Anyone ever raise a pig?

[NetWareHead]

The recent news about the worldwide bacon shortage and higher pork prices had me thinking about doing this. I've eaten wild boar before and know how much better natural pork tastes vs commercially raised hogs. We've been using the following information http://farmfolly.com/2011/03/complete-costs-of-raising-pigs/ to calculate the costs and what we need to make this happen.

I'm not too squeamish about blood, I have access to a meat grinder for sausage, have a food vacuum sealer for frozen meat and will be getting a smoker soon so I feel that I'm fully equipped to handle an entire pig carcass worth. My coworker's property is actually zoned agricultural despite it not being a farm so he won't have problems with town hall. In addition to the grain we need to purchase as food, I have plenty of kitchen scraps that instead of composting, could go to feed the pigs, supplementing the pig's feed. I'll have a use for the manure produced in my garden as fertilizer. Lastly, my coworker has a truck with a trailer so we can haul anything we need including the pigs to a nearby slaughterhouse. We've been drawing up plans to construct a pig-pen with shelter and fence and it's not that expensive. Anybody have any experience they wish to share? Advice or comments?

 

[SunnyD]

I have kids... one is a teenager... so yeah.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I raised hogs as a kid. Started with one little piglet I found running down the highway. Then for some reason my parents decided..we'll raise hogs. Just a 8-10 at a time. We didn't slaughter them ourselves though we took them to a slaughterhouse.

They eat...a lot. They smell. They are smart creatures and will actually "talk" back to you.

Also, if it gets hot where you are and it's dry, make sure to make them some mud to cool down in as they don't sweat.
Otherwise..they are not difficult to raise.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

They eat...a lot.

You're always gonna have problems lifting a body in one piece. Apparently the best thing to do is cut up a corpse into six pieces and pile it all together. And when you got your six pieces, you gotta get rid of them, because it's no good leaving it in the deep freeze for your mum to discover, now is it? Then I hear the best thing to do is feed them to pigs. You got to starve the pigs for a few days, then the sight of a chopped-up body will look like curry to a pisshead. You gotta shave the heads of your victims, and pull the teeth out for the sake of the piggies' digestion. You could do this afterwards, of course, but you don't want to go sievin' through pig shit, now do you? They will go through bone like butter. You need at least sixteen pigs to finish the job in one sitting, so be wary of any man who keeps a pig farm. They will go through a body that weighs 200 pounds in about eight minutes. That means that a single pig can consume two pounds of uncooked flesh every minute. Hence the expression, "as greedy as a pig."

 

[NetWareHead]

They eat...a lot. They smell. They are smart creatures and will actually "talk" back to you.

lol yes, as a kid I remember imitating a pig snort in front of a pig pen and most of the hogs responded

Also, if it gets hot where you are and it's dry, make sure to make them some mud to cool down in as they don't sweat.
Otherwise..they are not difficult to raise.

Yeah this is the impression I have been getting as I read more and more about this on the web.

 

[DrPizza]

I raised a pig a few years ago. I'm not so sure it was worth it - but that's because I let it get too big before getting it butchered. You want to take them to the butcher at between 200 and 250 pounds. I got 440 pounds of meat back - at least 600 pounds live weight, oops.

I found that it was wayyyyyy too much pork for us. Maybe once every other month, I'll get a package of ham (awesome, pre-cut, $1.75 a pound locally, shrunk wrapped, about 8 pounds per pack.) We make one dinner, I make sandwiches for a lunch or two, or maybe a snack, and I feed a lot of it to the dogs. It makes great dog treats - it's cheaper than regular dog treats & isn't going to kill my dogs like the treats of unknown ingredients that are imported from China. Occasionally whole pork loins are on sale for just over $2 a pound - I cut pork chops out of it (boneless), and will cut out about 2 loin roasts to cook on the rotisserie, else to bbq on the grill. Maybe once a month, I get bacon, and once a month, sausage. That's it.

So, for me, half a pig would be great. What I should do is find someone to split the cost - I raise, and have them cover the butchering cost & it would work out well. But, with the pig I raised, I gave away a lot of the meat & threw out a couple hundred pounds of pork, simply because there was too much and I got sick of it. Plus, I didn't want half of the crap - shoulder roasts, etc. - why? I've got more than enough loin, ham, chops, etc., that I never wanted to bother with a shoulder roast or picnic roast or something like that. Occasionally, I'd grab one out, slow cook it, pull the meat, and feed it to the dogs & cats, without ever even eating a bite myself.

 

[NetWareHead]

I raised a pig a few years ago. I'm not so sure it was worth it - but that's because I let it get too big before getting it butchered. You want to take them to the butcher at between 200 and 250 pounds. I got 440 pounds of meat back - at least 600 pounds live weight, oops.

Jesus... you must have gotten a ton of lard and fatback from that thing in addition to meat.

 

[swanysto]

How much pork product do you eat? I can't imagine raising a few pigs and slaughtering them for food would save you money even with price increases. As a matter of fact, even though the labor you will have to put in is free to you, it costs you time, and probably more than you are thinking.

 

[lxskllr]

How much pork product do you eat? I can't imagine raising a few pigs and slaughtering them for food would save you money even with price increases. As a matter of fact, even though the labor you will have to put in is free to you, it costs you time, and probably more than you are thinking.

Farm work of any kind doesn't pay well. You have to enjoy the work, and you end up getting a couple bucks, and "free" food for what amounts to a hobby.

 

[Imp]

Nope... I wouldn't even think of it because I wouldn't have the heart to take the thing to get "processed", let alone do it myself. Swear to god if no one did my dirty work for me, I'd be a vegan.

 

[swanysto]

Farm work of any kind doesn't pay well. You have to enjoy the work, and you end up getting a couple bucks, and "free" food for what amounts to a hobby.

I wasn't referring to making money. It sounded like he wanted to do this cause the prices at the grocery store are going up. But it seems like it would be more money to actually make your own pork. Buying feed, transporting it, etc. etc.

 

[KaOTiK]

I suggest killing homeless people and feeding them to your hogs, should cut down on cost a lot.

 

[lxskllr]

I wasn't referring to making money. It sounded like he wanted to do this cause the prices at the grocery store are going up. But it seems like it would be more money to actually make your own pork. Buying feed, transporting it, etc. etc.

I understand. Saving money is making money. He'd almost certainly have to sell some meat. Not hard to do on a small scale. What I was getting at is farming's hard to make(save) money at. You have to enjoy the work, and the effort goes into supporting the farm. IOW, the meat and stuff is what supports the hobby. If you're doing it for purely economic reasons, there's better ways of making(saving) money.

 

[swanysto]

I understand. Saving money is making money. He'd almost certainly have to sell some meat. Not hard to do on a small scale. What I was getting at is farming's hard to make(save) money at. You have to enjoy the work, and the effort goes into supporting the farm. IOW, the meat and stuff is what supports the hobby. If you're doing it for purely economic reasons, there's better ways of making(saving) money.

That is exactly why I was questioning it. The first line makes me think he is getting into this for the wrong reason.

 

[NetWareHead]

I wasn't referring to making money. It sounded like he wanted to do this cause the prices at the grocery store are going up. But it seems like it would be more money to actually make your own pork. Buying feed, transporting it, etc. etc.

Actually the link I quoted in the OP shows that when raising two pigs, $2.00 a pound were saved over pork meat purchased in a store. Honestly, its not the money. $2 won't kill me. I'd like to do this more for the opportunity to eat healthier meat and meat devoid of chemicals etc... that are found in commercially raised hogs. And that taste of wild boar, I still remember trying it when i was a child...delicious. If its healthier and tastier, good reasons for me.

 

[lxskllr]

Like Imp, I'd have a hard time slaughtering them. Pigs are supposed to be fairly bright, and after I got used to them, they'd end up being expensive pets :^D

Maybe you could travel, and hunt feral hogs. You get the joy of shooting things, get rid of a damaging pest, and no personal attachment. You also wouldn't have to pay to feed them.

 

[ichy]

Hunting feral hogs might be a better way to go. That way you don't end up getting attached to them, plus feral pigs are a terribly destructive invasive species.

 

[MrColin]

4, never again, I hated those fuckers and they didn't even taste good. Turkeys and ducks, hell yeah!

 

[MrColin]

The recent news about the worldwide bacon shortage and higher pork prices had me thinking about doing this. I've eaten wild boar before and know how much better natural pork tastes vs commercially raised hogs. We've been using the following information http://farmfolly.com/2011/03/complete-costs-of-raising-pigs/ to calculate the costs and what we need to make this happen.

I'm not too squeamish about blood, I have access to a meat grinder for sausage, have a food vacuum sealer for frozen meat and will be getting a smoker soon so I feel that I'm fully equipped to handle an entire pig carcass worth. My coworker's property is actually zoned agricultural despite it not being a farm so he won't have problems with town hall. In addition to the grain we need to purchase as food, I have plenty of kitchen scraps that instead of composting, could go to feed the pigs, supplementing the pig's feed. I'll have a use for the manure produced in my garden as fertilizer. Lastly, my coworker has a truck with a trailer so we can haul anything we need including the pigs to a nearby slaughterhouse. We've been drawing up plans to construct a pig-pen with shelter and fence and it's not that expensive. Anybody have any experience they wish to share? Advice or comments?

The pork prices are going up because the grain prices are going up because this years harvest is going to suck due to early summer draught in the midwest.

 

[SKORPI0]

My grandpa had a farm that had pigs from the '60s to 80s. Yes, they eat a lot!!! Smell and grunt. They were fed some food scraps and some kind of feed (brown grain). Be ready to dispose of their poop. They were put in a open air huts with muddy floors and some grass to lay on. IIRC floor had concrete surface underneath. One side of the wall had a groove for poop disposal and was first swept off then washed with a strong water hose.

When there were big family gatherings, one of the main food was roasted pig. I've seen them slaughtered, blood drain and saved, hair shaved and slowly roasted over a fire pit. There's nothing like having fresh meat/pork in your freezer ready to be cooked.

 

[Gibsons]

Like Imp, I'd have a hard time slaughtering them. Pigs are supposed to be fairly bright, and after I got used to them, they'd end up being expensive pets :^D

Big problem is that baby pigs are really cute. And most people will tell you that they're bright, so I'd get attached too.

also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7leMctSTMc

 

[alien42]

a slaughterhouse is a waste of money, take care of that part yourself.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Plus, I didn't want half of the crap - shoulder roasts, etc. - why? I've got more than enough loin, ham, chops, etc., that I never wanted to bother with a shoulder roast or picnic roast or something like that. Occasionally, I'd grab one out, slow cook it, pull the meat, and feed it to the dogs & cats, without ever even eating a bite myself.

EGADS! Blasphemer! Pork shoulder/picnic is the absolute best meat for smoked pulled pork. And you fed it to . . . <gulp> . . . . CATS!?!?!?!?!?! ARGH.

Give that stuff to me and I will show you how to put a fat man in paradise.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

The recent news about the worldwide bacon shortage and higher pork prices had me thinking about doing this. I've eaten wild boar before and know how much better natural pork tastes vs commercially raised hogs. We've been using the following information http://farmfolly.com/2011/03/complete-costs-of-raising-pigs/ to calculate the costs and what we need to make this happen.

I'm not too squeamish about blood, I have access to a meat grinder for sausage, have a food vacuum sealer for frozen meat and will be getting a smoker soon so I feel that I'm fully equipped to handle an entire pig carcass worth. My coworker's property is actually zoned agricultural despite it not being a farm so he won't have problems with town hall. In addition to the grain we need to purchase as food, I have plenty of kitchen scraps that instead of composting, could go to feed the pigs, supplementing the pig's feed. I'll have a use for the manure produced in my garden as fertilizer. Lastly, my coworker has a truck with a trailer so we can haul anything we need including the pigs to a nearby slaughterhouse. We've been drawing up plans to construct a pig-pen with shelter and fence and it's not that expensive. Anybody have any experience they wish to share? Advice or comments?

lol that someone would like bacon that much that they would go to this amount of trouble

 

[Broheim]

Big problem is that baby pigs are really cute. And most people will tell you that they're bright, so I'd get attached too.

they're exceptionally bright, in some test they do as well as primates.