3 Things To Consider Before Getting Pigs
Pigs Eat ALOT!!!
We didn’t estimate how much food our pigs would go through over the time we had them, which was entirely my fault. I watched a few Youtube videos and went solely off we’ll buy food when we need it, and that was that. We didn’t have a plan for the pigs. We found a deal on two pigs and jumped on it. I started a garden a few months before we got the pigs, I planned for growing a large percentage of hog food in the garden, manly cabbage, lettuce, corn, turnips, and squash.
The fact is, my little garden wasn’t going to supply the pigs with the amount of food they needed. We bought a lot of food the first year, much more feed than we expected. I did learn if you soaked the feed for 2 to 3 days, they wouldn’t need as much to get full, which saved my pocketbook. If you’re thinking about raising pigs, I’d suggest coming up with a plan. How much is it going to cost you? And where can you make a profit? If you can’t answer those questions, I would just raise a few feeder pigs for your family. Now, if you can answer those questions, maybe consider starting a pig business where you sell piglets, breeding stock, and the ones that don’t sell, go into a pasture-raised system and are marketed as a whole, half, and specialty cuts to your neighbors and local residents.
Electric Fencing
There are so many fencing options on the market today, I personally LOVE electric fencing! I’m pro rotational grazing, and yes, that includes hogs. I’m sure there are some awesome wire fencing designs just for hogs, but if you’re trying to contain 25 to 50 hogs on a 115 acres farm, wire fencing and t-post get pricey real quick! Now I’m not against raising pigs in your standard hog pen. That’s the way my dad did it, and when we first started that how we did it, but the amazing benefits pigs can have on pasture if moved every 7 to 9 days is unbelievable. An electric system can save you time, money, and a piece of mind knowing you won’t be receiving calls in the middle of the night saying your pigs are out again. Pigs are smart! Probably the smartest animal on the farm. Within a day, a pig can be trained to an electric fence.
Get A Butcher Date
If you think getting a butcher date is like setting up an appointment for a hair cut you are sadly mistaken. I waited until the last minute and called the butcher a week before running out of feed to make an appointment… Yeah, she told me the next available date she had was a month and a half away, but if I missed that date, there wasn’t another day for at least another six months. I’ve heard stories of people waiting nine months to a year. My excuse is I didn’t know any better. After raising pigs for a few years now, I book a butcher date the day before or when we get the piglets. I know that’s a bit early, but I never want to be in a position of forgetting or something comes up, and we have to feed the pigs longer than the budget allows. It would be a great idea to build an ally system to make loading more accessible and smooth. When you move pigs regularly on pasture, they are much easier to load than barnyard pigs who live their entire lives in a 20x20 hog pen.
Our pigs are used to running, jumping, and moving compared to a hog that’s been in one pen its entire life. So if you don’t have a trailer try to rent, borrow, or steal one. “I’m only joking btw if you steal a trailer and end up in jail, don’t blame me”…. I recommend asking multiple people to borrow a trailer. If you get word that you can borrow Tom’s or Billy’s trailer, it never hurts to call up Larry and David too and see if they are willing to loan their trailer on the same day. I would rather have three people say yes than one person saying yes and forgetting and end up two states away buying cattle the same day you needed their trailer. It’s just better to be prepared. At the end of the day, I love raising hogs. I hope these tips give you something to think about and are helpful in your pig endeavors.
