Pigs

[ClinchValley86]

@farmerjan I will very likely be sending you messeges about pig stuff. I appreciated and enjoyed reading what you shared the other day on your pig history.

 

[greybeard]

The people i got them from sell pasture poultry. Chickens, dicks, and turkeys. Their turke

I don't want to know!!!!!

 

[greybeard]

They will work hard to find things to eat but it will look like a minefield when they are done.

An EXPLODED minefield.

 

[greybeard]

'pig', means something completely different to me.

 

[Stocker Steve]

The Spotted Poland China association has seen what the Angus people have accomplished. They are considering starting CSAP (certiified spotted a$$ pork). We will have to wait to see how that plays out.

R they mostly black?

 

[Mark Reynolds]

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.

View attachment 54230

You are paying for the curing process here, not so much the pig itself. I'd have to look it up, but I saw a documentary on the process. It's rather elaborate, and takes a long time.

 

[sstterry]

@ClinchValley86 Butch raises hogs.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Pasture pigs with ''no feed'' is like raising unicorns. Sell the program not the product.

You are quite right about that. The first thing you need to realize about 'pasturing' pigs is that they can really only have/utilize up to 20% of their feed effectively be grass. They are a monogastric animal, close to identical to us. NOT a ruminant!

In all honesty, this is likely the biggest reason IPPs are so small at maturity. All in all, they probably don't get enough of the right kind of feed. Think of it this way, could you or I survive by eating grass alone? Their smaller maturity size does result in less demand in nutrients from grasses, so they fare better on pasture.

Pigs can be pastured, but they need other things than grass. Roots, tubers, vegetables nuts (acorns). Thinking you can feed pigs nothing but acorns on pasture is a pet peeve of mine. Those that suggest this need to realize there is a finite window of opportunity (2 months really as max, although can probably find 'scattered' acorns over 4-6 months) that the pigs can effectively feed on them. Pigs require feed year round. They aren't exactly like some animals that hibernate or reptiles that might feed once or twice a year. And to get them to gain weight, they have to eat, and eat something they can digest, and this is not grass.

I've been asked how many acres of grass pasture are needed to raise a pig before.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

You know me... I'll probably try some without feed. But will likely do grained pork too. I like to cater to everyone.

DON'T EVEN CONSIDER THAT!

 

[Mark Reynolds]

As far as raising them on forage it will not work. They will eat grass, weeds,nuts and many other things but you will have to feed them. There digestive system is a lot like ours. You could not survive on salads and a handful of nuts for very long. They will work hard to find things to eat but it will look like a minefield when they are done. They are very neat animals and very good convertors of feed. They are happy to eat old bread or bakery goods food waste dairy byproducts or many other cheap feeds. You will have a lot of fun getting an education.

THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS! I hadn't read what you said here yet, but I was posting much the same. To your point about salad, salad is VERY nutritious compared to most grasses, and much more digestible. Tou your point about not surviving on salads....grass is far worse.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

An EXPLODED minefield.

Moonscape

 

[andybob]

right now they're in the barn getting fed.

The people i got them from sell pasture poultry. Chickens, dicks, and turkeys. Their turkeys sold for $7.50 per pound this Thanksgiving. They gave me one and it was hands down the best I've ever eaten. The one I got weighed 29 pounds frozen with the extra stuff inside. They sold 20 of them and gave away 5. That's absurd money. No way I'd ever buy one.

If I can do something with grown forage, I'm game to try. I'm not at all interested in paying for organic feed or non-gmo feed or anything like that.

I've got 30 acres of woodland not being used a bit. The idea of running pigs on it sounds great to me. That'd what if like to try... I'll give them some feed if I need to.

Stuff is getting so expensive that I am starting to feel bad about the price I've got to charge to make it worth the effort. Margin is not near what it was a couple years ago.

Some woodland raised pigs, part of a group of Middle white cross wild boar, born in the woods. and raised mostly on acorns, Beech mast, crab apples, fungi, grubs etc, with a minimal amount of feed to keep them manageable. I also did a Landrace/ wild Boar cross for cured pork, both groups were for the Christmas market, I did 6 of each group, but the owners didn't continue after I left the organis farm.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

He actually doesn't have any feral hogs, yet. I dont either, yet.

don't worry, they're on the way