are still looking at this section of the site, but your comment on hay prices brought to mind a question. I am on Cape Cod, and our grain and hay prices are um, sickening. I have goats and pay 8.40 per bale (I think they call it a 45 lb bale, I know its not the 60 lb wire bale) Our “pig grain” is 13.50 per 50 lbs. Needless to say I am trying to brainstorm some ways to cut down the price on pigs this coming summer. I would like to provide them some hay and wonder about the various grades of hay. Can we give pigs the lower quality hay? I avoid the “mulch hay” for the goats because they are rumored to be sensitive to mold that might be in that grade of hay. Also, they simply throw around anything that they don’t like to eat. haha. But I am wondering about the preferences of the pigs. Any thoughts?
Beth, a small square bale (50 lbs or so) of the low grade hay is about $2 and of the highest grade rowen hay is $3.50 around here in northern Vermont. The round bales (800 and more lbs) are $25 to $40. It is far cheaper to buy hay in the big bales than the small square bales – an economy of scale – but you must be able to handle the big bales. They are rollable. You might want to consider paying a trucker to go north and bring hay to you if you’re going to use enough to make it worth it. But for the summer you shouldn’t need much. We really only use hay in the winter and at its margins (Nov-April?).
As to the quality of the hay, I have found that the pigs actually love to eat the hay you would consider mulch for sheep or goats. They love the mushroomy hay. I’ve seen this because one time they had a bale of really nice rowen hay and yucky hay and immediately went of the hay with the mushrooms growing out of it. That said, don’t feed overly dusty or moldy hay. For bedding, the nicer hay is better.
I’m trying to figure out what to feed my 4 pigs this summer. I’m trying not to have to purchase grain, as it drives up expenses. I will be pasturing them (to open up garden), supplying about four 5-gallon buckets of slop per day, and will hopefully have spent grains from the brewery and whey available for them. Does that sound like a decent ration? Is there a supplement or complete protein I should give to them, in addition, to be sure they’re getting all their amino acids?
Thanks! I really appreciate this blog and the information you provide to people!!!!
KC, On just pasture they grow a little slower but if you’re not in a rush it isn’t a big issue. They will also be leaner and higher in the good fatty acids (Omega-3) like pasture raised beef.
For a supplementary feed, dairy makes an excellent complementary feed to pasture, veggies and such. In particular t supplies lycine and calories in most forms. If you can find a source of excess milk they’ll love it.
Also look at what you can plant in the pasture like alfalfa, clover, etc to increase the protein content.
On the slop, just don’t feed post-consumer wastes without properly cooking them. In some states you can’t feed them at all for any pigs you would sell. Keep that in mind.
Hi, Your blog is so helpful!!! We’re getting a pair of piglets this month to eventually breed. We’re in Texas, do you know what the rule about feeding slop is here or can you tell me where I should check? What’s the risk of feeding post-consumer foods? Lastly, can a boar be left in a pasture with a sow and her piglets?
Pablo, I would not feed post-consumer wastes. Stick with the pre-consumer foods of which there is plenty and very low risk to no-risk of disease transfer. Your state regulations and statues should have the actual rules for your local. Here is a Google search you may find helpful. The top one covers it when I ran the search for Texas just now.
On the boars in pasture, see this post.
Have fun with the pigs!
Hi Walter,
Thanks for all the info. I haven’t seen any conversation about predators. Should I be concerned about going to work and leaving a pasture full of tasty little piggies? If I work late and get home after dark will they be OK?
Thanks for your insights. Jay
Jay,
Predators are an issue, especially for smaller pigs. We have livestock guardian dogs. See thesearticles which discuss this topic in some detail. The dogs guard and herd the pigs keeping them safe from predators of all sorts and numbers of legs.
Cheers,
-Walter
Pigs and Tower Blocks.
Great site Walter,
I live in London, England and am horrified to learn that 1/3 of all food bought in the UK ends up in the bin and thereafter in landfill. This simply is crazy. Given the energy required to produce the food, transport it to supermarkets and shops etc . Besides which…it is food.
I would like to campaign for pigs to be introduced as say part of the grounds of tower blocks and other high density housing areas for the excess food normally thrown away to be converted for pig meat. Isn’t that what every Chinese village does? I understand pigs will eat anything. Can you see anything wrong with this concept, of keeping a pig around high density housing?
The positives are: people will know their food has not gone to waste, perhaps the community can have an old style village fete, with the roast pig, bringing people together. Children in the community will realize that not all food comes shrunk wrapped from supermarkets. Elderly people or people on low incomes who might not be able to afford to buy much meat could benefit from the slaughter of their own pig.
Is 10×10 the smallest space you can get away with? I’m thinking of the concept of pigs being kept in cities.
Best wishes,
Robert
It is an interesting idea although I question if cities are a good environment for the pigs. But there is one very big problem and that is disease. Pigs can get many of the same diseases as people and the best way to transmit those diseases back and forth is by feeding post-consumer wastes to the pigs. That is to say once the food has been served to people it is potentially contaminated with their germs from their hands and mouths.
Pre-consumer foods are generally okay, so garden gleanings, dairy, veggies, etc, as long as there are no contaminants in it like pesticides, herbicides and the like.
You do want to watch out for avoiding feeding meat, in particular pork, to pigs.
Another thing that might work very well in the cities would be composting with worms. But the problem I can see with that is city land is horrendously expensive. Likely the solution is to move the post-consumer food wastes back to the country side for composting where the compost would be used for growing new crops.
The problem with that is city people would need to learn to properly separate their wastes all the time. Just a little contamination, say a battery, medications, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, paint, etc, can destroy the value of all the compost.
Keep pushing for reusing, reducing and recycling!
Cheers,
-Walter
hello,
My wife and I are currently in a debate on what animales would be good to raise for family meat with some extra to sell to neighbors or other family, do you have any suggestions. I currently am interested in raising two pigs, 25 chickens (for eggs and meat), and maybe some dexter cows later on. I have about 5 open pasture acres plus about 15 wooded acres to use for livestock. I don’t have a barn or fence yet. I thought about building a barn first and having an indoor pen leading to outside pen for chickens on oneside and on the other for pigs. should I concrete their floor on the inside or does it hurt their feet? Should I fence the entire 5 acres for the pigs with in mind that I might have a few dexters later? What is the best pigs to start with and how many? How many pigs would you recommend for 5 acres in Kentucky and what breed to start. I am trying to get as much knowledge as I can while I am over here in Iraq so when I get back I can have steps to work towards in being able to raise my own meat as well as make some extra cash on the side. Who would you sell your excess pigs to…butcher? Any and all info or sites would be a great help. I cant really go to a market over here…lol. Are vet bills expensive for pigs? What do I need for an adequite pen if a barn is not in our funding for a few years…sleeping area, covered area, shade, mudhole, fence. Please help.
I would suggest using dirt rather than concrete. It is softer, better on their legs and feet and more nutritious. Change the dirt time to time, adding the saturated dirt to a compost pile to make good soil.
Should I fence the entire 5 acres for the pigs with in mind that I might have a few dexters later?
I would. Four hard wire strands of electric around the outer perimeter and then two strands for paddock divisions work well. I like the high tensile smooth wire for both although the polywire works well for paddock divisions too.
What is the best pigs to start with?
What you can find locally, preferally from sows that farrowed outdoors rather from confinement pigs. Local pigs that were raised outdoors will already be adapted to your climate.
how many?
Start with four or so. That’s enough to give you a good feel for things and raising four is the same effort about as raising one.
How many pigs would you recommend for 5 acres in Kentucky and what breed to start?
I don’t know Kentucky at all so I’m guessing there. We keep about 200 pigs on our ten acres of paddocks and are expanding into another ten acre field. Ours are completely pastured. See this post.
I am trying to get as much knowledge as I can
Get a copy of the book “Small Scale Pig Raising” by Dirk van Loon. Excellent resource.
Who would you sell your excess pigs to…butcher?
They’ll give you bottom dollar – about like selling at auction. I would recommend not doing either. Instead sell direct to other people. Cut out the middleman.
Are vet bills expensive for pigs?
We have no vet bills. If a pig isn’t going to make it you don’t take it to the vet. Vet’s cost too much and don’t make farm visits in these parts. You’ll want to learn as much about taking care of things yourself as possible – otherwise the pig is meat. The Merck Vet Manual is a good resource.
What do I need for an adequite pen if a barn is not in our funding for a few years?
Skip the barn and go with open sheds. Easier to keep clean, less expensive, often not taxed. Pigs need just a little shelter from wet, protection from the wind and dry bedding. Most of the time our pigs choose to instead sleep out under the stars. During the hot days of summer they like the shade in the brush. They do love having a wallow, a mud hole.
Have fun!
-WalterJ
Ok I am a visual person. Is there any where I can see a drawing of the type of pasture you build for the pigs? I currently have some goats, can they be together?
I am a woman very interested in raising my own food, husband not so hot on it all. I need easy ways to do it since I am on my own with it all.
Wendy, one of my favorite paddock patterns is a tic-tac-toe board. This gives nine areas. The central square is the home area. Open a side into one of the other areas to let the pigs graze in the side paddock. When they have grazed enough, open another paddock and close the previous paddock. Rinse and repeat. The central paddock tends to get dug up. Next year use that spot for a garden, either for yourself for tomatoes, pumpkins, broccoli or the like, or use it as a garden for growing some fall food for the pigs.
hey
i am wanting to but a pocket pig?
where would i find one in virgnia?
Anonymous, I’m not sure what you mean… Are you looking for a pet pig? If so, go with one of the miniature breeds like potbellied pigs. Even those grow to 200 lbs. See this post and this post.
I am getting 2 pigs to raise will they be ok out all winter i have got them a calf house to stay in that is in there pen the pen is 12/12
Fawn
i have a 12/12 pen i am worried about my pigs being out in the winter months will they be ok and how can i help them to keep from getting to cold
Ideally orient the shelter with its back to the wind and opening to the south or east. Provide lots of hay. They should be fine. Having the shelter and its bedding raised up a bit from the surrounding ground helps with drainage to keep the bedding drier. Don’t change the bedding but rather let it build up starting well before the ground freezes.
They will do well to have extra calories in their food for the winter as they’ll burn it off producing heat.
Any ideas on how to keep the smell down from my pigs. Then pen is in the woods and don’t get alot of sun so stays wet longer. I am considering raising them in the winter to keep the smell down but was told they won’t grow very fast because they are using their energy to keep warm. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks
Mark in NH
Mark,
The smell is caused by chemical compounds from the manure and urine being lost to the air. Nitrogen, typically as ammonia compounds, and sulfur are two examples. The trick is to manage the wetness and carbon ratio.
Basically, dry the area up a bit and add plenty of hay, straw, wood shavings, wood chips, etc. Smaller pieces of carbon work faster but larger pieces let air flow better.
Packing can also setup an anaerobic area, lacking oxygen, that can get smelly when exposed.
In terms of winter pigs, they’ll grow a little slower, or simply need more calories. But the difference is not huge. Managing water in the winter is a bit trickier. Give them shelter from wind and wetness. Lots of dry bedding. We raise pigs outdoors right through the winter and it works well.
Cheers,
-Walter
Hi there, I really love having our hogs around, and we’re very happy about the work they do here. They enjoy our neighbors milk, apples, and gleanings from our small market farm.
But the problem is the economics. Our Tam-Berk crosses are on pasture from the time we buy them in the spring, with 1 or 2 strand electric fencing. They are incredibly happy hogs in sun and shade, and as I’d said, we find a reasonable amount of additional feed without spending all our lives driving across the county to collect food bits. But at the end of it, the cost going in makes the meat prohibitively expensive for most of our direct market customers. We get plenty of meat ourselves, which is nice. But I don’t understand how to raise these animals to yield a marketable product on a small (fewer than 10?) scale. And of course more pigs need more pasture.
Here’s a recent breakdown:
piglet 75-90$
feed/pig 120-200$ (not including all the “free” stuff that still takes a lot of time to collect)
slaughter 35$
trucking costs vary
processing/packaging .60/# HW
Spices, smoke/cure extra
labels extra
And all this does not include the farm’s overhead or the farmers’ labor. Not including labor and overhead, we came to a break-even price of nearly 5$/lb. If we wanted to pay ourselves even a dismal amount, and cover things like fencing, marketing, insurance, freezer, power, water, etc., we are looking at 10$/lb average.
We don’t really save much money or time rasing our own piglets (keeping large hogs through the winter), nor save much through custom slaughter (further restricting our markets). At the end of it, the feed costs make hogs for market seem highly questionable unless we could get to a scale where any narrow profit margin might be multiplied over many animals. Otherwise, I think it’s for us and family only.
Any thoughts or updates on this? Thanks, mb
Hi MB,
You're right, the feed costs are a killer in your numbers. It looks like you are paying 25¢ a pound for feed which seems high. Getting that number down is important. If you were buying feed in bulk it would cost less, maybe half that. It would take more pigs to consume it rapidly enough so that it does not spoil.
Another issue may be the feed conversion, rate of gain and growth rate. I have read that the Tamworths in particular are slow growers. Perhaps the genetics of your pigs is an issue. How many months does it take them to go from birth to 250 lbs?
Another consideration is what weight are you slaughtering at? Too small a weight, say below 225 lbs live weight, means you're loosing out on potential growth. Too large a weight, say over 300 lbs, means you would have a lot of waste in fat.
Also in regards to this look at the back fat. If they have a thick back fat then that is wasted feed unless you're looking to produce lard. Most people want marbled meat, not back fat. We aim for about 0.75" to 1" of back fat for our ideal. I've seen pigs from other farms going into the butcher with 3", 4" or even more in back fat. Growing them up that fat is a waste of money unless you're trying to produce lard. The butcher throws most of it in the trash can…
As to the price per pound, $5 is a little on the low side if you're selling as retail cuts but reasonable if you're selling as whole pigs or wholesale. This varies with location. We wholesale for about that much. The resellers, stores & restaurants, then add 50% to 100% (stores) or even 200% (restaurants) more to that price to make their markup. If you're selling as cuts then $7 to $12 per pound is reasonable – remember that not all of the pig sells for that, or any price. When someone buys cuts they're getting to select the best parts and not pay for everything else that won't sell. There is a certain amount of waste that goes to the dogs or compost.
Lastly, you will probably have to do more than just a few pigs to make it pay. At less than ten it is enough to help pay for your own family's meat and have a little additional income. To make a wage at it you'll probably need to do ten times that. It does take a certain volume to cover the overheads and get the feed costs down if you're buying grain, etc.
Good luck!
Cheers,
-Walter
Thank you Walter so much for this blog. I was lead here by a homesteading forum on a knitting website where I am a member. I have been reading about all your escapades at Sugar Mountain Farm all morning and I am so grateful to have found you.
Anyhow…here's our small problem. Our 2, 70 pound, litter mate pigs, that we purchased 3 weeks ago, from our local livestock auction, are picky eaters! Now they are in a pen, 20×40, with a loafing shed full of straw, facing east. They get a mixture of starter mash, corn, veggie scraps, excess garden goodies, apples, pears, butternut squash and such. We also have dairy goats and chickens and they get their excess milk and eggs as well. We did not start them on the extras until hublet noticed they were not that enthusiastic on the mash and corn. Even adding the "goodies" they just don't eat like a "pigs". We are not that new at raising pigs, actually these are #'s 5&6.
BTW, the pig pen has not had a pig in it since mid-summer, last year. The only thing they go nuts over seems to be my prized butternut squash. Dammit that's for our consumption.
Have you ever encountered this or heard of this before? Any light you can shed on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Nana Chickens
Leslie, I’ve heard of pigs being picky, especially if their diet has been recently changed, but I’ve not observed it. If they’re healthy they should eat fine. The fact that they like the squash is a good sign.
Thank-you for this informative site! Soon I hope to have a small farm where I can raise livestock. What are your thoughts about on site slaughter/butchering to save costs on processing? Is it worth it in the end? would I need anything special to pull this off?
On-farm slaughter and butchering is the ideal. It saves fuel, travel time, avoids stressing the animal and gives you more control over how the slaughtering and butchering are done as well as making sure you get not just your meat back but all of it back. The offal can then be composted on-site to return the nutrients to the soil of your farm.
There are many books that will give you the basics. Ideally find someone who knows how and have them teach you, after you’ve read the books. Then reread the books and try it yourself. Start with small animals like rabbits and chickens. Work your way up to roaster size pigs and then finisher pigs, cattle, elephants, dilophosaurs, etc.
As to equipment, all you need at the most basic level are sharp knives. A pail of hot water helps. Next a steel to keep the knives’ edge. One can do animals of all size with just that. You don’t have to have fancy bandsaws or the like unless you want to do a lot of cutting of bones. For our home consumption I just use knives. I debone and the bones go to soup while the meat goes to the freezer. This saves freezer space. Think boneless chops.
For regulations, this varies a little state to state but not much. essentially if you’re doing it for your family there are no regs. If you’re doing it for other people then regs come in to play. Here in Vermont, and in most states, the slaughter and butchering must be under inspection if you intend to sell the meat.
Cheers,
-Walter
First of all, thank you for your blog…For putting all the great stuff you have learned out there for others to read. And thanks for responding to all the questions!
This was my first year pasture-raising pigs (or even raising pigs for that matter). I used them to open up new garden area and it all went great! I’m thrilled to see how easy they are to raise and how much fun they are to have around.
Next week is slaughter week. Another new experience awaits. We have help from pro’s who are going to teach us how to do the slaughter part. And I think I’ve convinced my wise italian friend to show us how to cut it up. But we still need help with the bacon and hams. I read your blog from ’06 and it was really helpful for learning how to do the brine. But have you since tried smoking? Do you think we could just go from your brine (letting sit of course) to the smoker? Or is anything else involved to smoke? Do the hams get treated differently than the bacon (as far as brining and smoking)? Do you know of some good websites pertaining to this? Also, thoughts on keeping the skin vs. skinning? What do you do at home? Thanks Walter!
I have never done smoking. It’s on my to-do list for learning. This summer I read a very good book “Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design” which I would recommend if you’re interested in getting into smoking.
For a shorter quick intro to smoking I would suggest “Build a Smokehouse”.
On the skin on vs off, I'm not sure if you're asking about at slaughter or curing. For slaughter I've both skinned and scalded. They're about the same speed. The advantage of scald & scrape is one preserves the skin for making cracklin and fried pork rinds.
Cheers,
-Walter
What a great site. Thank you for putting all of this info together. I am just beginning with pigs and I’m interested in obtaining half a dozen or so to breed and eat for the family. I’m dedicating two pastures, each an acre, but I’m worried about keeping pigs weighing 300+ pounds. Are there smaller breeds, say around 200 lbs max, which can be breed and grown for meat? Can pot-bellies be used for meat?
Great blog.
What do you do about watering the pigs in the winter? In places like Maine and Vermont, can they break through ice and eat snow? Or do you have to drag fresh water out to distant pastures on a daily basis?
Seth, we have springs that run year round to supply the livestock. They are comparatively warm in the winter. See the ice sculptures.
Despite being 2+ years old, this post is probably the most clear, practical, objective, and concise summary of home hog raising that we’ve found on the ‘net. We are complete beginners and bought a little Yorkshire weaner to feed out. Some say that the Yorkshire is not hearty enough to pasture, but we’re going for it anyway. Like you, I despise shoveling feces, so I’m a proponent of the pastured route. We have a couple of rolls of electric netting that we plan to move around from place to place until she’s slaughter weight.
That should work well for you, Ed. Yorkshires were bred for mothering, fast growth and large size and doing all of that on pasture back when pigs were kept outdoors. Some of these characteristics are what makes them a foundation breed for the modern factory farmed pigs as well as an excellent choice for homesteaders. The one negative I’ve heard on Yorkshires is that since they are so white they sunburn down in the deep south. That isn’t a problem for us up here in Vermont. If you are in the south, simply provide shade and a mud wallow – they’ll coat themselves with mud to act as sunscreen during the heat of the day.
Hello Walter, love the blog and all the info you provide, thank you. I noticed in your previous post that you likrd your pork with some fat. I thought that I had made a mistake with last years herd of 5 pigs, because the where very fat. Although the meat was the best tasting ever. In previouse years some pigs had no fat and the meat was dry and not the best. This year I have been very cautious on the amount and kind of food I give them. Is this fear founded? Or should I just give them as much as they will eat per sitting with no leftovers. Thanks alot, your expert opinion means alot. Dan
Dan,
Watching their condition and growth rate lets you know if they need more protein (shown by slow growth and thin loin) or calories (shown by thin back fat) vs needing fewer calories (hanging jowls and overly fat). How their hair, skin and eyes look tells you about mineral and vitamin deficiencies.
The simple answer is commercial hog feed. A bit of research into what you have available locally and how those feeds complement each other can lead to a healthy diet that is a lot less expensive. This is how we ended up with the pasture/hay and dairy combination as being the basis of our pigs’ diet.
If you provide a varied diet they will probably get what they need. It might not be the most efficient growth rate, something factory farms must have since they strive to only lose $5 per pig, but it can work nicely.
Cheers,
-Walter
Thank you for sharing your experiences. We are considering adding pork to our home production and appreciate your contributions here.
We currently pasture our poultry and are looking into running sheep and/or pigs ahead of the PCM’s (Poultry Containment Modules).
However, living in a semi-rural setting has it’s pasture limitations. We just don’t have enough grass available. What is your thoughts on partial pasturing and using deep-litter confinement for finish? I’ve read about using sawdust at 40cm greatly reduces smell and keeps the pigs clean and healthy (these farms are in Thailand and Australia). The sawdust is composted after slaughter and should make a phenomenal soil amendment.
What are your thoughts on these deep-litter pens? Can pigs and sheep coexist in an intensive grazing model? I would anticipate moving them daily as we do our poultry.
Thanks again!
We pasture our pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese together and it works fine. Separate ewes for the week of lambing as a bloody newborn lamb is too tempting for the pigs.
On the deep bed finishing, it would work. I would suggest hay instead of sawdust because pigs can eat hay and it would thus replace the pasture for them. This is essentially what we do in the winter when the lands are buried under many feet of snow. However, use what you have for carbon. Sawdust, wood shavings, wood chips, straw, leaves, hay all work. On the leaves just make sure they aren’t a toxic variety, same thought on anything.
Cheers,
-Walter
We have raised pigs for years in confinement for 4-H projects and our own eating. This year was the first to raise piglets. We tried pasture farrowing and lost 10 of 15 piglets to mom laying on them last June. We are in the process of building a unique farrowing crate for birth in 5 days. I am really excited about raising them in a larger area without the high cost of feed. We currently order 4 tons of premixed feed to our specifications, cheaper this way, but still very expensive. We also raise dairy goats and feed garden extras and goat milk. I love your pasture idea and would like to plant jerusalem artichokes as a supplement. I once read an article years ago about raising pigs on 1/3 milk, 1/3 chokes and 1/3 grain. We have 20 acres of sagebrush, only 5 fenced and have water restrictions, so don’t know if I can maintain pastures. We live in Southern Utah. Right now we are knee deep in snow and very cold, I really feel for our pigs.
We just home slaughtered our 4 market pigs because butchers are backed up, and I cut all of them up myself. Luckily my father gave me a nice band meat saw with grinder on the side last year or I never would have physically been able to cut up 600 pounds of meat in 10 days.
Just looking for ways to do this more economically with fewer piglet loses, by the way our pigs are Durocs. Kila Day
Kila, Sorry to hear about your piglet losses. Not every sow is suited to outdoor free-farrowing. They need to still have the nesting instincts, the ability to lay down gently, choose a good site, etc. If a sow is too fat she may fall down hard when she lies down thus not giving piglets time to move out of her way. Unfortunately free-farrowing traits have been bred out of confinement pigs over many generations because those same characteristics that work so well out on pasture can cause problems in confinement operations. Nest building turns into bar biting, etc. I hope that you have better luck with your next ones. Keep warm, -Walter
Wow! What a wealth of information! Thanks. This will be our first year with pigs. We will be raising 4 Tamworth Gilts and a Tamworth Boar for meat and reproduction. Our farm is 22 acres with only about 5 acres cleared. The plan is to fence in some of the wooded area for the hogs. The woods are mostly oak. How much nutritional value is there in a wooded area as opposed to straight grass pasture? Also, I saw in an earlier post that leaves can be used as bedding. It also sounded as though the hogs would eat the leaves. Is that correct? If so, how much nutritional value is there in the leaves?. Lastly, we are also purchasing goats for meat and milk. How much milk is recommended per hog? Thanks. Lee and Tasha
Lee,
Forest land has a lot less nutrition per acre than pasture but the good news is you have oaks (I wish I did) and they drop acorns which are excellent food. Read up on feeding acorns to pigs. Here’s a search pattern.
On the milk, I find that pigs drink about 3.6 gallons per hundred weight of pig per day. See this article.
On the leaves, you can use them as bedding. Be sure to provide plenty of food. Dry (wilted) leaves can have a toxicity. Maple an cherry are both known for this. If the pigs have plenty to eat they are not likely to resort to eating the leaves. I would recommend hay, or at least straw, if available instead of the leaves because the hay is good food, especially when complemented by dairy. See this post.
Have fun with your pigs.
Hi, Walter. Thanks for the great blog. I want to start raising pigs. I have nice regular pasture, mixed varieties in it. I have like 32 acres of it. I have some cows, chickens, and horses. I live in a temperate climate (5 deg C – 20 deg C) with no winters, (I live in the tropics at 3000 meters above sea level). Right now cows go first into the pasture, then horses follow. Chickens can go wherever they want anytime. How do you think pigs could go into this scheme? Can they harm the pasture which I need for the milk cows? And lastly, can they grow exclusively on pasture?
I am planning to raise some trout too eventually because I have a lot of clean flowing water year long. Can I feed all the trouts guts to the pigs? Will it hurt them if it is quite a lot of fish guts? Will it taint he meat? I want to do a system wherever the species help each other out. The used trout water for example is very rich in nitrogen, which I can use for pasture irrigation and for the garden.
Walter, thanks again for your help.
Sergio
First realize I don't have horses, cows or trout… :)
Our pigs do well on our pasture. It doesn't look like a lawn, but then it is real pasture. The trick is proper rotation. If you leave the pigs on too long they, just like cows, will rut the land. Proper rotation results in the pigs mostly grazing. The small amount of rooting they do aerates the soil and improves the pasture. The chickens that follow (see below) will smooth the soil down again.
I would rotate the pigs after the cows and horses as the pigs will eat the manure which has lots of nutrients left in it. The chickens should follow as they will break apart the pig manure and scavenge pests & parasites.
I've never fed fish to pigs. I have read that feeding ocean fish can make the pork taste fishy and that the solution is to finish the pigs for the last month on something else with no fish in their diet.
Cheers,
-Walter
Hi Walter! First of all I want to say how helpful all of this information is. I dont like technology or the internet very much but seeing inspiring information like this is refreshing. I have a been doing my research on raising pigs. Our neighbors and us are going half on raising two pigs. We all want to see if this is something we would like to do for our families. We will start small with two pigs, one for each family, and then decide from there if we will continue next year. Seeing how I am the only “stay at home adult” between our two families I realize that the most of the care taking of the pigs will be on my shouldes. This is aside from the children I care for and our chickens, goats and our pets. I decided to read about any risk associated with raising ur own meat. I have found articles about MRSA in pigs an pig farmers. Is this something I need to be concerned about? In other countries there has been possible evidence of MRSA being in the national food system. The same articles have stated that about 1/2 the pigs in the world carry MRSA. I do not want to be paranoid into NOT raising our own pigs. I do believe anything we raise here will be worlds better than the meat purchased at the store. I just want to make sure I never put my family or my neighbor’s family at risk for any health concerns. Sorry if I sound a bit freaked about this. I just want to make sure I make the right decisions when it comes to what I put into my family. Thank you for your time and the wealth of information! ~Jenn, N.H.
Jenn,
I have read some of these scary articles about pigs and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) too. At first I was greatly concerned but reading more deeply I discovered that the problem is 1) in confinement operations and 2) caused by their feeding of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics. In other words, the factory farms were the place the disease was found and the factory farms were the source of the disease.
But it gets more complicated than that with the different strains. One interesting tidbit was:
“The first is the same type of MRSA that has been infecting swine in Europe and spreading to humans. It’s called ST398. The second predominant strain is called USA100, and it has been most often associated with human cases of MRSA, suggesting the pigs caught it from the people.”
Interestingly, MRSA was also found in cats, dogs and horses as well as people caring for them. The biggest source of MRSA that I have read about is hospitals.
Another interesting thing I read was that they were not actually finding MRSA or testing for it but rather testing for the antibodies.
I don’t know the final word on this. Time will tell. It seems to me that the best way to avoid it is to do like you want to do and raise your own pork without antibiotics. While you are at it you get to skip all those other nasties like pesticides, herbicides, etc. This is how we got started, providing healthy food for our own family.
While you’re at it, drop a letter to your Congress critter letting them know you oppose the use of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics, especially human types, for livestock.
Cheers,
-Walter
Hi I have a very quick question. This is my first year raising a pig. & I probably made one of the most stupid mistakes ever. This year is my first year showing, and we had to shave our pigs. & this being my first year I shaved him off completely, not knowing I had to leave either 1/2 to an inch of hair. Not quite sure. My pig got into a fight with another pig and has many scratches and looks horrible. Is there anyway I can help increases it's appearance? This is where I will be selling my pig for meat.
Anony, I’ve never shown pigs, nor have I ever shaved one. Hard to imagine! It will take time for the cuts to heal. Perhaps a bit of anti-septic would pretty them up and make them heal faster. Then there’s cosmetics like actors and actresses use to hide scars, I suppose that would be next. Really though, none of that’s really necessary. It matters more how much meat and fat the pig has, how it tastes, etc. Best of luck. Cheers, -Walter
I am curious to know whether I can house two pigs (Tamworth-berkshire cross) in an area of about 10 by 12 – this 120 square feet is the limit in my town for a structure which can be built without a building permit (a lengthy and costly process which also risks a tax increase)
Is this sufficient, perhaps with the addition of a small outside area?
thank you
Brigitte, yes, that is plenty of housing space for two pigs and do give them some outside space too along with that. If you put that shed in the middle of a garden, let’s say at least 36′x36′, you would end up with a nine-square like a tic-tac-toe board. Make the shed such that you can rotate the pigs between the garden spaces. Some of them you use for the pigs, some for gardening.
One year the pigs might get rotated between sections 1, 2, 3 on a ten day schedule.
The pigs’ hut is in section 5 in the middle.
Sections 4 and 6 had the pigs the previous year and would would be off ground plants like broccoli, pumpkins and tomatoes.
Sections 7, 8, 9 are in ground plants like lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, etc.
Rotate it around and add in some chickens for an even better system. With a hut you’ll need to clean out the bedding once in a while, every spring and fall. Put that into a compost pile to make black gold.
Of course, a bit larger space than 36′x36′ would be even better but you don’t want the area to be too big if it is just two pigs.
Have fun and enjoy your home grown foods.
Cheers,
-Walter
Hello and thank you for such great information on pigs. It’s hard to find info on meat pigs – seems like all info is on pets. We are first time pig farmers, and plan to keep four this summer. Our plan has been to keep them in a 40′ x 40′ pen with a couple of goats until we can get better fencing in. How long would you say that size pen will keep everyone happy? The ground here in central Alaska is slow to thaw, so we must wait on nature. Also, what type of winter quarters do pigs need? It sometimes gets down to -70 at night in the winter. Our goats are very hardy, but if we decide to winter a pig, we want it to stay healthy. Thank you for all the advice.
Divide your pen up into a nine square and rotate the pigs through it planting behind them. This makes a tiny pasture. With only a couple of pigs that can be close to sustainable.
Winter is a trick. I lived in Alaska a few times. Here in Vermont we only get to -45째F and usually only to -20째F most of the winter. The big issue is wind. They need protection from it and lots of dry bedding. I would suggest a long tunnel like house that is open for ventilation. Build up a deep pack of bedding in there during the late summer and fall. Do not clean it out. Keep adding more hay or other carbon. I like hay. This will compost making it warmer. You need several pigs. I would suggest four at least. One alone will be too cold.
Water is the next trick. Put a waterer in the back. That will help to keep it open longer. Use one you can break the ice out of. Maybe one small enough to carry back into the house to melt. Rubbermade or a half barrel works.
I am interested in buying two weanling American Mulefoot Hogs. Is is practical to raise one to eat and one to breed for future meat? Should I get two Sows (one to breed via insemination or taking her for a boar visit…), or one sow and one boar to mate…then eat the boar? This will be my first experience with raising pigs but I know I am going to fall in love with these creatures. I would love to raise my own on a very small scale.
Christina, I don’t know much about the Mulefoot hogs so I can’t comment on them specifically. I would suggest getting two or three gilts plus a boar or planning on doing AI. Breed them. Which ever doesn’t take, if any, eat. If you do get a boar, yes you can eat him after you are sure the gilts are pregnant. Do read about boar taint. I don’t know if it shows up in those pigs. Cheers, -Walter
Hi Walter,
I’m wondering what your thoughts are on feeding meat scraps to pigs. Also, I gave them some fish meal along with their barley grain last year. I was planning to do the same this year. I am in Alaska and do not want to buy out of state grain for protein (like corn and soy) and also don’t want the GMO’s. So my options are limited. Thoughts on feeding pigs fish meal? I cut it out of their ration a couple of months before slaughter so the meat did not taste fishy at all.
We don’t feed our pigs meat scraps – the dogs and chickens get all there is available of that. We don’t, currently, have access to fish as a protein source. I have read of people feeding that. There is an issue of a fishy taste and smell to the meat. The solution, that I’ve read, is to switch the pigs off of the fish meat for the last month. I also read a scientific research paper that said it takes two weeks for a flavor to exit the fat. This would be related.
If my current shelter for the pigs is not in the “center square” of the tic tac toe pasture rotation, do I simply run the pigs back to the shelter each evening and then run them to the square that they are currently using as pasture?
Justin
Yes, that will work, or simply setup the paddocks so there is a corridor from the home paddock, where ever it is, to the in use paddock. Alternatively, you could move the home paddock to the in use paddock each time you move the pigs to a new square. The idea is to be moving them. The home square idea is that it is in the safest place in the middle and gives them a familiar place to return to. Don’t feel constrained by geometry to lay out perfect squares.
Great site Walter. I am new here but am enjoying (and learning) a great deal. I love that one can grow up on a farm and still learn all sorts of new things.
Quick question, ever tried feeding crushed coal to your pigs? I haven’t come close to reading all the posts and comments yet, and probably never will so I hope its not a redundant question. Growing up, we had a wood stove that got chunks of coal at night. So at the bottom of the coal bin was always lots of well crushed coal that our pigs seemed to see as candy.
Peace and comfort to you and yours.
I think you mean charcoal, that is burnt wood, rather than what I am familiar with as coal (the mined stuff). The answer is yes, our pigs eat charcoal when they get the chance. In the process of cleaning up the fields we’ve had many a cookout in the pastures. The pigs seem to be quite fond of chewing on the burnt logs. I suspect they’re getting minerals from the charcoal.
Actually I meant coal..as in mined stuff. And yep, they get minerals from it, or from charcoal as well.
Huh! Coal mine coal! Interesting. We don't have that around here so I haven't seen that being eaten. Makes sense. They have a strong teeth. I have seen pigs chew rocks. Not clear if they're actually eating them or just rolling them around in their mouth and making awful grinding sounds with their teeth. :)
Hello,
In our pasture we have goats, a donkey, and one rooster. Would it be alright to pasture a pig with the rest of these animals?
Our pigs pasture with sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and in the past with guineas. It is important to have baby animals, lambing ewes and nesting poultry protected from the pigs but otherwise it works well for us. I have heard of some people who had problems so I suspect that part of the issue is how the pigs are raised and also how much space is available. Try it, starting with weaner pigs – if there is a problem, separate them.
Have been reading your blog.. fantastic.. however i have not yet found anybody talking about sunburns. I have a york/cross and she is white of course and loves to lay in our Hot AZ sun. How can we let her roam but stay out of the sun? I have her pinned in out of the sun, then let her out as it sets. She wont stay out of it and is getting sunburn, Have put sunscreen but get s expensive and isnt working all the time. Plus the small quarters and the smell and flys are harindous.. HELP
tinamarie
One word: Mud.
Mud provides sunscreen, fly protection, skin moisturizer and cooling all in one wonderful (according to our pigs) package. They can't recommend it enough.
Plenty of shade is also important. Our pigs spend the mid-day high sun hours mostly in the brush.
Do note that our climate is very different than yours. You get much more solar radiation than we do. Perhaps a darker pig would help such as the Large Black or one of the other highly pigmented pigs.
hey new to this so bare with me. we own a large trac of land and we are avid hog hunters but our area doesnt have wild hogs so we want to fence it and stock it where my concern comes in is if i use 4 foot field fence how do i keep them from rooting out the bottom will i have to stake it and if so how often,will this even hold them it has to be fenced cause in alabama its illegal to turn hog out not in a fence thanks jerry
Put a hot wire about 6" in from the fence line and 8" up from the ground. This should stop rooting along the bottom of the fence. Check it time to time. Also watch the fence line voltage which will tell you if they have pushed dirt up on the wire or otherwise shorted it.
hey about the hot wire to keep the hogs in that sounds great the only question i have is this is a mostly wooded area will i have a prblem with plants and limbs shorting it?
Yes, shorting is an issue. A good fence energizer will handle minor shorting but it is well worth it to walk the line occasionally to clear it. If you have a fence meter, either on the energizer or hand-held, then it can be used to monitor the fence for low voltage conditions which imply a short such as from a downed tree, etc.
hey one more question how many hogs will 15 acres support mostly wooded, have more but want to leave it for the deer.also how long wll it take a hog to go feral(wild) should I also steak the fence and suppliment the hogs with corn and feed? thanks a bunch just tring to figure out if this is goin to be more trouble and cost than its worth thanks again
Interesting question… I'm not sure as we have our pigs on predominantly pasture, not woods. I have read that woods have a lot less nutrients available. Read this article for how many pigs per acre on pasture and then go with a lower number for the woods. See how it works and adjust your pig count up or down. Another thing that might be different is that on pasture we do rotational grazing.
in addition to the electricity should i stake the fence and if so 1 every how many feet
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "Stake the Fence", perhaps line posts? If so then generally about every 10' but it varies somewhat with the situation and type of fencing you use. For example, across a path you might put some line posts one foot apart to train the pigs not to use that path thus creating a physical barrier with high visual impact. See Kencove.com which has an excellent manual on fencing in their catalog. Another good source is PremierOne.
by staking i mean pun a stake at the bottom of the fence(like a tent stake BUT LARGER) in between the fence post to hold down the fence between the post
Ah, yes, like with poultry netting.
yep exactly,do you think the poltry would be better than the wire for my situation
Poultry netting works but would be expensive for a large area and is not long lasting. You might want to look into high tensile woven wire and then have a hot wire inside to keep the pigs from digging.
What does it mean if a pig gets diarreah and lethargic? What kind of sickness can this b?
There are a lot of possibilities. To figure out which one it might be check out ThePigSite's disease diagnosis program. Best of luck.
hey im releasing some young hogs on some high fence property so they will become ferral (wild) im sure you knew that, sorry lol. will these somewhat demestic hogs grow large tusk (teeth) like wild hogs,and how long does it take them to grow,say on a captive bore? thanks a bunch
hey sent you a question the other day but my computer was acting kinda funny so I dont know if you recieved it, anyway do domestic hogs grow large tusk or teeth like ferral hogs and how fast do they grow? reason I ask we have some high fence property and want to stock it with wild hogs but here it is illegal to transport a live ferral hog. So all we can do is buy some young demestic hogs and release them and let them become ferral.
Our sows grow small tusks and our boars grow long tusks. See these articles and photos. They also sometimes break off their tusks or wear them out digging in the soil. They regrow over the course of the year. They keep their tusks very sharp so be careful. They can do a lot of damage. I would not want to deal with a feral boar up close. I hear that they can become a major problem in some areas.
Years ago a pig who was not ours intruded onto our property. Our livestock guardian herding dogs normally protect our pigs and other animals. They killed the strange pig immediately. I don't know if it was a case of "Not ours – intruding stranger" or if the feral boar simply didn't obey them thus setting off predator cues in their interaction – e.g., don't act aggressive while tress passing on someone's land who's armed to the teeth, so to speak.
how much do the boar tusk grow in a year (how long). how long does it take for them to get 3 or 4 inches long?
also I think there was supposed to be some pictures but i clicked but they didnt come through
I don't know how long they grow per year. I have noticed that they'll break a tusk off to the gums and within six months they have significant, several inch long, tusks again. See this article. Much of the tusk is inside the jaw.
one more question im using field fence small at bottom larger as it goes up good 4 large hogs but babies could get through someone told me that the babies wouldnt leave moma till they were to big to get through the fence, true or not ?
Our experience is that piglets tend to stick around with the sows. If you have a busy road or close neighbors you'll want to fence more tightly.
Pigs will go right through a fence if they want. A combination of physical fence with electric on the inside and then having all that they want within the fenced area is the best strategy. You need to walk fence lines regularly to make sure trees haven't fallen on the fence, it hasn't shorted, etc.
If you feed and water the pigs in a central spot then they'll tend to center around that. They'll also grow faster and larger than if you truly let them go feral. Before setting them out make sure there are no local restrictions, etc.
how do you mean let them go truly feral. i live in a rural area where there is lots of livestock so i dont think there will be any restrictions do you
Some places have problems with feral pigs destroying crops. Fencing pigs in is a trick. If they go truly feral then you may find it difficult. By feeding them, keeping them a little domesticated, you'll not have them escaping your fencing as much.
hey i was told that pigs eat hay i know they need more than that but is this true? if so could this be a steady portion of their diet also was told they could be feed dog food? how much feed (lbs.)does a full grown hog need if allowed to forage on 15 acres with 15 to 20 hogs? thanks a bunch
Yes, pigs will definitely eat hay, just as they'll eat pasture. Note I say hay, not straw. Good hay has plenty of protein. Straw is basically stems – not very nutritious.
Our pigs eat about 90% pasture/hay, about 7% dairy and about 3% other things like apples, pumpkins, beets, turnips and such. The dairy provides calories and lysine, a protein, that are low in pasture/hay. A varied diet is ideal – Balance in all things.
See these articles:
Feeding Hay to Pigs
How much land per pig
I would not feed them dog food since often that contains pork. Sometimes it also contains things like melamine. They would probably eat it fine. I just wouldn't want to eat them.
hey i was asking you about the feral hogs, i have another question about something, what would be a good breed for this? I want a large,hairy,toothy,solid black or brown hog,much like the russian(which are illegal to have in alabama,that stinks). Thanks for all your help!
would this pork and melamine make the meat taste bad or just be bad for you? i guess i was wondering why you wouldnt want to eat them, thanks
hey I saw where my questions posted but didnt get an answer just wondering if it didnt come through to me or if you just havent had time to answer sorry still new at this thanks
I don't know what breed to suggest for your situation. There's a good web site at OKState. Check that for ideas. Large Blacks are solid black. Durocs and Tams are brownish red.
Melamine can cause damage to internal organs and there is concern about it concentrating up the food chain. It might kill the pigs and it might hurt you if you ate them. It killed cats and dogs a while back when it was in their food made in China.
I'm about to fence in about 30,000 square feet for a few pigs now and up to 10 at some point. Two questions that I know I have read this somewhere on your site, but I can't find it now – using high tensile for perimeter, now many strands and the spacing do you use? Do you electrify it all or just a few strands? Also, will 3 pastures be enough if I rotate every 2 weeks or so? Thanks.
How many strands and how tightly you fence depends mostly on how much your neighbors will object to your pigs getting out. e.g., if you live on a busy road or near other people then fence harder. A visual barrier like stocks or brush outside the fence helps. I would suggest three lines as a general rule although with well trained pigs and a very rural situation even one line can work. The big thing is having what they want inside the fence and what scares them outside the fence.
Speaking of which, realize you must train the pigs to the electric. Have a small, say 16'x16', enclosure that is strongly physically fenced with electric inside of that using the same type of wire you'll use in the field. Keep them in there for the first couple of weeks. This also helps home them to your location.
I would use at least 4 paddocks. You could also set it up as a nine square, like a tic-tac-toe board. Then either home the pigs to the center, which makes housing and water easy, or rotate their home with them through the paddocks. The home to center is easy but more damaging to that center paddock. Making it small is one trick to minimize the damage.
Don't do your rotation based on a time schedule but rather base it on how the grazing is going. If the paddock gets low, move the pigs. Ideally leaving about 1" or so of growth above the crown of the grasses.
I would suggest planting alfalfa and clovers if you don't already have a thick growth of them. They like a higher pH than we naturally have. Do a soil test – the easy way – or observe what grows well to figure out your soil fertility.
June, January is a tough month. Maybe the hardest month of the year. Wind is the number one issue. They need protection from the wind in the form of a shed or something. An open shed is better than closing them in completely – the reason is to prevent the build up of ammonia and other gases that can irritate their lungs. You want them to get fresh air. Dry bedding is important too – lots of dry hay. They'll need more calories than the rest of the year as they'll burn more for warmth. Water is important.
How the piglets were kept before you got them is very important. If they are used to a heated indoor barn structure then that is what you'll need to start with. Ours are born into the natural environment and have time to acclimate as the temperatures drop so they do great outdoors.
A good book is "Small Scale Pig Raising" by Dirk van Loon.
Good luck with your piglets,
-Walter
Hi Walter and thanks so much for sharing all this helpful information. I did order the book "Small Scale Pig Raising". Yesterday (Christmas Day) my husband and I scrammbled to build a pen and den in a day, as my friend said the pigs would be arriving in 3 hours. We are now the proud owners of a boar and a sow. My friend could not tell me what breed the pigs are. Said they are 6 weeks old, and I would say they weigh about 30 lbs. I can get dairy and bread, and have good hay. Do they need grain as well?
June,
No, they don't need grain. A commercial hog feed is an easy way to provide a balanced diet but you can do it with other foods. Pasture/hay plus dairy, veggies, some bread are all good things. Don't over do the bread or they'll end up fat. Watch their condition. Make sure they have access to dirt for minerals. If your soil is deficient in trace minerals (a soil test will tell you) then you can supplement with a swine mineral mix. Plenty of fresh water availability is also important.
Enjoy your pigs,
Cheers,
-Walter
I love your blog!
If i turn two pigs in the fenced in area around my fruit trees this spring, Do i have to protect my trees from being eaten?
thanks!
lynn
Yes, I would suggest protecting the trees. Pigs and sheep can both damage trees. The smaller the tree the more likely they'll root them up, damage bark, etc.
I was wondering what your expeirance has been with pigs rooting up pasture. Every book I consult says different things even when talking about the same breed. Some say they will root no matter what whereas others say if there is ample food above the ground they won't root.
thanks
Hi Micky,
Here are some articles that may help.
The key is managed intensive rotational grazing – this greatly reduces rooting. Of course, if you want a lawn then you may want sheep instead. Pigs will root a little. They root more in wet soil. More when first put out. More in clay soils. More in brush. Less on good grazing pastures with dry soils when properly rotated.
When we want the pigs to root, such as for tilling we mob graze them which is to say we put them in an area in a larger number for a longer period. I also time this with the rains which makes them more likely to root and the subsequent plants better at sprouting. Follow with chickens for weeding.
Cheers,
-Walter
Hi Walter,
Thanks for all of the great information. I put down a deposit on 2 yorkshire piglets yesterday that should be weaned and ready to come home in a couple of weeks. We plan to pasture the pigs and will be using much of the information shared on these posts. Now it's time for us to get busy and build their shelter.
I do have a question that I don't think has previously been asked. I plan to add a couple of goats in the same area as the pigs. Can I build a shelter that both the pigs and goats can share to save on material cost or should they be sheltered seperately?
Thanks in advance!
We have kept both pigs and sheep out in our fields for years. They graze well together. I would expect the goats to also do well together with the pigs. I would separate them during kidding time. As to the shelter, our sheep didn't tend to use shelters. I don't have goats so I don't know what they're like in this regard. Perhaps have a divider, of livestock panel or wood, that can be placed to make the one space into two spaces. The pigs tend to sleep with each other rather than joining another species and leaving their herd.
The disadvantage I can see is if you have a lot of mud in the shelter making the goats muddy. This might be more of an issue for goats than pigs. Use plenty of bedding. We use hay since they eat it.
Hey Walter after following your blog for years now I have finally gone and done it! I have fenced off an acre with electric fencing and divided it up in 9 smaller paddock and last weekend I picked up my 7 weaner pigs. 1 Berkshire boar and 6 Landrace sows. 3 will be for eating and other 3 will be for breeding . I am so far raising them more or less like you are doing but am still providing commercial pig feed until I can secure whey and spent brewery mash from local cheesery and brewery. I picked up a about a hundred pounds of lettuce leaves last night at the grocery store for free. Gave pigs about a third and they loved it. I am so pleased so far. Its great to watch the pigs play and be content, especially the Landrace that spent their life so far indoors.
Anyways my question is how many big round bales of hay should I buy to get these pigs through the winter, assuming I dont source any whey or mash.
Regards
Jeff
I like to figure on about half a bale of hay per pig. That’s about 400 lbs per pig. But, if I can get it I would go with a full bale to have extra on hand. Better too much than too little. Hay is cheap compared with pigs. Thus for the three that are going to only go into the winter but not through I would figure on half a bale each and those that are going through the winter make it a bale each. This comes to 1.5+4 = 5.5 or make it 6 bales needed.
Note that the hay is a replacement for the pasture. It doesn’t have enough calories or more importantly lysine, a limiting protein. The dairy provides both of these. Keep feeding the pig feed until you have your dairy lined up. You may well end up combining the two for a while. Pigs are very versatile. They do well with many feeds and can adapt to the resources you have.
In the winter the pigs need a little bit more calories to keep warm. Ours prefer being outdoors or at the most with a roof and open end wall. don’t close them in as that produces issues with respiration. Same for man or beast.
Have fun with your pigs,
-Walter
Walter, do you free feed the whey? The kind lady running the cheese plant where I will be getting the whey says that she heard that too much dairy can lower the quality of the meat. Have you ever run into this problem? I assume that since the pigs will be eating pasture and not just whey that this wont be an issue. Just wanted your thoughts.
Regards
Jeff
I have heard the same thing but we have never had any problem with feeding dairy causing problems with the meat. I suspect the problem some people have had is that they fed only dairy. The pasture provides them with fiber and a lot of other nutrients. Our pig’s diet is about 90% pasture/hay, about 7% dairy and about 3% miscellaneous (e.g., pumpkins, squash, beets, turnips, kale, sunflowers, nuts, etc). What we do notice is that the dairy makes the meat have a delicious slightly sweet flavor, particularly noticeable in the fat and marbling. Chefs love it. See all the letters of recommendation on our Literature page. This is how the famous Prosciuttoare produced, using dairy and whey in particular.
I lost a pig to what the vet believed at the time was erysipelas but my pigs still occasionally have odd uncoordinated gate. On friday night one was in obvious pain, I went to vets first thing on Saturday morning for more antibiotics but now the vet thinks it could nt have been erysipelas as the first course of drugs would have cleared it up. He now suspects their eating a toxic plant. I suspect it is milkweed (link) as I do have some in the old field they are in and they do eat it. Do you have any in your fields and do your pigs eat it?
Thanks Walter,
Jeff
Years ago our vet told us that the western milkweed is much more of an issue than the eastern milkweed that we have. I’ve never known of a problem of eating toxic things in our pig herds. My mother, a family physician, says that toxic things taste bad – as a warning – so animals won’t eat much of them and that it generally takes a lot to have effect. The vet agreed and said it was in situations where regular food is not available that animals are more likely to get poisoned by such things.
Thanks Walter, well its seems at least some of my pigs have developed a taste bud for it as I do see half eaten plants. I will be going through the field tonight and ripping out any milkweed I can see.
Regards
Jeff
The good news is it is easy to rip out. With managed intensive grazing it will soon be gone from your fields because it can not take the traffic. Just keep on top of it for a few years.
jeff this sounds so educative. i have some 7 acres of land in uganda with a water source right at the border. I just wanted to know what the optimum space provision should be per pig if i want to raise them for meat under intensive housing. what is the optimum daily food requirement in weight for their growth.? am told it is good practice to mix antihill soil in the food rations of pigs how true is this and in what proportions do i need to mix it in the feeds.
Robert, We don’t do intensive housing or such so this is outside my knowledge. There is a book “Swine Science” which you may find helpful. The dirt is likely for providing minerals.
He Scores!
I approached a local orchard and ciderer if I can have left over pumice for the pigs and he is going to give me as much as I want! Not only does he make cider he makes wine from strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries so next year I ‘ll get strawberry, raspberry and blueberry pumice too. The meat gonna taste gooood (and cheap)!
Another free food score I made is free black walnuts, but I dont know if I should feed them to the pigs. My pigs were born in May 2010 and weight about 70 pounds do you think they have the jaw strength to crush the nuts? Have you ever feed black walnust to your pigs?I have read that black walnut leaves and sawdust can be poisonous but the husks can be otherwise there would be alot of dead squirrels around
Regards
Jeff
I don’t know much about feeding black walnuts, yet. It is on my research list. We have black walnuts growing on our land and I think the pig are eating them but I do not know about it other than that. We also have beechnuts and hazelnuts which are also supposed to be good for them from what I have read and are easier to crack. Let me know what you find out.
Hey Walter, just wanted to update you on the black walnuts. I feed some to my pigs and they kind of nibbled at them, ate the husks and spat out the nuts. Mostly disinterested. Maybe they were not that hungry as I give whey, also they are only 5 months old s0 they may not have enough jaw strength to crack the nuts.
Today I visited another farm with 3 1-year old Large Blacks who are not feed any commercial feed or whey, they live on what they can forage in a 4 acre plot. They looked great by the way. Not skinny at all, not fat just right. Anyways they ate the walnuts like candy and fought over them. They had no trouble cracking the nuts.
Ive been following your to cut or not to cut discussions. At my local auction house, 500 pound boars are selling for 9 cents a pound. Next year around walnut season I ‘ll buy one pasture him for a month or two and finish on walnuts and whey see what he tastes like. Worst comes to worst I have ALOT of sausages for just $45
I’ll let you know how that turns out
hi, I have access lots of free sweet pastries and cakes on a regular basis. My old spots get regular pig food in the morning and evening (sometimes both pig food mixed with bread
in the evening) Is it OK to feed them sugary things or not?
Some but don’t over do it. Watch their condition. You don’t want them getting too fat. Good pastries and breads can make a good calorie supplement especially for pigs who are otherwise mostly getting pasture which is very low in calories but too much will put on the wrong kind of weight – fat rather than meat.
Walter what signals to you when you start and stop feeding hay? Do you start at the first snow , when it stays on the ground, when it covers the grass or when the ground freezes?
We are getting our first snow storm of the year. I hope it does nt last as I have nt got my firewood in yet!
Jeff
I watch the pastures and when they wane I will start putting out hay. So far this fall the pastures are holding up well. We didn’t get our first frost until quite late and it has been mild.
i am raising a hog on grain feed in a barn so far it will cost me $80 because i get the sawdust from a cabinet maker
Hi, I found your page and a lot of my questions got answered. We have 3 female pigs, one is a year old and the other 2 are about 7 month old. we want to keep the older one and one of the other for breeding. our boar is about 10 weeks old and we was told that he would be ready to breed the sow whe he is 4 month old. so, here is my question: we bought 1000 lb of pig food for a really great price and we would like to buy another 1000 lb before winter really hits here in Washington State. so, how can I keep the food dry in the bin we have for it. or does it even matter? the bin does have a lid and is covered with tarps and stored in a not heated open barn. thanks, jutta
Gilts are generally ready to breed around eight months of age and boars hit their stride at about 10 months although both will start being sexual before that. Our pigs tend to have their first litter at one year. This may well vary with breeds though. Ours are predominantly Large White a.k.a. Yorkshire. At four months your little boar will be acting sexual be he may be shooting blanks or only a little sperm which would likely result in very small litters.
On the feed, I would suggest not overbuying as it does go bad. Don’t buy more than you can keep dry and pest free for up to three months. It goes stale, insects, mice, rats and mold may invade it.
Walter,
Not unexpectedly my whey tank is beginning to freeze up and I may have to stop feeding whey until spring. Have you ever over wintered pigs on just hay? Mine are breeding stock that I hope to get piglets from in the spring. I dont want the gilts to be malnourished but I dont want to buy expensive feed either.
Jeff
I’m surprised you’re having any freezing issue already. We’ve had weather down to 14°F. No whey freezing in the tanks. A little at the valve but that is just a matter of hot water in the morning (one time so far this year). You might want to insulate the tanks, set tanks in the ground to take advantage of ground heat or maybe put a heater in it if you are already experiencing freezing. We put through a lot of whey through the tanks daily so heat energy is coming in constantly. If you had the whey sitting for a long time in the cold I could see it freezing up.
I have done pigs in the winter only on the hay plus occasional other things like some pumpkins. It is hard. They need more calories to do well but can make it. I would suggest figuring out how to keep doing the dairy. Also be sure to have plenty of water available to them.
A thought on the winter hay is to have it be as high a protein level as possible. Alfalfa and clovers help a lot. Even then though there is the issue of having a complete protein mix. Pasture/hay in general is low in lysine which becomes a limiting protein and then you get slower growth. This and the calories of the dairy are why milk, whey, cheese, etc are such a good mix with pasture/hay. Traditionally dairy farms also raised pigs to use the excess or waste milk.
Thanks Walter,
Your right, so far the only thing that has frozen up has been the nozzle which I have been able to thaw so far with warm water and the heat from my hand. But it has been unseasonably mild so far (+14 C or 57 F today!) but we get -30C/-20F here once Old Man winter gets going . My 275 gallon tank is a cube shaped and I will try to surround it with bales of straw. I get it filled only once a week as that works into the dairy plant’s schedule best , so I dont have high flow through.
Another thought is small /broken/cracked eggs from my neighbor’s large commercial egg farm. Since they are breeders and wont be on the dinner table for years would be OK to give them chicken mortalities?
Meat is filled with complete proteins and has calories. If you’re pigs and chickens aren’t having to live together then it may be fine to feed them. I don’t since I don’t want my pigs learning that chickens taste so good because our chickens and pigs free range in the same pastures. I like my bacon and eggs separate on my plate. :)
The eggs are a great idea. Antibiotics and such are a concern but for breeders it may be less of an issue. Check out what he gives the chickens and make a choice. A tip: cook the eggs to double the available protein. Eggs are a great source of lysine.
I have a small farm of only two acres, and two rotational pastures with a smaller sacrifice area. My plans are to pen the pigs during the day, and pasturing at night-the opposite of what I am doing with my goats. (I am “farming” manure as well since our soil is depleted old farmland) but my questions are wether pigs would be active at night with this set-up? Also wether they would disturb my septic systems leach bed that is in one of the pastures? I am only planning on two pigs at most and the pastures are about 3/4 of an acre or a little more each.
That’s a reasonable area for two pigs. They don’t tend to be active at night. In fact, pigs are late sleepers, getting up after dawn unlike many animals. I would be concerned about them on the septic leach field. Compaction and rooting are both issues.
Hey walter, nice to visiting your site again. I love gleaning stuff from you. I was wondering exactly how you do your herding/roundup of pigs headed to slaughter. We find this one of our more frustrating chores. Ours 15 or so hogs have a 60×80 yard to play in. We have a few hog panels inside that help channel pigs a bit to the exit. It is sometimes hit and miss as to what pig I can get to the exit. They seem to like to play catch me if you can. Some of them I coax into a horse trailer to take to our butcher for customers, some I kill after coaxing them to my carcass lifting pole with a treat (pork for our personal needs). I am electrifying my five acres and may be done this fall. I will have a central frost free watering station with pasture selection gates emanating from that area. I am looking for any cool ideas to help in herd traffic management and separating of selected animals. Trial and error works but wastes a bit of time!!
This topic is worth of a whole post by itself but let me give you the super short answer: Food, patience and habit. Train the pigs to regularly do what you want them to do on loading day. A few days before loading setup the transport like your trailer next to the area where the pigs are and feed the pigs in there. Put nice hay in. They may even self load.
We are sorting pigs in from pastures that are typically hundreds to thousands of feet away. What we do is we have a sorting pen next to the loading chute. Our van docks with the loading chute. We regularly feed a treat at the entrance to the sorting pen. When we do this we call pigs. Then on sorting day we move the pigs we think we might want to take into the sorting pen. There I check them out, measure them for size, etc. The ones we don’t want are sent out and the ones we do want go up the chute to the van. We do this each week so the pigs get very habituated to the process.
Sorting boards and herding dogs can be very helpful. I’ll write more about this in detail with photos sometime.
Hi,
I love your website, it contains very usefull information.
I read through all questions and answers, but I am still unclear. We are first time pig keepers and will be picking up two Berkshire piglets in about 5 weeks (they will be 6 weeks old then). We have the pick of the litter, but are unsure what we should be getting. Two Females or M/F or M/M. We are leaning towards chosing two females only because we assume they will be quieter and easier to handle then two uncastrated males (sold uncastrated).
Question are females easier to keep then young boars. They will be running on pasture and we plan to send them to the butcher at about 7-8 Months.
If we got a male and female, would we need to keep them seperate to avoid them breeding? If they would breed, would this cause issues? a small litter would not worry us, as long as there are no complications.
On the other hand, should we just get the two largest males or would they cause too much trouble in handling?
Thanks,
I would not worry about M/F, M/M or F/F combination. It isn’t a big issue. Both sexes can be calm or boisterous – it’s really more of an individual temperament issue. For the age you’re going to the animals are only just getting into puberty and I find that both sexes are easily handled. If you want to go with two females that’s find, the females do generally grow slightly slower than the males but again it isn’t a big issue.
If you get male and female for the purpose of breeding you want to have them breed at about eight months for most breeds of hogs with a first farrowing around a year. They’ll start sex play a lot younger than that but gilts generally won’t actually become fertile until after they’ve had several heats. Occasionally we get a Lolita who comes much earlier but they’re rare and don’t have any complications. Mouse, who now weighs in at 800 lbs or so, was a Lolita and has always had larger litters including her first at ten months of age.
If you don’t want to deal with pregnancy and farrowing, wise the first time around, then just go with two of the same sex. In general boars, non-castrated males, will grow faster, larger and convert food to muscle more efficiently than barrows or gilts.
I live in Hawaii and just purchased 3 hogs (Yorkshire). Two female 200lbs+ and one male 400lbs+. Our year round temp is 82F daytime and 70F nights. We are on the wet side of the island and get about 120 inches of rain per year. We are on 8 acres and farm most of it. All of our unwanted vegetable matter from our gardens and fields will go to them for food. May question is can I cut the wild grasses with my riding mower, rake it up and feed it to the hogs instead of hay? I am talking about green lawn type grass which grows year around and has to be mowed once a week. We are talking about 4 to 5 pick-up truck loads a week. We also grow lots of papaya, sugar cane and bananas year around. In the spring and summer we grow large amounts of super sweet corn and have all the silage left over that I can grind up in my shredder. Will these alone be enough to take care of all their nutritional needs? I really don’t want to buy feed and supplements from the feed store. The three hogs are bred stock and we will sell their offspring and eat them.
As long as the grass has not had poisons put on it then I would expect it to be fine. If there is clover in it then the clippings will have a higher protein content. Try a little and see how it goes. What you don’t use can be composted to produce rich soil. The calories look fine. Lysine and other proteins might be limited on the diet you’re suggesting so look at where you can boost that. e.g., alfalfa, clover, dairy, etc. We grow rape, beets, pumpkins, kale, etc. Look for what has the protein that you can easily grow in your climate.
I have lived next to a farm field which has been used for horse grazing for well over thirty years. Last week however a small pig pen has been built to accomodate 2 piglets less than 10 yards from the bottom of my garden. Straw has been used in the pens. Can I expect problems with smell in the near future. At present there is an application for new 16 retirement homes and 12 apartment flats to be built at the side of my home and with a usually prevailing westerly wind in East Yorkshire the smell (if any) would blow directly into their path let alone my back garden. I gather this is only a trial run for the next five to six months but fear that it could in the future be more than two pigs. The annoying fact is that the pen could have been built well away from all the residential property. Am I right to be concearned about the situation.
It all depends on how the animals are managed. With rotational grazing I would not expect any problem at all. If they’re confined to a small pen then the straw will be critical to be adding carbon to soak up the nitrogen from pee and poop to create compost. You might mention to the owner of the pigs about managed rotational grazing and how they can be saving on feed while producing better pork and doing it sustainably.
Frankly, I would be far more worried about the 28 housing units that are going in as they are going to have a much more detrimental affect on the land, and you. You could offer to buy the land and then have control over what happens. That would be the best solution.
Hey Walter, I just had to send 2nd of 5 landrace gilts (born April 2010) to the butcher with a prolapsed rectum. I am trying to follow how you raise them as much as possible , outside with a portable shelter with lots of hay in the shelter. I feed them hay and whey. We are going through a cold snap with temps or minus 30 Celcius or so. Ive read that the cold can cause prolapse.
They seem to prefer sleeping outside even in this cold temperatures bedded deep down in the feed hay. They come out of it all steaming and look quite comfortable. but so far 40% of my gilts have had prolapsed rectums! Am I doing anything wrong? All the gilts were sisters. I am (optimistically maybe) attributing it to bad genes, so should I cull all offspring of the remaining gilts and my Berkshire boar?
What are your thoughs on breeds? Do you think would be less of a problem with heritage breeds? As soon as I can I will be switching over to purebred Berkshires but am concerned that I will pay top dollar for those gilts and have same problem. When you got your herd going did you have this problem?
Thanks Jeff
Jeff, see this answer which I just wrote and promoted to a post of its own since it got so long.
Hi Walter,
Love your site! We have learned a lot from you over the past few months and our first go at raising pigs for meat. I ran into a problem yesterday, here in snowy Virginia, and realized I didn’t know what the best solution is. Perhaps you can give me some advice.
I utilize a 3 wire electric fence with the wires spaced 1 foot apart beginning at 1 foot off the ground. We rotational graze the pigs during the warmer months but have confined them to a smallish area (say 1/4 acre) for the winter since they rooted everything else up and there is no forage in the rest of the paddocks at present (we’ll begin overseeding in the early spring).
Well, we got a foot of snow and, on top of that, the power went out for about 12 hours. As you can imagine, the pigs thought this would be a great time for a stroll and took off for the hills and my folks place to find a little buried treasure. As we began to try and round them up, we realized we had no place to put them with the power out. Ultimately, we got some friends and herded them down the road to my neighbor who currently has an empty back pasture.
While my problem is temporarily solved, I am worried about future power outages/snowstorms and what to do. Should I have a boundary fence outside my electric fence in case we get socked in and the lower wires short out? Should I have each wire independently electrified so I can shut the lowest one off in advance of a storm? Should I confine them to a small, non-electric enclosure over the winter and then move them back out into the field for their rotations in the spring?
I figure with your vast experience in all manner of snow, you’ve probably figured out a way to deal with this. I just can’t imagine you and the family out there digging out the lower wire all the way around your property! Any help would be appreciated. Aside from their occasional misadventures we couldn’t ask for a better first 4-legged critter on our small homestead.
Yes, a physical or even simple visual boundary outside the electric fence makes it a lot stronger. We find that they don’t tend to challenge the electric fence once they have become fully trained to it but if they were in a newish area and then the power went out I would not be surprised if they went right through 1′ separated wires.
You might want to make your winter physical pen out of pallets or hog panel on T-posts with one hot wire inside of that. you can fence in 1/4 acre (100′x100′) fairly easily with hog panel and then they would have that secure are they wouldn’t get out of. We get most of our electric outages in the winter but the deep snows keep pigs in for the most part.
Alternatively you could use a battery backup on the fence energizers. Some energizers have this built in, you can use a computer style UPS or make one out of a low power inverter and a car battery. Deep cycle is best. Then recharge it from A/C or your car.
On the lowest wire issue, yes, when it is buried it does drain a little more. I like to have them switchable so I can turn them off. Our dry snow doesn’t tend to be a problem but I suspect your warmer weather means wetter snow like our spring and thus more drain.
Walter do sow menstruate? i.e. bleed when they have their cycle? I assumed they do, I assumed any mature female mammal does . The farmer I got my boar says she has never seen hers and that since I have seen mine do so that there must be something wrong like a mineral insufficiency. Have you seen this in your sows/gilts?
Thanks
Jeff
I do not normally see female pigs menstruate however I have seen what appeared to be menstrual bleeding on occasion. Rare. I read somewhere that it is from rough sex but that does not fit as in some cases the gilts did not have any opportunity for such play. Thus I suspect there is another explanation and simple menstruation bleeding may be that. Said gilts and sows who did bleed were fertile and went on to have subsequent litters. If you find out more, I would be curious to know.
That said, our canine lady friends (Bitch, can I say that here?) do bleed just a little – slow drops – in prep for heating. It is typically just once a year, unlike the 21 day cycle of swine and 28 day cycle of humans.
Well I learn something new everyday. Although I must say this is a topic I dont think ever occured to me before but it turns out from my internet research that all female mammals menstruate ( I was pretty sure that had to be true) BUT not all are ‘overt ‘ in their menstruation like humans and canines are. Many and maybe most are ‘covert’ menstruators (sp?) in which case the dead cells are re-absorbed to conserve scarce resources. I have not been able to determine which camp pigs are in from the internet but since you say you’ve rarely seen it and my other contact says she has never seen it I assume they are covert. But I am also not going to get fetched up about what to me looked like menstrual fluid (then again I’m a guy what the heck do I know!) around the time my boar was showing sexual interest.
Here is a my reference:
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2001-04/986666565.An.r.html
Hello,
I’m sorry I haven’t read through all of these posts, but I was wondering how you go about watering your hogs in a rotational pasture setup. And also in the winter months. We’re outside of Syracuse, NY, and I’m raising hogs through the winter to save on piglet costs. We’d also like to keep a sow in the future, but are unsure if we can afford to keep one. Does a sow still get most of it’s nutrition from pasturing, or will she need lots more supplements? Thank you so much for any help you might be able to give. We love your site and constantly gain inspiration and ideas to further our goal of independent sufficient living. Thanks.
Mike Angello
We have several springs which flow to waterers through 1″ black plastic pipe. The waterers are setup in series down the mountain. We also have small ponds for the pigs that we dug that collect the water and these act as wallows as well at the lower end.
In winter, water is a lot more challenging. For four to six months of our year water is normally in a solid state. Fortunately our warm springs come to our aid. Buried pipes and feeders in series are the key. I’ll write more about that sometime.
We feed pasture/hay and dairy although at times we’ve done just pasture. The sows can get all they need from good pasture – we plant clover and such but it is lysine limited. Lysine is a protein the need. The dairy adds this. We have both pasture/hay and whey in quantity so those are the basis of our pig diet and we free feed those. Depending on the season and availability there are also pumpkins, apples, sometimes some boiled barley from the local brew pub, occasionally bread for training pigs to load. See here for more on what we feed.
Aloha Walter, I wanted to share something that I found out about. It is called Korean Natural Farming. This is becoming big news on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island). We just got three large yorkshire pigs and I was concerned about the smell because we have a small bed and breakfast. After three weeks it was getting pretty bad and we had a lot of flies. I have two areas to rotate them, so I am limited for space. We are now making Lactic Acid Serum (LAS). It is a 2 step, 14 day process and uses the rinse water from white rice and whole milk. After 14 days you have the serum and it dilutes down with 1 to 20 ratio water, this is your base. This can be further diluted down to 1 to 20 water and then sprayed directly on the pig pen area and the pigs like a spray down as well. The bacteria eats up the pig manure and takes the smell away as well as the flies. This happens in a matter of hours and I apply it every one to two weeks. It is unbelievable stuff and simple to make. The University of Hawaii Hilo is experimenting with it right now. The curd that is left over from the 14 day process is fed back to the pigs, so there is no waste of materials, everything is used. Let me know if you would be interested in the process of making this.
Interesting. So you are making the area more hospitable to the bacteria that can help you. That makes sense. I would be interested in knowing more just for knowledge although I don’t see actually using it here since our pigs are out on large pastures (~70 acres).
Another trick that we use that you might want to do is we have a lot of free ranging chickens with the pigs. The chickens pretty much eliminate the flies, break up the manure patties and lay a whole lot of eggs which are great food for the pigs. Cooking the eggs doubles the available protein.
Ducks are also a great natural agitator for ponds and they help to keep the ice open on waterers at night during the winter.
Lots of little details to combine. Keep on experimenting!
This is the formula to make LAS:
How To Prepare Lactic Acid Bacteria Serum
Materials
Rice wash
2 jars or plastic containers
strainer
clean sheet of paper and string
fresh milk
crude sugar
Procedure
1. Drain the first rice wash into a clay jar. This has plenty of good microorganisms. The accumulated rice wash should be seven inches deep.
2. Cover the clay jar with a clean sheet of paper and tie the mouth firmly with a string. Place it in a cool and shaded place.
3. After seven days, the rice bran will float on top. Strain and place the water into a separate clay jar.
4. Add fresh milk into the strained water in the new jar or plastic container. This should be 10 times the quantity of the water.
5. Cover the mouth of the jar with a clean sheet of paper and tie firmly with a string. After seven days, the fat will float on top and underneath it is a yellowish substance. This is the lactic acid serum (LAS).
6. Extract only the yellowish substance using a hand pump.
7. If you refrigerate, you will not have to add sugar. With no refrigeration, add crude sugar (the same amount with the LAS). This will prevent spoiling. Store in a cool and shaded place for seven days.
How to Use the Serum
Mix two tablespoons of LAS to one liter of water. This can be used as animal drink as well as sprinkled to plants and compost. It will serve as a good defense against fungi and viruses.
Cool. Thanks, Garvin.
Hello,
I have been reading many of the post, but haven’t had the time to read all of them… I have a couple of questions. We are planning on getting 4-5 pigs to raise for ourselves and friends and we are trying to come up with a rough estimate of how much it will cost to raise our pigs.
The pigs will be fed free range 16% medicated grower/ finisher, organic feed and fruit and veggie scraps as they are available. They will be raised in an approximate pen size of- 25×50. Is it still safe to say that it should take approx. 800lbs of feed to raise them to butcher size of 200+ lbs?
The other question I have is, do we need to take them off medicated feed prior to butcher?
Thank you very much,
Sally
The medicated feed isn’t a mandatory thing. If you’re going to use it I would certainly stop in the last month. On the bag I would expect them to have an explanation of a withdrawal time for it. Check that.
The more alternative feeds you provide such as the veggies and pasture the less of that 800 lbs of feed the pigs will need to get to market weight. The pen is small. If you could do four pens that size and plant something fast growing in each pen as the pigs leave it you would have a mini-rotational grazing setup and grow a significant amount of the pigs own feed.
Be sure to schedule with the butcher now for a meat processing slot. They are typically booked up three to six months in advance.
Thank you very much for the response. We will try to divide them some more pasture. I plan on reading more posts as time is available for myself. I find it very helpful!
Just to clarify, do you worm your pigs? I always thought it were necessary if they were able to root? (In referance to the medicated pig feed)
Thanks again,
Sally
We feed whey and garlic, both of which have natural de-worming properties. The rotational grazing also is a strong prevention of parasites as it breaks the parasite life cycles. In addition to that, our cold winters kill parasites. If I see a pig that is in need of worming and the above isn’t cutting it I use Fenbendazole or Ivermec based dewormer but this is rarely necessary. The feed and CAFO industries like to promote the myth that animals on pasture are wormy but this is just that, a myth.
Walter, On the weekend I saw at the feed mill oil seed sunflower seeds on sale cheap, I was thinking of buying a bag and planting them for feed. There is no way I am going to extract the seeds. I plan to feed whole sunflower heads. I am going to get chickens this spring I imagine that some seeds will pass through the pigs and that the chickens will glean them. Is that more or less how you feed sunflowers?
We either turn the pigs into the area and let them self harvest or we hang the sunflowers upside down to dry and then feed during the winter. The latter more for the chickens. Sunchokes are even better as a fodder I find. The pigs replant enough.
Walter,
How long does it take to get your pigs ti 225 LBS on baleage??
By baleage I take it you’re referring to winter hay feeding as a replacement to summer pastures. We don’t just feed hay but rather combine that with free feeding of dairy. See this page about pigs which describes the diet and such. Winter takes a bit longer as the hay is not as rich as pasture and it is colder which slows down growth.
I have found someone giving away 600 gallons a week of “Thick liquid animal feed available ! Feed consist of left overs, such as potatoes, carrots, onions, vegetable oil ex…from restaurants deep fryers and grills ” Assuming it is pre not post consumer waste do you think it would be OK to feed to my pigs in addition to whey , hay and pasture?
Interesting supplement. I have heard of feeding frier oil but have never tried it. I would find out a bit more about what is in it and then I would take a set of pigs and test feed it to them supplementing their other feed with this. When they go to slaughter examine the carcass quality, time to slaughter, taste, fat quality and see how it comes out. I would be interested to know.
I have just confirmed that its all pre-consumer waste.
The only pigs I have are breeding stock. So I will go ahead and start feeding it to them. I am expecting piglets (well the gilts are lol) this summer I will feed one group just whey, hay , pasture and apples the other group will get all that plus the fryer oil.
Hi Jeff,
Are you in Eastern Ontario near the Quebec border as I have seen such an ad for 600 gallons a week “Thick liquid animal feed available ! Feed consist of left overs, such as potatoes, carrots, onions, vegetable oil ex…from restaurants deep fryers and grills ” so I guess we might be in the same area.
Or maybe are they franchisees in many places using the same ad.
Hey Gerry , I am near the border. We are probably looking at the same add. The guys running the company are pretty decent but unfortunately my pigs dont like the feed certainly not in the quantity they want to get rid off. They eat about a liter a day max each, if that. I have seen them just turn up their noses at it. If a pig wont eat something I think you have to respect that. They are not known for being picky eaters ! I find the odor and consistency are frankly off putting, and even in this summer weather its clogging on me when I empty the tank . I feel better just feeding the pig whey.
These have been my experiences maybe it could work for you I dont know what your set up is. I think it would be definitely work in a more conventional dry feed with more pigs and it could be mixed with the feed in smaller proportions.
I will be composting whatever they cant give away to pig farmers. I plan to built a simple hoop greenhouse over the hot compost like what Walter has done and keep my chickens in there over the winter and hopefully it will keep them warm and at least partially fed with worms and bugs. And then I will have lots of great soil in the garden that the pigs over winter in .
I am looking to get a pig for the meat. I have a decent sized yard and have an area where I used to garden. I am planning to turn this area into a pig pen. What materials would I need and how big of an area should I make? I am new to this and have read through some of the posts but wanted to get a more clear idea of what I am going to get myself into. My sister had said that the pigs will dig their way out of the pen, is this true? What should I feed them besides our grass clippings and hay? Any help will be greatly appreciated. I live in Michigan and the farmers near me plant feed corn every year, could I feed them that?
My suggestion would be to divide the space up into nine sub-spaces, paddocks, in a tic-tac-toe style grid. Move the pig from one to the next. This will be a mini-form of managed intensive rotational grazing. You can plant some fast growing plants behind the pig which will provide some food and use the nutrients from the pigs manure. For fencing I would have a hard exterior fence with a hot wire inside of that. The pig will not dig through that in my experience. Check the fencing daily when you’re feeding and caring for the pig. It will also need fresh water, a wallow and bedding. The corn is good food for energy but lacking in protein. We use dairy for additional protein as well as planting things like clover and alfalfa in our pastures. Good luck with your project.
Hi, I found your site with Google when I put in ” what happens when you cross a potbelly pig with a Hampshire”, I think. Can’t remember the exact breed. Anyways, I have been searching and searching for an answer to the question of what kind of growout you get from a potbelly crossed with a big farm pig, with the mama being the big farm pig, of course. Stewie, our potbelly, attempted to impregnate two of his female companions and they had lots of X-rated fun, but no piglets, so the ladies moved on to greener pastures to someone that did not want babies and just wanted tillers. Stewie got kind of nasty with myself and my daughter anyway when we went to move his “ladies”. Teeth were involved. Then later a big stick was involved. Then the teeth weren’t so involved anymore. It was not pretty. I was ready to pop him right between the eyes right then and there (mama instinct- nothing bites my kid and lives to tell about it…) but then I remembered I needed his stud service. To his credit, when the ladies left, he was back to his “rub my belly and feed me” self. I scratch his ears every day and tell him in a singsong friendly voice how I’m going to make porkchops out of him and that it’s only a matter of time…. Truly, I am afraid of getting a big boar after seeing what a little boar can do. I can handle a little boar, but I don’t think I want an obnoxious animal the size of a short legged cow running around just for his sperm! So my idea at first… because we have a shy acre of land to work with, was to do little pigs. Even potbellies get pretty big, 150-200 lbs. Stewie is about there now. I wondered if breeding him to a farm sow of some kind might produce a little bit bigger pig, but not quite cow-size so as to be more maneagable. I thought that might still get me at the very least, meat for my family, and maybe in the future, a nitch market for medium sized pigs? Anybody have any experience with this? Darn, and I found a craigslist ad right here in my area for farm pigs crossed with potbellies, 1/3 potbelly, so I am just salivating now. That person didn’t answer my questions, though, either. I wanted to know if they grow out slow, like potbellies, or about how big they get as adults, etc. The potbellies seem to work like a Shetland pony in comparison to a horse. They don’t eat as much, they put on fat easier (ponies founder easier), but other than that they seem just like a regular pig, only smaller. I wouldn’t mind butchering one that is 150-200 lbs, but those little bitty piggies the size of a small dog… I just couldn’t do that. Thoughts?
I have heard o people keeping pot bellied pigs for meat,, that was their original purpose – a kitchen or court yard pig that ate the kitchen waste and provided meat for the table. I’ve also heard of them being bred with larger farm pigs and that producing a moderate sized pig that tends to move genetically toward the farm pig size over time. But I would imagine that if you did careful selective breeding you could control that quite well. It does take having a fair number of animals to do good selective breeding as you need a wide enough pool of genes to manage inbreeding issues.
All that said, you could just use a farm breed and then slaughter them as they get to a size you feel is bigger than you want to keep. Sows have their first litters at around 300 lbs which is not much bigger than your pot bellied pig. Let her have two litters then eat her and use one of her daughters for the next generation.
What ever you do, breed for good temperament. It is highly genetic. We eat mean pigs. The result is the only big ones left are the nice ones. Mean ones went to market when they were small. This works very well and means we’ve had boars way over 1,000 lbs who were very docile as well as sows in the 600 to 800 lb range who were also very nice.
Next month the community center adjacent to my land but 2 fields over from where my pigs are will be putting on a 10 minute fireworks display. I got my pigs last year after the fire works so they never seen it. But it sure scared my puppy! He took off and was lost for 2 days. I am concerned that the pigs will be terrified and bolt through the electric wire. My 3 gilts will hopefully have liters at this time. Have you had experience with pigs and fireworks? They have experienced thunderstorms I wonder if they will think its just thunderstorms.
Any thoughts? Should I try to lock them all up in their winter shelter? 3 gilts + piglets + boar in a 8X12 shelter? Thats about all the only mitigation strategy that I got, short of asking them to cancel the fireworks for the sake of my pigs. I think I know what the answer would be!
My inclination is to lock them up securely.
I would like to know what the best pig is for meat. What type of fence would you need and were is the cheepest pen for sale. thank you i would like to hear back.
I get that question a lot but there is no “best pig”. Most pigs will do. Some pigs have had their pasturing ability bred out of them because the breeders are focused on confinement operation conditions. What works in one situation will be less good in another situation. There are trade offs. An example is to get the absolute fastest possible growth you might choose a Yorkshire X Landrace cross, for example, and feed it a corn/soy diet while keeping it nearly immobile in a pen. The meat won’t taste very good and it will be too lean but it will grow fast. On the other hand, a slower growing Berkshire has excellent marbling but is going to be more expensive to raise and might not do as well in rugged terrain due to its short legs. What we’ve done is breed for traits that work in our climate with our management and feeding to produce the best meat, mothering, temperament and other characteristics. It is all about balance. Our pigs on the other hand would not do well in a confinement operation with farrowing crates because they have strong maternal instincts. Nesting behavior becomes bar biting in confinement.
All that said, I like Yorkshire in the mix for their fast growth, large size, mothering and pasture-ability; Berkshire for their marbling; Large Black for their mothering and gentle temperament; Glouster Old Spot for their gentleness and pasture-ability. Tamworth are slower growing but give some fun colors. It’s always good to have a little fun.
For fencing and other info, check out the tag cloud in the right hand column and see the Fencing section.
Cheers,
-Walter
Walter, one of my three gilts is now a sow with 7 beautiful piglets being born yesterday. I was worried that as a first timer she would be a bad mother but instinct has taken over and she is doing great. The other 2 should follow suit soon.
My question is she has a white yogurt like discharge and I think she is running a bit of a fever (she feels warmer behind the ears than her sister) and while she is drinking whey she seems off her food a bit isnt drinking enough whey for my liking. Is this serious ? Should I get her some antibiotics?
Thanks
Jeff
What is her temperature? Normal for a sow is about 103°F. It is also normal for them to go off food for a couple of days starting just before farrowing. This helps make them be homebodies, sticking to the nest, protecting the piglets and staying laid down so the piglets can nurse and not get crushed.
I want to know if you don’t denut the male hog what will happened to the meat.I have heard different stories about.
We do not castrate our pigs and the meat is delicious as attested to by the thousands of people who eat our meat at local restaurants and by it week after week at local stores. BUT, it is more complicated than that. Some pigs have the unfortunate genetics for boar taint. Management (CAFO style penning) and feed (lack of fiber, too much corn/soy) can also affect how a boar pig will taint. I would suggest you read these posts about boar taint. The advantage of not castrating is it is more humane for the pig to not cut it, the intact boar pigs grow faster and larger plus they are more efficient at converting feed to meat than gilts, sows or barrows (cut boars).
Thank you so much form this information it helped me a lot.
You website is just so cool and you have such great info. I checked out your “In The Piggy Way” article and got yet another useful tip on preggo piggies, which I am pretty sure I actually have one, now. Yay! My next question… hahaha… Nutritional value. Probably a dumb question, but I was looking for more details. You said the meat has more flavor and texture and is healthier because you free range. I am assuming you eat a lot of pig, so I am wondering how your cholesterol levels and whatnot do with that, eating so much pork? Pork seems to be one of the “evil” foods they tell us to get rid of, or at least not eat so much of, when we’re trying to eat healthy. Yaright, like any of us po’ folk can afford to be eating fish and organic vegetables all the time. Not your average person, anyways. Most folks are too busy working full time to pay the daycare fulltime, to only bring home part time wages and then wonder why the heck they are so exhausted and grouchy and still not makin’ it. Welcome to my former life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Anyways, I was just curious if you had some info on like maybe health benefits of eating your kind of pork vs. the store pork, how much less fat or something??? Not sure how to ask what I’m asking. I know this: Since I have been eating garden food and food cooked instead of the quickie stuff out of a box for dinner or stuff out of a window, I have lost like twenty pounds without even trying. I’m a big girl. Round. Out there. So, weight doesn’t just “fall off” of me. I have to literally work my butt off. Half the time that doesn’t work either. LOL Exercise gym? Hahahaha… come do laundry at my house. Your upper arm strength will double. LOL
Congratulations on losing 20 lbs! Gaining control of your body is a big personal victory.
You are right, we do eat a lot of pork. In fact, it is probably 90% or more of what we eat for meat plus we cook with pork lard. We also are big milk drinkers – consuming about a gallon of milk a day between the five of us. We have excellent cholesterol levels. Since genetics can play a role, the best comparison is with our own extended family – our levels are lower in our nuclear family than to other members (parents, brothers, sister, etc). The five of us also have low body fat ratios and are muscular. Now how much of that is diet, how much is activity level is a good question.
In terms of eating good food inexpensively, eat low-on-the-hog. Eat like the farmer. Last night we had pork hocks for dinner. They’re a long slow cook and mighty delicious. We had them baked. They and trotters (pigs feed) also make wonderful stews, soups and stock. The knuckles release highly nutritious cartilage gelatin which is a natural thickener and it is good for our joints.
Of course, the other big way in which our all naturally pastured raised pork is more healthy is what it does not have. We don’t use pesticides, herbicides, antibiotic feeds and other toxic chemicals on our farm. We also don’t feed the commercial GMO based corn/soy diet. Instead our pigs get a healthy mix primarily pasture in the warm months and hay over the winter plus dairy from a local butter and cheese maker. Add to that as seasonally available the pumpkins, sunflowers, squash, beets, turnips, kale, rape and apples we grow here on Sugar Mountain, apple pomace (crushed apples) from a local cider maker, periodic smatter of boiled barley from a local brew pub. The result is a pork which has all the good stuff and none of the bad stuff.
Personally, I can distinctly taste the difference, especially in the fat. Pasture raised beef, chicken and pork fat is delicious. The corn/soy fed versions will keep me alive if I have to eat them but they don’t taste as good. Our pork fat has a sweeter taste that may be a combination of the pasture and the dairy. Fat is where the flavor comes from in meat.
As to amount of fat, we breed for 3/4″ to 1″ of back fat at slaughter age of 250 to 300 lbs. I say “breed” for rather than “feed” for because we free feed our animals. They have free access to pasture/hay and dairy all the time. Over the years I have selectively bred the animals who on that diet and our pasture management produce the best meat and fat combination including marbling. Our breeding program is a long term project I do to gradually improve our herds’s genetics.
As to the nutrient make up of pastured pork, I actually have a post coming up about that so stay tuned!
Hi I have a four month old duroc hampshire cross weighing about 35-40 pounds. Im fearing that she is underweight. I feed her 20% protein and corn mixed. I have wormed her at 3 months. this is my first pig and Im not sure what im doing wrong. Any sugestions? Im opening to anything, Thanks!
She sounds very underweight. I would do a fecal exam to see if she still has worms. The feed sounds fine, even a bit high in protein. One possibility is it is an unbalanced feed. If the proteins are not the correct mix (e.g., lysine limited) then the pig will grow slowly.
How do you confine your piglets? Last year when I bought my foundation stock as wieners I put them behind electric fence one at 10” other at 24″ and it has worked beautifully. For them… Their piglets born in July however ran under and now step between 2 wires. They run all over the place. Luckily for me I am along way from the road but I need to teach these little scofflaws to respect the wire. Until they get to 24” at the shoulder I dont see how. Any advice welcome. Thanks Walt.
We don’t typically confine piglets. They follow the herd. We fence them out of gardens we don’t want them going into by using poultry netting, utility stock panel or hog panel as well as stone walls or pallet walls. If you want them to respect the wire more, try putting a physical barrier outside the wires, even simply brush, sticks, stones, etc. This gets them to lift their nose. Then also put a wire down at their nose level and make it tight. That will get their attention. In time they’ll learn the boundaries.
Do you just let the sows wean on their own then? One of my sows has been nursing her and her sister’s piglets for 12 weeks now. She is skinny due to all that nursing. I would like her to stop so I can fatten her up for the winter months. I dont think she will make it through without some fat on her.
My boar and one of the piglets seems to have ear mites or something. They shake their heads like crazy. I am leaning towards ivormectin. Any ideas for a natural product? veggie oil in the ears?
Txs
We wean. I would strongly suggest you wean now. She is getting nursed down and this will imperial her health. We wean piglets at four to eight weeks typically for this reason. It varies a little seasonally but is in that range. At four weeks the piglets should already be eating lots of solids, they start tasting the grass and clover by a week or so. If you don’t wean her now and get condition back on her it could cause her to die in the winter.
I’ve not dealt with ear mites, or any other mites but what you are describing sounds like what I have heard as being mites or fungal infection. Oil in the ears and along their back is one solution I have read of. I’ve heard of people using car oil but would not suggest that, instead use a vegetable oil. It smothers the ticks, fleas and mites from what I understand. I’ve never done it as we’ve never had an issue which may be in part due to our colder northern climate. Try the oil but if that doesn’t solve it within a week or two I would suggest going to something stronger such as Ivormectin. Do observe the withdrawal times.
Wow! Thank you so much for all of this great, free information. Your site has made me feel like it might actually be possible for me to produce a large portion of what goes onto my family’s dinner table.
I grew up in farm country, but my husband and I are long time apartment-in-the-city dwellers. We’re finally thinking about buying a house outside the city, and we’d like to try the 36′X36′ (or possibly slightly bigger) garden divided into nine plots tic-tac-toe style that you mentioned above, with two pigs and some chickens. We’re total beginners, so I have a few questions.
Do you have any general advice about things I should consider for raising pigs when we’re looking at property to buy in a cold, northern climate (steepness of terrain, vegetation currently growing, wind levels, for example)?
My husband is excited about building things, and he wants to build a permanent wooden pig shelter (probably three-walled or four with a very large door) in the center square. We’d like to house the chickens in the same structure–could we put a sort of loft for them above the pigs? Could the chickens then have free rein of the pig shelter without getting trampled? How high would we have to put a loft to keep the nesting birds out of the pigs’ reach? Would a large open door provide enough ventilation? Would a windows up high for a cross breeze help?
One last question. We have two small children. We’re not paranoid about safety but I was wondering if you had any tips for teaching kids how to handle pigs safely–recognizing signs of possible aggression, pigs don’t like to be touched in such and such a place, etc. Also, what age do you think it’s safe for kids to start handling pigs and poultry?
Thanks again for this inspirational site!
Caution with children and pigs. I would keep them supervised. Remember that a six month old pig is 250 lbs of mostly muscle – they’re very strong, have sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They can do a lot of damage to a child, or you, quick like.
Ventilation in the shelter is very important. We primarily use open sheds, often with just a wall on the northwest side to block the winter wind. Cross ventilating top windows is good – no glass. For warmth give them plenty of hay in cold weather.
Chicken roosts about four feet up and ascending from there work very well over the pigs.
For land, look for some slope to provide drainage, above the valley floor to help protect against frost, a spring up hill of you for water, more gravel than clay in the soil and a southern to southeastern exposure. Winter winds tend to come from the west. Although a south west exposure gives more solar energy it comes late in the day when you need it less and the wind steals away the heat.
On the paddocks, 36′x36′ is the minimum I would suggest. You’ll start rotating slowly and then go faster and faster as the pig grow. Think of it as a pounds of pig per square-foot of paddock problem. You want to rotate slowly enough in a garden setup to have the pigs root. In a field setup for grazing you want to rotate fast enough to prevent too much rooting. See Rootless in Vermont.
Have fun with your new adventures!
Walter, I just wanted to update you on feeding waste veggie oil to the pigs (see my posts on this thread of April 21 and May 11 of this year). The oil they ware giving me was too much for my boar and 3 gilts to eat, so I have been composting it. Well now my herd has increased to 30 thanks to my 3 overly nursed and peekid sows. I was worried that they would be too skinny to make it through the winter so I had the guys pour the waste veggie oil on a bed of alfalfa hay that I got for free. I called it my piggie salad. It worked like a charm, within 3 weeks my sows have filled in really nicely and are well set for the winter. All the oil and hay are gone and my heard is wondering when the next delivery will be. I will be butchering one of the sows soon and I will let you know what her meat and fat were like.
Wonderful to hear! Thanks for the report on the oil. Do let us know how the meat turns out. Color, flavor, texture…
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I have two pigs that i thought were pot bellies, however they are mean and bite. The guy i purchased them from told me that they were mixed pot belly and regular sows. Can i raise them for meat, or should i give them away.
Julie
You can definitely raise them for meat. Being Potbellied Pigs or not probably doesn’t related to their temperament too directly. If they are a cross then they may grow a lot larger than Potbellied Pigs.
Hi,
How large is your farm and how many pigs can you practically breed the organic way.
We have about 1,000 acres and we could theoretically produce about 20,000 to 30,000 pigs a year on that in a sustainable manner using the managed rotational grazing techniques we’ve developed for pigs – very similar to doing cattle, sheep and goats with a few tweaks. See “How much land per pig” for more details. You could do a lot more pigs per acre but in our situation that is a sustainable level.
However we have no desire to go anywhere close to those numbers. Our goal is about 500 per year which comes out to a fairly steady 10 per week for our stable market of standing orders with stores and restaurants plus some for CSA pigs, roasters, sucklings and weaners for people to raise themselves. That is enough.
I want to raise pigs but bears live in my woods. Would a bear eat my pigs, and if so, should I lock them in there shelter at night? Thanks
Yes, the bears could well eat the pigs. Locking the bears in at night might help except where there be bears the may also be cougar, coyotes and other predators as well. I would suggest locking the pigs in instead and putting electric fencing around the pig house to help repel predators as well as having it around the pastures. I also strongly recommend having livestock guardian dogs. They are what ultimately protects our livestock – the fencing just helps define the boundaries.
You say you pasture them but is that how they get most of there food? Can they do the same in woods? You also say to use electric fencing a lot but is that good in woods with lots of dead falls and all that? Cant I just use woven wire? Can you fatten your pigs up on hay? What kind? I want to raise a few feeder pigs to market weight and doing it with hay sounds good. Is it cheaper than buying pig feed? Thanks
Yes, most of our pig’s diet comes from pasture in the warm weather and hay in the winter. See this page for details on their diet. In addition to the open areas of their pasture there are also margins of woods along the edges of many of the pastures and there are a variety of nut and fruit trees which provide additional forage as part of their pasture diet. We primarily use electrified wire for the outside perimeter and to divide up the paddocks. We plant legumes such as clovers and alfalfa in our pastures to raise the protein levels. Pasture/hay are low in lysine, a limiting amino-acid, so you’ll want to look for something that provides that. In our case we get it from dairy. On just pasture the pigs take several months longer to grow and will be lean. Adding dairy to that brings them back to the growth rate of commercial feed and has better tasting meet and fat. Consider any good things you can get or grow for your pigs. See the Feeding tag in the tag cloud in the right column for lots more about diet.
I have five acres of woods that I will put, say, four pigs on. Would that be almost as good as pasture? I raise a large garden, and could get milk products locally. I do not plan to raise them through the winter. Would this be good enough?
Woods won’t have as much food value as pasture but depending on the woods it could have a lot. For example, do you have oaks, butternuts, beeches, other nut trees or fruit trees? In season they would provide good forage. Doing it only in the summer will make it easier. I would strongly suggest doing managed rotational grazing be it in the garden, pasture or woods.
As far as I know I have some beeches and quite a few oak. I have lots and lots of wild blackberries. Would they help?
Our pigs do eat the blackberry plants. Prickly. They also eat burdock and thistles. Your oak and beech should produce good amounts of food during their season and that will help.
How much does it cost to raise pigs the way you do? And I have to say, this is a great blog!
It’s complicated because it depends on what you include since we go from breeding to finishing and soon all the way to slaughter, butchering and smoking. It also depends for comparison on what your local feed costs are. Sometime I’ll do a detailed article on this topic.
Walter, I butchered one of my sows that I feed the waste veggie oil and hay mixture to. She did nt have any of it for a month before being slaughtered.
She tastes delicious. We had one of her hams on Boxing Day and it was without a doubt the most awesome ham I have ever eaten. I have had some chops and the meat is more flavourful than store bought stuff.
There is a mushroom farm not to far from me. I wonder what they do with their spent spawn. There must be feed value in that for the pigs. I will try to get some.
Jeff
This last year we did your trick of the tictacto board of pasturing our pigs and chickens. It worked fantastic! I planted lots of clover just spread it over the grass already there. By the time we got our pigs the clover and grasses were lush. THe pigs obiously loved the clover but they also ate the grass. We did not buy or feed any grains or pig feed this year or anything for the chickens either. They just got our pasture. It was tempting to feed them kitchen scraps but I wanted to see how they would do. They grew and after just six months they were over 240# by the feed store tape I got. They did get some eggs because I did not always get all the eggs the chickens laid but we got more than we could eat so I am not begrudging them that. Final wight was 260 and 267. They did this on just under an acre with a dozen chickens with them. Back fat was about 1 inch and the meat was tasty tasty tasty! Cheap too since we did not have to buy all that grain this year. Thanks for all your help!
Good job. I take it those are live weights. It really works despite what some people claim about pasture not having enough food value. I suspect their math breaks down because they just think of grass while pasture really has a lot of other things in it too. My guess is the lysine levels were a little low, we use dairy to bring that up, but the chicken eggs might have helped there and technically those eggs came off the pasture so the pigs were just eating pasture. An interesting point. What ever you grow on the pasture is pasture.
First of all, thank you for this website. You have helped many people and I’m sure made getting started in pig raising alot easier. I also am looking into getting a 2 or 3 pigs to start raising here at home. I have about a half acre fenced off, seperated into 3 different paddocks. I have lots of experience raising other livestock, boer goats, chickens, etc., but have never had hogs. Would you suggest starting out with a couple females, or going ahead and getting a couple gilts and a boer at the same time?
I would suggest starting with two to four weaner feeder pigs the first year. Learn about raising the pigs, get infra structure such as fencing and housing setup, get your feet firmly in the mud. Then in a subsequent year get a bred gilt and learn about farrowing. It’s a whole new ball of wax.
On your paddocks, sub-divide them twice more to get more paddocks for your rotation. Come back to a paddock after a month. Leave after they eat the forage down to a couple of inches. The goal is to break parasite cycles (not come back too soon) and not compact the soil or damage the roots (rotate out soon enough). It is a balance. Adjusting the number of paddocks helps. Plant behind them.
Many thanks for this site – lots of great info! I’ve never kept pigs but want to get a couple of feeders this summer. I have a pasture with waist high grass that is dormant and want to turn about a 100 x 100 foot portion of it into a large fenced (we have a major deer population) garden. I was wondering, rather than mow, plough, and till it, could I just let a couple of feeders run hog wild (‘scuse the pun!) and do all the work for me this summer and fall? I assume I’d need to run some electric wire near the ground, but would that be enough area for two hogs to keep them fit and happy, and would that accomplish the task of tearing up the ground for tilling a year or so from now (as well as adding fertilizer)? Or would I need to move them to avoid excess rooting and compaction? Thanks again for the site!
You might find this article about rooting and tilling. Basically if you want grazing then do rotation, if you want rooting, confine (mob-graze). Two pigs will do a fairly small area. You might want to try the “tic-tac-toe board” board method mentioned on this page. The central square would then become the garden and the outer paddocks are the main feed sources.
Man you are making my mouth water. I want to have a small farm but am stuck here in a cubicle like dilbert playing farmville while visions of bacon dance through my head.
Keep dreaming and work towards your goals. In the mean time, speaking of bacon, check out the bacon filled rewards on our Kickstarter project. No need to deprive yourself of the good stuff!