raising a pig to butcher

[GMN]

Has anyone ever done this, what are some pointers to doing it? What is a acceptable amount to stick in for feed, etc.. at what age or size is good for butchering?

GMN

 

[bigbull338]

gail you asked a great q.an youll have fun raising a pig to butcher.you can feed them shorts chopps an milk all mixed togather.an feed from your feed troughs.butcher them at 240 to 260lbs.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Pigs don't like to be alone, so maybe look at getting 2 pigs.
I ran a hotwire outside of my pen and let the pigs just have the run outside. Fed them soaked feed barley (whole grain) and gave them the vegtable scraps from the kitchen.
Butchered mine at around 250# or more.

 

[GMN]

How long does it take to get them to that weight for butcher? Is the feed fed at free choice? How much meat does it put out, and what are your favorite things to get from it?

Thanks

Gail

 

[1982vett]

Trick to get them to exercise themselves is to build the pen long and narrow. Water on one end, feed on the other with the shade in the middle.

Memory recollection is pretty bad but should be close.

Feed conversion should be around 3 to 1, maybe 3.5 to 1. 45# pig should eat about 600-700 lbs of feed over 5-6 months feed to achieve 245 lbs. Use a self feeder that will hold what they will eat over a few days and keep adding as needed. If I remember correctly, hanging weight is about 70% of live weight give or take.

Hard to beat fresh tenderloin.

Google and sift through the garbage: farrow to finish, raising hogs

 

[jfont]

I'll buy mine at 40 to 45 pds, the first 3 months I give them a 16% pig grower from the farm servise. Then the last month I'll feed them rolled corn.

I don't know if FF's reason for doing this is the same as mine, but I found that if you feed high potien pellets up until butcher time, the meat will have taste and slight smell of the pellet. Not good. So I purge them out for the last few weeks with corn and rice brand.

 

[rattler]

Gail years ago we raised 2 a year alway's did our own butchering dad would buy them at 35 to 45 pound's we fed pellet's and table scrap's butchered at around 250 pounds.IMom fixed tenderloin and biscuit's and gravy now i am gonna hush cause i'm getting hungry.

rattler

 

[angie1]

what are your favorite things to get from it?

Breakfast sausage ~ not links, just ground.
Any kind of sausage ~ polish, summer..... has been so long since I have had any that is not venison that I don't remember if it gets too fatty. I love pork steak on the grill.... Pork chops cut thicker than the grocery store. Ribs cut as a slab, not in pieces w/o bone (country style ~ not so good). Get the hocks pickled or smoked ~ that is good stuff.

Do NOT like side pork or just plain ground pork. However, we have gotten plain ground pork and mixed our own breakfast sausage ~ they sell the mix stuff in the store. That is good, but no side pork for me.

 

[jfont]

[ Get the hocks pickled or smoked ~ that is good stuff.

.[/quote] I've eaten them smoked, cooked with mustard greens, but never pickled. Is pickled like really good and you want seconds or is it just ok to eat ?

 

[angie1]

.

I've eaten them smoked, cooked with mustard greens, but never pickled. Is pickled like really good and you want seconds or is it just ok to eat ?[/quote]
I have never had mustard greens. Pickled ~ depends on who you ask. I prefer it smoked. You don;t eat it as a meal though. It sits on the table and people eat it here and there until it is gone ~ see? It is a snack or an appetizer, or something you sit in front of the tv with and pick at till its gone. Not all like it pickled ~ but all like it smoked.

 

[grannysoo]

250 pounds is about right to butcher. It will be the best pork that you ever had.

 

[GMN]

What would be the differenc ein just buying a adult pig, and having it butchered? Seems by the time you buy a young one, feed it for 6-7 months, then butcher it, may be cheaper to just by an adult and then butcher it-or not?

Gail

 

[milkmaid]

Gail -- it depends on the bloodlines of the pig. The good ones are bred to take 100-120 days from weaning to slaughter (approx 250lbs). If the person you get your pigs from actually knows something they should be able to tell you the exact number of days. One of my brothers raised 4H pigs for several years, and he's had some that were bred to take 104 or 112 days. Those pig breeders have it down to a science.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

What would be the differenc ein just buying a adult pig, and having it butchered? Seems by the time you buy a young one, feed it for 6-7 months, then butcher it, may be cheaper to just by an adult and then butcher it-or not?

Gail

The difference is just like with beef... you know what you fed it to grow it -- there's a difference between correct food ration and just getting buy and putting a finish on at the end.

We get our pigs around April/May (just weaned) and butcher at 250# +/- in October (to beat the deer season space at the butchers).

It will be the best pork you've ever eaten --> starter, grower then finisher rations for 60 to 90 days in whatever brand or home mix you prefer.

 

[Bullbuyer]

A pig CAN average well over 2 pounds of gain per day on 16% feed ration (just fill the feeder and make sure it is adjusted so that they aren't wasting it). The largest variable is the weather - when it's too hot they just won't eat nearly as much. You do need at least two or three so that they will compete for the feed and the rate of gain will be much improved. Also, automatic waterers are a must have. You can take an old metal tank and weld a fitting in it, put a nipple on it and bolt it to the wall. We use Ivomec injectable at 4 weeks then a liquid wormer at about 2.5 months.
Quality bred pigs will grow like weeds.

 

[GMN]

A pig CAN average well over 2 pounds of gain per day on 16% feed ration (just fill the feeder and make sure it is adjusted so that they aren't wasting it). The largest variable is the weather - when it's too hot they just won't eat nearly as much. You do need at least two or three so that they will compete for the feed and the rate of gain will be much improved. Also, automatic waterers are a must have. You can take an old metal tank and weld a fitting in it, put a nipple on it and bolt it to the wall. We use Ivomec injectable at 4 weeks then a liquid wormer at about 2.5 months.
Quality bred pigs will grow like weeds.

Of a 250 lb pig, at butcher how much meat will that make?

GMN

 

[john250]

Did I ever tell about my cousins' hog raising experience?
Cuz was born in Indy, but made frequent visits to our Grandparents in the country. Then he was able to find a civil service job in our town (he's married by this age) and moved into a rental farmhouse our grandparents owned.
He raised two hogs, one named "Dolly" and I forget the other. He fed them cracked corn and a supplement, sort of a gruel or "slop". In the winter, the slop would freeze. Not wanting his hogs to survive on cold food, he took to cooking for dolly and her pal. Hot corn meal, twice a day.
He tossed them a bowling ball for play.
When he called the locker to book a kill date, the lady on the phone asked "name?" Cuz said "Dolly". Oh, and my name is "Cuz".
The sausage was darn good, I will say.

 

[barefootgirl]

Raising pigs was a blast when we had them! We lucked out with feed--there was a restaurant not far from where we lived who give us their leftover breads, rolls, veggie scraps etc. which was added to their feed. One thing we did which may seem a bit strange, but worked, was we threw in an old soccer ball and they loved it. Pushing it around with their nose and they never fought or chewed on the pens. The vet said it was a great idea. The only mistake I made was to name them "the boys". Even though I did feel a bit blue when it came time for butchuring--from those chops and hams tasted mighty good!