Pigs

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I never bred any gilts until about 8-9 months... first farrowing at about 1 yr old.. Did not let them get too fat either before breeding... not like you were trying to get them to butcher weight sooner than later.
I had mostly hampshires and duroc crosses..with some berkshire mixed in..... raised and sold feeder pigs for several years.
 
Another thing, just MY personal experience over the years... I farrowed them in loose housing.. not crates... ANY female that did not respond to a pig squealing because she was lazy and laid down and started to squish them for any reason,. was culled. Had 2 that were just lazy slobs... first litter was fine, 2nd litter was one of those, oh well, the pig is just making noise... and lost a couple... their last litter...
I also had a minimum of 8 pigs born live and raised... first time... and strove for 10-14 per litter... I never kept a gilt that did not have at least 12 teats.....
My first original female was from a stockyard pig/hog sale that was pregnant. White, rather small, and ugly, bought cheap...She had only 6 but did raise them... She had been bred to a hamp as several of the pigs had some black with mottling and ONE perfectly black belted gilt. She had a "quack" rather than a grunt and was a friendly, inquisitive little squirt. The original sow did not breed back and I sold her... Sold 4 of the pigs and raised one for meat and kept the belted gilt.
Named her Daffy due to her little "quack.
She never had more than 8 pigs... raised every single one every single time... she basically ran loose and would want in the hog pen to eat, and visits with the boar... had borrowed a duroc boar to breed her the first time and bought a couple more bred females at the sale a 6 months later...so had 3 breeding age females for the first 2 years. Daffy would go off to farrow, usually at the base of a big round bale of hay out in the edge of the woods... I would follow her after she came to eat and find the pigs... about 2 weeks old or so, she would come to the barn with them following and bring them home.
I started keeping females out of her and at one time had about 10-12 that I farrowed regularly. Had 2 that got mean and shipped them as fast as I got them penned and loaded. All her daughters had 10-12 pigs per litter and raised them...
Daffy was 8 when she finally had her last litter... got them to about 6 weeks and one morning she was laying near a big hay roll along the woods and had gone to sleep and went to the big pig pasture in the sky. She would lay down and want her belly scratched and would just be as happy as a pig in mud for some attention...All from a sorry stockyard reject female hog...
 
Got the pigs. Not sure how I feel about em. lol.

IPP is the male. Red waddle is the female. Almost 6 months old. Good teet count on the red. The ipp looks pretty stout.

Think I need a Ipp female and a red waddle male now. And some cheap feeders.
 

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Got the pigs. Not sure how I feel about em. lol.

IPP is the male. Red waddle is the female. Almost 6 months old. Good teet count on the red. The ipp looks pretty stout.

Think I need a Ipp female and a red waddle male now. And some cheap feeders.
Well they ain't any breed I'd recognize. I'd be trying to find a good boar that's a breed people use to make pork. Hampshire, Duroc, Yorkshire, or Landrace come to mind.
 
Do you have acorns ??
Iberian or Iberico pigs !
Slow grower but look at the price !! Ive wanted to cross with larger fast grower.
I am getting ready to get piggies 🐽🐽. Should be ready soon.

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And I thought Wagyu was outrageously priced...

I seriously think that some people have so much money that they compete with each other to show how little any money means to them. And I suspect there are people making a marketing strategy to target those people.
 
I like the red waddle, she seems very tame. I am not sure what to think about the IPP. It's an ugly little thing but cute at the same time. He seems like a stout specimen though. Definitely no future here as straight breds if they mature at 350.

I'm just learning what a pig looks and sounds like. Still haven't touched one yet.😆

What kinda boar would yall get for the the red? I though about another red. Then get some feeder pigs to try out more common breeds. I'm trying to make money w these things ideally.
 
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I like the red waddle, she seems very timid. I am not sure what to think about the IPP. It's an ugly little thing but cute at the same time. He seems like a stout little thing though. Definitely no future here as straight breds if they mature at 350.

I'm just learning what a pig looks and sounds like. Still haven't touched one yet.😆

What kinda boar would yall get for the the red? I though about another red. Then get some feeder pigs of other breeds to try out more common breeds. I'm trying to make money w these things ideally.
They are the Corriente of the pig world. If you want red pigs and want to make pork, use a Duroc boar.

If you want to get CAB premiums, you'll need something homo for black...
 
I like the red waddle, she seems very timid. I am not sure what to think about the IPP. It's an ugly little thing but cute at the same time. He seems like a stout little thing though. Definitely no future here as straight breds if they mature at 350.

I'm just learning what a pig looks and sounds like. Still haven't touched one yet.😆

What kinda boar would yall get for the the red? I though about another red. Then get some feeder pigs of other breeds to try out more common breeds. I'm trying to make money w these things ideally.
Birkshire Is probably the best tasting. Cross your red with that.
Birks and Yorks are some of the better mothers. Durocs and Hamps will add length (loin)
 
The breeds you guys mention are the best for fed hogs. I think some like the Red Waddle or Old Spot might be better for pasture pigs with no feed. Im pretty sure he will be selling them hanging weight at a price i can't imagine.
 
The breeds you guys mention are the best for fed hogs. I think some like the Red Waddle or Old Spot might be better for pasture pigs with no feed. Im pretty sure he will be selling them hanging weight at a price i can't imagine.
Pasture pigs with ''no feed'' is like raising unicorns. Sell the program not the product.
 
The best pork I've ever eaten was from a large black crossed with hereford raised in the woods. They were fed but not like commercial hogs, slower growing but the best prk I've ever eaten. I bought 2 of this cross and fed out in a pen using a commodity mix and wasted milk from my neighbors milk route, not near as good as the ones raised slower in the woods. If you're not a fan of fat though, this is not the cross for you, 2-3" fat rhine on a pork chop. the fat would melt in your mouth like butter.
 
Pasture pigs with ''no feed'' is like raising unicorns. Sell the program not the product.
With several products its the program not the product. I might be wrong about clinchvalley86 doing pasture pigs but im betting with his customer base he is thinking about it.
But think of it this way.
He will have very little expense i them if pastured with his cows.
They will root up the cow piles breaking up the fly cycle.
He has the customer base to sell them at 3 times what they would bring otherwise.
Its a win win to have a few.
 
With several products its the program not the product. I might be wrong about clinchvalley86 doing pasture pigs but im betting with his customer base he is thinking about it.
But think of it this way.
He will have very little expense i them if pastured with his cows.
They will root up the cow piles breaking up the fly cycle.
He has the customer base to sell them at 3 times what they would bring otherwise.
Its a win win to have a few.
As long as they don't disappear and join their feral cousins...
 

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