So You Want to Raise Pigs

Righteous Bacon Blog ^ | March 21, 2013 | by Diana

[barmag25]

It’s that time of year again: feeder pig time! If there’s anything I love as much as raising pigs, it’s getting others hooked on raising pigs. I’m like a drug dealer who deals exclusively in swine.

And it works because the pigs themselves are like potato chips, you can’t have just one. No, literally, you can’t (shouldn’t) have just one. Pigs are incredibly social animals, which is why we sell them in groups of two or more. Not only does having another pig around increase their mental and emotional health, they thrive physically when there is another animal of their kind as well. Being competitive animals, they eat more, grow faster, and are generally both healthier and happier with a little friendly competition.

So what — besides two or more pigs — do you need to raise feeder pigs in your backyard?

Fences.

When it comes to fencing you have a few options. Hog panels are probably the simplest and cheapest if you have no existing infrastructure and plan to keep your pigs in a small to medium sized pen. Made of 4 and 5 gauge steel, panels are heavy duty enough to keep hogs in without too much extra reinforcement and can be attached to both wood fence posts and metal t-posts. They come in 16 foot lengths and for two feeder pigs a square pen made of four panels will work as long as the ground they’re on drains well. Bigger is fine as well, but smaller won’t work as well. Panels usually cost between twenty and thirty dollars each. Panels come in many heights and designs. Hog panels are shorter than cattle panels and have smaller holes on the bottom to prevent escapee piglets.

For large pens, paddocks, and pastures hog panels can be prohibitively expensive. For these electric or a combination of electric and woven wire or field fencing is best. Like panels, field fencing comes in a variety of heights. For pigs the 32 and 39 inch heights is usually enough, though in some places they can be harder to find. The price difference between these and the taller, 4 foot woven wire fencing of the same design is usually incremental so choose whichever you prefer and can find easily. Because woven wire is not as sturdy as panels on its own you will either want to reinforce it with wood rails or with a strand of electric on the inside to keep the pigs from pushing through or rooting under it.

Electric fencing can also be used alone, but the pigs will need to be trained to it first. Pigs lack a reliable back-up button so when they first get shocked they’re prone to running through an electric fence if there is not anything there to visually remind them to back up instead. By running the electric first through a small corner of a hard pen or on the inside of woven wire the pigs learn what the electric wire is with the reinforcement of a visual fence. Once they’ve learned to avoid the electric wire they can be moved to an electric only set-up. All of our feeder pigs come trained to electric because we use it on the inside of our woven-wire fences. Usually they can be put directly in an electric only enclosure when you get them home, but be sure you have time to monitor for accidental shocks and escapes just in case. Also note that this is not often the case with feeder pigs coming from other farms so it’s best to ask your farmer before you plan on an electric only pen. Wherever you use electric you want it right at snout level, this ensure that when they get shocked it’s usually as close to the front of their body as possible, which also helps encourage them to back up rather than run forward.

Food.

Pigs love to eat — live for it, really — and they’re not called hogs for nothing. In recent years raising pigs on pasture and the marketing of grass-fed meats has become quite trendy. We, ourselves, give our pigs access to pasture. It’s important however, to understand that the role of pasture in a pig’s diet is not the same as the role of pasture in, say, a cow’s diet. Where cows are built to turn forage into meat (and milk), pigs are not. Pigs are single-stomached animals who have been raised on concentrated feedstuffs for many hundreds of years. They require a protein rich diet and a heaping helping of digestible energy with a relatively little bit of fiber on the side. Pigs will enjoy and appreciate access to pasture if you’re able to give it to them, but they’ll still need access to a concentrated feed to make their nutritional ends meet, so to speak.

Now, understand that you can raise a pig on just about anything, but the further their diet becomes from being balanced, the more feed they require to make the same amount of meat. And this goes in both directions. People often assume that because pigs need protein, for instance, that more protein is automatically better, but that’s not always the case. More protein, if unbalanced, will just be passed through the body and excreted as nitrogen. More is not always better, balanced is best. Sometimes an unbalanced diet can be had for so few pennies that the sacrifice to growth rate is offset by the savings in feed costs, but before you decide to “save money” by feeding an alternative diet, it’s a good idea to be aware that it’s not always the case.

When in doubt a good ground or pelletized hog ration, pre-formulated by a livestock nutritionist for a commercial feed house or your local feed mill is always a good bet. With a balanced ration, in moderate weather a pig will consume an average of 800-1000 pounds of feed to reach market weight, usually at the rate of 3-5% of their bodyweight per day.

Shelter & Bedding.

Because you’re just keeping a couple of feeder pigs over the course of a few months in the summer, very basic shelter will be plenty. A shady place to get out of the sun and a dry place to get out of the rain is plenty. Shelters can be constructed of everything from free wooden shipping pallets to half-moon livestock panel hoops and tarps. Pigs appreciate bedding materials to make their sleeping quarters a little more comfortable. They will go through relatively little bedding material in the summer months. A few small square bales of straw is usually enough.

Compost.

Pigs love to eat and you know what they say about how things that go up have to come back down? Well, things that go in have to come back out. Pig manure is an excellent source of fertilizer for vegetable gardens and flower beds. Pre-plan a place to compost the manure and spent bedding so you can make good use of it the following growing season.

Health Care.

Chances are you won’t have to worry about your feeder pig’s health. They’ll be with you a relatively short amount of time and the grand majority of feeder pigs make it from birth to bacon without so much as a speed bump in their well-being. That said, before you bring a couple of pigs home it’s a good idea to find out where the nearest livestock veterinarian is located and make a note of his or her phone number. Simply having that name and number handy can be a great comfort if something does go wrong.

There are conflicting opinions about the use of routine worming products in meat animals and we realize that many hobby hog keepers are doing so to limit the use of and their exposure to chemicals and medications in the food supply. That said, we do recommend anti-parasitic treatment. Internal parasites can wreak havoc on an animal’s health and no one really wants to eat pork from a pig that was riddled with worms. Our feeder pigs receive two doses of ivermectin before leaving our farm to ensure they come to you as parasite free as possible. We recommend you worm them one or two more times while you have them. Ivermectin can be purchased right at your nearest feed store or Tractor Supply Company. It is the same drug that is used to treat parasites in humans, especially in third world countries where it is an ongoing problem, and the anti-parasitic drug approved for use on organic operations where their parasite protocols are not sufficient to keep parasite levels under control.

Transport.

When you pick up your feeder pigs, because they’re roughly the size of a small dog a large dog crate is often enough to get them home safely, but when it comes time to take them to market a much bigger space will be needed. If you don’t own an adequate trailer or pickup truck and a way to load them, start planning early to hire someone or get help from a friend.

A Processor and A Freezer.

I know it sounds silly, but this is one aspect of hog rearing you don’t want to take for granted. There are not as many processors as there once was and many are booked out many weeks and even months in advance. Find a processor and call early to make your appointment if you don’t plan on processing your pigs yourself. Likewise, each pig will produce around 150 to 180 pounds of final pork products (depending on how long you grow them out), you’ll need more than the freezer that comes with your refrigerator to store the bounty.

BONUS: Patience and Resolve.

Don’t forget that pigs are animals and strong, occasionally stubborn animals at that. For most of your experience they’ll probably be a joy to interact with, but there may be occasions on which you and your pig will disagree about what needs to happen. Be patient, remain calm, and try to work smart rather than hard if you can.

[VRWCarea51]

Best way to look at raising pigs is dealing with 2-4 year olds. Pigs are personable IF you spend time with them. Get used to being around them and they around you. Pigs have like a 300 degree of sight and spook easily.

They are one of the easiest animal to raise IMHO. Just remember they dig if you raise them on dirt...unless you ring their snout. But they get minerals that way. We built our pens by using 5 foot woven wire and buried it 18 inches. Still had to occassionally fill in their holes.

[barmag25]

That is usually the biggest concern.

I treat them like Ferals at all times. I still don’t believe pigs ever become domesticated. I don’t turn my back on them and have designed the pen where I can lock them in te enclosure when I’m in the pen.

Just don’t trust them. Of course I’m always thinking of new recipes that involve them so I don’t blame them. Lol

[BerryDingle]

Ahh, this reminds me of years ago, I went to the state fair, I owned 3 younger sows at the time at home and was interested in getting them bred for more. I ran across a large boar hog on display and I asked the owner what the possibility was of getting my 3 sows bred by it. We worked out some details and it turned out we lived 300 miles from each other so we worked out a rendezvous point 150 from each other. I asked how I could tell how if my sows were pregnant and the farmer said if they are wallowing in the mud, they are pregnant and if they are walking around in the sun, they are not. We agreed to try every third Saturday until it was successful. I owned an older station wagon that was fine for transporting them in.

I took my 3 sows for the first meeting and all seemed fine.

The 3rd saturday, I noticed all three were walking around in the sun, so I took them for another meeting.

The next 3rd Saturday, I overslept a couple hours and I asked my wife if she could look out the window and tell me if they were wallowing in the mud or walking around? She said neither, two are in the back of the station wagon, and the third is in the driver's seat sounding the horn.

[Ellendra]

I just finished making bacon from scratch for the first time. It came out ok, but it could be better. Anybody have any tips?

[VRWCarea51]

The only hog I was Leary of was a boar we raised from birth. Once he hit 2-3 years old, he weighed close to 650 Lbs and was about 38 inches at his shoulders. He was a big baby but when we got a sow close to him he got a bit surly. His tusks got large and. If he hooked you he could have ripped us up.

We ended up selling him because he was to big and heavy to breed our sows

If you are raising feeder hogs they are only 6-8 months old by the time you butcher them you shouldn’t have any problems that way. Breeder Sows can get mean to...

But just purchasing a couple of feeders and raising them shouldn’t cause any problems. We let people bring their kids into our lots when the pigs are small and hand feed them apple slices and veggies. Rules are no fast moves, yelling or chasing. Let the animals come to them.

[VRWCarea51]

We raised chickens and rabbits for meat as a kid. I haven’t had rabbit since then...35 years
And I grow tired of chicken real fast.

My wife was raised on Beef n potatos. She likes grain fed beef but neither of us care for grazed beef. She’d serve chicken every meal if I’d let her get away with it.

Now Bacon, Ham, tenderloin and chops we eat a lot of.

[Manic_Episode]

[Boogieman]

Nice. I could post a picture of Mason Verger from “Hannibal”, but I might lose my lunch.

[ebshumidors]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com is your friend.

[j. earl carter]

When we have done pigs, I would usually fry the bacon with some maple syrup in the pan. The fresh, uncured bacon definitely needs some seasoning to make it taste like the store bought stuff.

[Stanwood_Dave]

First off, I was the poster boy for why you should not allow a city boy (I'm originally from Long Island, New York.) to raise pigs.

The first set (two pigs, approx. early 1980's) were feed a local feed purchased from a local feed store supplier (now out of business.) The feed was very much like the bread crumbs used on say pork chops and alike. What the city boy didn't know was water was to be mixed with the feed(s), to a consistency of say oatmeal.

At the time, I was hauling water for the family & pigs. Approx. 35 gallons at a time, twice to three times a week. No well on the property at the time, and was financially out of reach. Guess what, when you feed the pigs a very dry food, they drink a lot of water! Note to self, Head-slap Gibb's style.

So when the city boy had a taste of home grown pork, well it was time for round two. (still hauling water via-5-gal. buckets, with lids, at the time.)

From this personal experience of hauling water, I learned via by accident that a Black-bucket is better for hauling water, than the White and or clear one's.

Why is a Black-Bucket better? It took some time for me (the city boy) to catch on, but I would always have to rinse the buckets out say every two to three weeks, to get rid of the algae build-up. After a while, dumb city boy me, caught on that the Black-Bucket never had and algae build-up. This is like after one or more years of hauling water. Hauled water for approx. six years total. I think I have street cred's. (cred's = credible.)

I had only the one Black-bucket, via when I went to purchase 7 (seven) white bucket's, the guy only had 6 White Bucket's, and offered the Black-bucket for half cost. I think at the time the White-Buckets were $1.50 each.

I can remember thinking, I need the White-Buckets to keep the water clean. Turns out, not true, if the Bucket(s) holding water has access to the sun, it will grow algae. Yes the dumb city boy, stored the Buckets in direct sun-light.

As often as I had to refill the water buckets, minimum twice a week, they (the white ones) would grow algae on the inside walls of the buckets. DUH, not the black one. Gibb's Head-slap, to self, the dumb city boy NOW!!!!

I may be slow, but I finally went with all Black-Buckets.

[Hot Tabasco]

Daddy would shoot them right between the eyes with a Remington model 513. He used shorts because he didn’t want to mess up the hogs head cheese ingredients.

I'll never look at a slice of bacon next to the eggs on my plate the same way again.......

[Safetgiver]

I may be slow, but I finally went with all Black-Buckets....Tha’s raaaassssist! (I guess. Everything else is.)

[fulltlt]

I have raised all kinds of animals on my farm but have not tried raising any pigs yet. The problem I have is in finding a place to process them that’s close by.

[Iscool]

Even if you have only two pigs, have two feeding troughs...One pig will always dominate the other and you’ll end up with one big pig and one small pig otherwise...The stronger one will ‘hog’ all the food...

And it’s funny to watch...The stronger pig will go to a trough and the weaker pig will go to the other...The stronger pig will get irritated that the other one gets to eat as well so he/she will leave his trough to chase the other pig from the 2nd trough...

The 2nd pig then heads for the 1st trough to eat...The dominant pig then looks over his should to see the 2nd pig eating again and goes to chase him out of that trough as well...

Constant cycle but they both end up getting the equal amount of food...

[Iscool]

His tusks got large and. If he hooked you he could have ripped us up.

You didn't clip his teeth when he was young...Always have to clip the teeth...

[Iscool]

She likes grain fed beef but neither of us care for grazed beef.

Everyone seems to rave about grass fed beef but you don't get the fat (marbling) from grass...The fat comes from corn and other grains...I'd rather have grain fed any day...

[Ditter]

Texas has been taken over by feral hogs that started out on someones hog farm. We have uncountable numbers of the beasts on our place. they are nocturnal so we rarely see anything other than the damage they do.

An old country saying in east Texas was when ever you asked where anyone was, the answer came back “she went to sh** and the hogs ‘et her”.

I heard that many times but I never knew anyone who “got ‘et” by the hogs.

[NorthstarMom]

Thanks for the great advice!

[Stanwood_Dave]

As the TV show Dragnet staring Jack Webb: Detective Sergeant Joe Friday would say, Just the Facts, Ma'am, just the facts.