Anyone raise their own pork?

Interested in seeing the various setups you guys use for raising your own pork. I'm planning to get a nice corner of the property setup with the necessary fencing, housing, etc this summer and then get some piglets next spring to start raising our own.

We've been buying 1/2 or whole pig from local farms the past few years...but since my wife cant eat red meat anymore we're eating way more pork than we used to. The prices these farms charge is just getting so high I really think I can raise 2 or 3 piglets each year for ourselves and come out way ahead (last 1/2 pig I bought was $690!).

I realize the pigs could probably make due with a very simplistic/cheap housing for the spring/summer/fall until theyre butchered...but Im a bit of a neat-freak perfectionist, so while Im hoping to build it myself/cheap out of locally sourced rough cut lumber, I do want the whole setup to be somewhat "attractive".

Any advice is welcome too...and pictures please if you have em!

 

We’ve raised a lot of pigs over the years, but none for a while. They are a lot of fun, and contrary to their reputation, are also neat freaks when given the chance.

There are several fencing options. Pigs respect a single strand of electric fence, although they will check it every day (unlike a cow that could go a week or two with the fence off). We’ve also used hog panels (16’ long welded wire). Nice durability, but expensive.

Here in New England they don’t need a lot for shelter. When they are small/young, deep bedding is good or the cold spring nights, and shade in the heat of the summer is appreciated (they can sunburn).

Watering them from a hog nipple attached to a hose will cut down on messy wallows. Watering from buckets or pans gives them entertainment as well as continual work for you.

You’ll need to be planning the end game at about the time you get them if you plan to have them slaughtered under inspection, as dates in the fall get booked fast.

 

What is your plan for feed? Are you planning a pen, confinement, or pastured? What entertainment is planned?

 

Thanks for the replies.

I dont have any plan yet, Im just in the very beginning research/planning phase. I'm hoping to spend this summer reading up on it and building whatever enclosure I come up with.

As for feed, most likely just whatever feed I can source from my local Blue Seal, in addition to any leftovers/scraps we end up with.

I'm hoping to have a decent sized pen to house them in day to day, but also string up some electric fence on a bigger piece of acreage to let them roam in from time to time...at least thats my thoughts as of now.

 

A good source of cheap/free food is if you talk to a grocery store/food bank/or if you are fortunate enough to have a food manufacturing factory in town and explain what you are doing. Some of them will give you the old bread and produce that is removed from the shelf. If you want to really make them grow if they have out dated milk, bingo! Another cheap source is if there is a local grain elevator see if they sell cleaner screenings or if there is a spill by the rail loadout if you clean minor spills if you can have the grain. With purchased feed, get a 3 bucket system going. Put the feed ration in then add water to make a slurry and let it set 3 days before feeding. It ferments and the feed is more easily digested and more nutrient is available for the same amount of feed. Don't forget pigs are smart and like fun. An old bowling ball or a couple old weights from a weight bench to push and flip helps them not test fences or rut under fencing.

 

We keep our pigs in a pen. There's a concrete slab about 15x20 and an enclosed house that is about 15x6. We get our feeders (30lbs or so) in April/May and slaughter at the end of October/beginning of November (275-350 pounds). No pigs in the winter - too much work and they don't grow as fast as they use so much energy staying warm. Plus no garden/farms scraps around then either.
We slaughter and butcher ourselves but send the smoke meat out to a place about 100 miles away. We make our own sausage and scrapple. This past year, all costs included, my whole pig cost me $2.40 a pound. I weighed what I put in the freezer and divided my cost by the pounds to get that number. Nothing like it!

 

Awesome thanks!

Wow $2.40/lb is great! This past fall I paid $5.95/lb so that would be a significant savings if I can do it for a similar cost.

jrider - do you happen to have any pictures of your pen setup you can share? And yes, April-November is my plan for sure, I dont want to go through winter with any pigs if I can help it.

 

What breed pig do you guys typically raise?

 

Duroc is a really solid breed or a good one to cross with. If outside its red color helps prevent sun burn, and it has good gain rate.

 

Do you plan to do your own processing?

 

No, at least not at first. A good friend of mine raises lamb every year and they use a local butcher who does a wonderful job, so Im planning on using that same butcher at least for the first few years. Perhaps in the future it might be something I attempt, but initially I'd rather let a pro do it.

But I just realized your $2.40/lb was butchering yourself so my price would obviously increase a good bit with butcher fee...hopefully still below the $5.95/lb Im paying now though.

What do you typically pay for the piglets? I see a lot of piglets for sale locally in the $75 range - is that pretty typical?

 

I will try to get some pics in the near future for you.

 

I raised pigs once, together with my ex-business-partner. He had the space to raise them and I didn't, so they stayed at his house about a mile from my house. He already had most of the infrastructure, including a small 8x8 shelter, wire fence and a fence charger. He had an area enclosed that was about a quarter acre, maybe 100' square. We cleaned up the fence line and put the zapper on it, and bought a 55-gallon plastic drum and installed a watering nipple. It was a fun project, educational for both of us and our families.

We bought three feeders in April, about $80 each if I recall. All sows. They liked to overturn the barrel when it was getting less than half full. We fed them mostly bagged feed from the local TSC, but supplemented with a variety of other foods, including kitchen scraps, expired milk, cracked corn and garden weeds/brush trimmings. They loved to eat wild blackberry & raspberry bushes, I guess the thorns didn't bother them. We finished them late in the fall, might have been early November, on acorns and a lot of wild apples. Had one dress out at over 400#, the other two were in the low #300's. We each got a pig and a half, which lasted over a year, we were eating a lot of pork. I had a local butcher come to the house, shot & dressed them out on the spot, and them loaded halves on his truck back to the shop for final processing. Everything came weighed, tagged, vacuum sealed and already frozen. We kept a detailed inventory of costs, including one-time equipment purchases, and it wound up costing us a hair over $3 a pound for everything, including smoked meats, sausages and bacon.

I'd do it again if I had the time and space for it. It's a bit of effort to set up an area the first time, but if you plan on doing it more than once it's probably worth it. We used three strands of wire because that was what was up, but we did have to put in a lot of new posts to keep the line taut. It was absolutely hilarious seeing those little piglets hit that fence with their snouts the first time. Ran around like they were on fire, squealing and carrying on. You do need a minimum amount of space for pigs, but it's a lot better if they get room to roam. They tend to be very clean regarding bathroom habits if they have the space - they will poop and pee in one corner of their yard and let the weeds grow up. I have considered "forest pigs" - that is, fencing off an acre or so of my woods and letting them roam, rooting through the leaves and letting them forage for acorns. I have a bit of red oak and beech in the woods and they would probably love it. I'd need to build a shelter and a wallow for them, and make sure they have plenty of water. Pasture or forest pigs need a lot less prepared feed than penned pigs, and that's probably why our costs were low in the end.

 

Thanks Jon_E, that sounds exactly like what Im hoping to do.

I'd like to build a shelter and smaller well fenced in area, then run some electric fencing around a much larger area to let them out in most days. I've got the space...just a matter of figuring out where I want it. I dont want it to be so far from the house its a hassle going back/forth with supplies everyday, but not so close I can see/smell it from my porch either. Plenty of land, just gotta figure out the best place.

Thats pretty much exactly what I want to do though, raise 3 and keep 2 for my family and sell one off to help cover the costs a bit.

The "forest pigs" is a great idea too, Ive got a lot of area of forest I'd like to clear all the underbrush and just leave the larger trees. Maybe running some electric strand around a big section and letting them free range in it would be a great way to accomplish that.