# Baymule's Pigs 2017-2018



## Baymule

First off, let me clarify-- we ain't got a lick of sense. I repeat, we ain't got a lick of sense.

Last night I was looking at Craigslist and at 10:37 I found an ad for 2 pigs. A 1 year old boar and 2 year old sow, take both for $75. I had to read it a few times to make sure it really said both for $75. I read it to my husband. Then we tried to talk ourselves out of buying the pigs. We wrangled with it and finally came to the conclusion that we'd have to be purdy darn stupid to pass up a deal like that. No picture, really buying a pig in a poke.

Being late, I texted and we went to bed. I got a response at a quarter to midnight but I slept through it. I responded this morning and the upshot was, we were going to go get them between 1 and 2 PM.

Still had chickens in the trailer from the poultry trades day a week ago. Moved the half grown ducks in with the big ducks, put the chickens in the little ducks pen.

The Hawg Hut was in the backyard and needed to go through 2 gates, down the driveway and through another gate to the front pasture. We called Robert over to help. With DH on the Kawasaki Mule, we jockeyed the Hut around. The skids have holes drilled through and I have pins I put through and we wrap a chain around them. We had to take up part of a fence. When we got it lined up, DH took off and didn't stop until he was at the pasture gate. He swung wide and dragged the Hawg Hut to it's new home.

There was a mangled mess of a car body in the trees and Robert chained onto it and dragged it out. It was the entire rear end of an old 1951 Studebaker. A neighbor, Jerry, came over to get it for scrap metal. He was glad to get it but we were even more glad to get rid of it.






We took a cold water break, DH was sweat soaked,dirty and splattered from washing out the trailer. He headed for the shower. I finished up outside.

We went to get the pigs, about 45 minutes away. That lady had rabbits, goats, ducks, chickens, quail and a ram. All were healthy, we'll fed, and very friendly. Her pens were a hodgepodge of pallets, wire and scrap lumber. The pens were clean. There was no smell. She had a LOT of animals but it was obvious she took very good care of them. The pigs were friendly and looked happy and healthy. I couldn't help but think of BYH and how many people are living their dreams with their small farms.

She, her son and his wife walked the pigs to our trailer using hog panels held together at the ends. I coaxed them in the trailer using dog food and the door slid shut.

The lady had on a tank top that showed red marks on a very flat chest that bespoke radiation burns and a double mastectomy. I didn't have to ask. She said she was tired of pigs and I paid her. We figured this lady had seen the dark side of hell and her animals were her sanity and gave her something to get up for every morning.

We got them home and turned them out.









She said the Sow has had 2 litters. We plan on letting them breed, then slaughtering the boar. After she weans the pigs, we'll sell them and slaughter her. Neighbors have already come over to admire them. They weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. Seventy five dollars. The chickens bought them. We used egg money.


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## Latestarter

Sue-eeee t   Can you tell what breed they are?


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## Baymule

She said the sow was a Yorkshire and the boar's daddy was half blue butt and half Yorkshire. The boar is slightly bigger than the sow. 

We bought half of a grass fed steer and a new freezer to put it in. The lady we bought the beef from likes pork, but not pigs. So we struck a deal to swap pork for beef. The beef we got ought to last us a year, so maybe we'll have a piglet to raise for our swap deal.


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## Simpleterrier

Um I maybe wrong but I think the breed of the boar is off a little or a lot


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## Simpleterrier

A blue butt crossed with a Yorkshire would make a three quarters Yorkshire and one quarter Hampshire hog and the offspring would be mostly white. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Baymule

Let's just call him a hog, I really don' t care what color his hide is, although he is rather pretty, all spotted up!

She said his daddy was Yorkshire/blue butt. Never said what his mom was.


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## Simpleterrier

I do like the look of him. It will be interesting to see what the offspring will look like.


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## Devonviolet

Yay!  More pigs!  

Maybe when your sow has piglets, DH will think they are cute & will let me buy one as a feeder pig after they are weaned.  

It's not like we don't have anything else to do.


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## Baymule

Seventy five dollars!! How could I pass that up?


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## Devonviolet

AMAZING!!!


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## Devonviolet

Baymule said:


> First off, let me clarify-- we ain't got a lick of sense. I repeat, we ain't got a lick of sense.


Btw, I happen to know Bay & her DH, personally.  And I'm here to say they have a bit more than "a lick of sense".


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## CntryBoy777

Let's see 2 pigs and got rid of a hemorrhoid for $75....now all ya need is another buy on weeviled corn and enough piglets to sell and ya can replace the egg money. Sounds like a Great deal to me.....


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## Devonviolet

Sounds convoluted to me.


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## Bruce

Baymule said:


> We had to take up part of a fence.


Forgot to put in way more gates than you thought you would ever need?



Devonviolet said:


> Maybe when your sow has piglets, DH will think they are cute & will let me buy one as a feeder pig after they are weaned.


@Latestarter will need 1 or 2 as well.


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## Baymule

It was a temporary cow panel fence with a half panel for a gate. The roof of the Hawg Hut is 2 pieces of plywood --- 8' not going through a 7' gate! Plus being at an angle, plus DH the speed demon on the Mule...... Yeah, take up part of the fence...

The cool part of the neighbor taking away that wadded up back end of the old Studebaker, he was born on our land and lived here until he was 6 years old. His parents built a house around the corner where his 92 year old Mother still lives. He and his wife later built a house close to hers.  After his family moved, the house (shack from what he said) was rented out to another family. He remembered that old Studebaker from when he was a kid. The old house was unlivable by the time the other family moved out and later burned down. 

I sure would take some weeviled corn! I tried to give the pigs some pellets last evening and got cussed out by lots of grunts. Peppa the sow gave me a "what's THIS stuff?" look and followed me around grunting. I went and got her corn, that made her happy. But then she came and got me, grunting constantly. The boar, Little Pig, was "hogging" the feed tub and wouldn't let her eat. I shooed him back and scooped corn on the ground. Both of them ate and were happy. 

She appears to be in heat now. I'll watch to see if she comes back in heat in about 3 weeks. @Latestarter and @Devonviolet might oughta get to building their pig pens!


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## Bruce

BEFORE they get a pig? How novel!!!

Maybe your pigs have been trained to specific habits. My hens would riot if they didn't get their morning BOSS or evening scratch.


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## CntryBoy777

Bruce may have something there Bay....all my animals are routine oriented and certainly protest any change or disruption in their daily routine....


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## goatgurl

did you get the buy of the century or what!!  they are sure nice looking piggies.  congratulations my dear.  can't wait to bacon bit running around your place.  they are so cute when they are little, it's a good thing they don't stay that way or i'd never be able to eat one.


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## Devonviolet

Yes, nice looking piggies, indeed. 

DH and I have been doing some reconfiguring of our game plan, and decided we are going to have to pass on a piglet this Fall. Maybe next year.


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## Baymule

goatgurl said:


> did you get the buy of the century or what!!  they are sure nice looking piggies.  congratulations my dear.  can't wait to bacon bit running around your place.  they are so cute when they are little, it's a good thing they don't stay that way or i'd never be able to eat one.



I am soaking their corn now and mixing the pellets with it. They scarf it up. On dry corn, there was corn in their poop. With the soaked corn, there are a few tiny bits of corn, but not much, it is digesting better. 

I like pigs but I really don't want to breed and raise them. This was just too good of a deal to pass up!


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## Baymule

I am soaking the corn now with no pellets. They've been corn fed all their lives and didn't take kindly to pellets. So I have 7 buckets working, they get 2 a day. I use a cup to take some water from a already soaking bucket to start the new bucket. I also put a little lime in the bucket, corn is soaked in lime water for tortillas, it is supposed to release more of the corn nutrients. I put a gallon of whey in the first batch of buckets and a beer. They also get scraps from the house.

I measured the sow today, using the formula from @NH homesteader. I can't get that close and personal with the boar.  Her heart girth is 54", her length is either 54" or 50", depending if her head is up of down eating. 

Girth 54x54=2916x Length 54=157,464/400=393.66 pounds

Girth 54x54=2916x Length 50=145,800/400=364.5 pounds

The boar is a lot bigger than the sow, so we estimate his weight to be 400 to 425 pounds. 

I made an appointment for the boar November 6 for slaughter. 

We bought them October 1, the sow was in heat. I don't know if they bred or not. I'll know if she comes back in heat the week of the 22nd. That will be his last chance before he goes to freezer camp. We'll see....


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## Bruce

I guess they don't "eat like pigs"!


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## Baymule

Then you would guess wrong!


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## Jeanne Sheridan

Baymule said:


> Seventy five dollars!! How could I pass that up?


Amazing price for the pigs!


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## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Then you would guess wrong!


I don't know, they sound sort of picky to me! Aren't pigs supposed to eat almost anything?


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## Baymule

They are supposed to, but these pigs just have to be different. @Devonviolet and her sweet husband came to visit today, and brought kiefer, cheese and whey. I am going to use the whey for the pigs. I called the pigs up so Devonviolet and her husband could see them, they were impressed by how healthy and lean they looked......and how much they resembled bacon, chops, sausage........


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## Mike CHS

You are definitely going to be in good shape for pork!


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## Baymule

Swimming in Sausage?


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## Simpleterrier

Do u can your sausage? If so how do you do it


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## Devonviolet

Baymule said:


> I am going to use the whey for the pigs. I called the pigs up so Devonviolet and her husband could see them, they were impressed by how healthy and lean they looked......and how much they resembled bacon, chops, sausage........


Those are a couple of good looking pigs!!!  They are both solid, healthy looking pigs. And they have _the coolest _ears!!!  I know that has no bearing on the quality of the meat. But, being an artist, things like that jump out at me.

I know DH has asked that we postpone raising a feeder pig, so we can get unfinished projects completed. But, after seeing these beauties today, I'm really hoping that the sow is prego, and when she has her piglets, DH will change his mind.


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## Mike CHS

I see @Devonviolet doing some DH arm twisting in the not so distant future.


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## Hens and Roos

Congrats on the new additions!


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## Baymule

Soaking the corn is really helping. I couldn't fill them up! They were so hungry all the time. Now, I can feed them in the morning, yesterday and today, they still had feed when I fed them in the evening. This evening I fed them the last bucket that had pellets in it. No more pellets, they just don't like them. I had run out of corn, so we went to the feed store for 10 bags. I started 4 buckets this evening and added some of that whey I got from @Devonviolet. We also got a bale of hay for the pigs. I am going to spray it with the whey to get their interest. We'll see how that goes.


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## Baymule

@Devonviolet.......it just makes sense that you have a pig to slurp up all that delicious whey you are producing from making cheese.....but not until we send ours to slaughter........


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## Devonviolet

Baymule said:


> @Devonviolet.......it just makes sense that you have a pig to slurp up all that delicious whey you are producing from making cheese.....but not until we send ours to slaughter........


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## Baymule

Simpleterrier said:


> Do u can your sausage? If so how do you do it



I don't can sausage. I freeze it. A friend who grew up very poor said her father would fry the sausage patties and pack them in a heavy crock. He poured melted lard over each layer of sausage patties. All winter they scooped back the lard, then got as many patties as they wanted and heated them up in a skillet. I don't see why it wouldn't work.....other than bugs, mice.... I bet cooked sausage patties could be canned, packed in lard, but I don't think I want to try it.


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## goatgurl

back when fairys and giants roamed the earth and I was a lot younger I use to can a lot of sausage.  season it, make patties, fry them, pack them in wide mouth jars and can them.  they were good.  didn't have much freezer space back then and canned lots that I don't do today.  
my friend that hog hunts here brought me over 150# of soy beans from the other farm that he hunts on.  they have almost 1000 acres in the river bottoms and grow corn, soy beans and sorghum sudan on.  its what falls on the ground as they transfer from the combines to the trucks and they just leave it.  my question is have you ever fed whole soybeans to anything?  I've been giving a couple of cups to the pig along with the corn and pellets he gets.  don't want to hurt him but also don't want to wast free food.  thoughts anyone?


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## frustratedearthmother

I was curious...

http://www.offthegridnews.com/food/canning-bacon-and-sausage/

Hmmmm, might try it - might not...     Somebody else should try it and let me know how it  goes!


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## Baymule

@goatgurl how did you can sausage? In water? Lard?

Soybeans or any bean......cook 'em.

http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/3625

https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/l...print,full-fat-soybeans-in-swine-rations.html

http://www.durocs.com/forums/2/30467


http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2377&context=extensionhist

Raw soybeans contain several anti-growth factors, so the beans must be cooked before they are used in all pig diets except diets for gestating sows. Properly cooking the soybeans with either a roaster (240°F to 250°F for 2.5 to 3.5
Table I. Average nutrient composition of soybean meal and cooked, full-fat soybeans.a Item 44% Soybean meal Full-fat soybeans Protein, % 44.0 36.7 Lysine, % 2.9 2.25 Lysine digestibility, % 86 71 Fat, % 1.1 18.8 Metabolizable energy, kcal/lb 1,461 1,644 aAs-fed basis.
minutes) or an extruder (exit temperature of 280°F to 300°F) destroys several of these anti-growth factors and produces an acceptable supplemental protein source for all pigs. 
Less heating time is required to adequately destroy the anti-growth factors when sodium metabisulfate is added to the soybeans (at levels of 1 percent to 2 percent) before cooking. Recent research suggests extrusion processing yields soybean products of greater nutritional value for weanling pigs than does roasting. Grain driers do not adequately cook soybeans. 
Among the anti-growth factors in soybeans is a compound known as Kunitz trypsin inhibitor. New strains of soybeans have been developed that do not contain the Kunitz inhibitor, so these newer varieties should require less cooking. However, current research indicates these new strains must be cooked to the same extent as regular soybeans if they are intended for weanling or growing pigs (12 lb to 120 lb). For finishing pigs only one half the cooking time may be necessary to achieve similar efficiency of growth as fully cooked regular soybeans. 
Cooked soybeans should be checked periodically for anti-growth factor activity. Use tests that indirectly assess this activity. For information on how to obtain an on-farm test, contact LSB Products, 731 McCall Road, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. Producers also can submit cooked soybeans to a commercial laboratory for a urease test. 
Generally a urease level of .20 to .05 pH unit change is indicative of proper cooking. Urease levels greater than .20 pH unit change indicate undercooking and a pH change of less than .05 unit may indicate overcooking. A urease test at a commercial laboratory costs $12 to $15 per sample. As a guide, test every third batch of cooked soybeans. See NebGuide 88-892, Mixing Quality Pig Feed, for details on sampling procedures and laboratory locations.


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## goatgurl

thanks for the info bay, looks like i'm going to be cooking a lot of beans.  I haven't fed them to anything else and won't now.  
and when I canned the sausage I used the grease/lard I cooked them in.  was easy, a little time consuming but not hard.  and I went kind of easy on the sage too because to much kind of give it a wang.


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## Baymule

Slaughter date is November 6, counting down. We made the decision not to keep the sow, we are not set up to farrow a sow in winter. She is showing heat and has a real bad attitude.  She has tried to bite me a couple times and I walloped her with a shovel. I don't go in there any more than I have to. I wait until the heat of the day when they are laid up asleep to retrieve their feed pans. Sometimes I just throw down a flake of hay and pour their corn over that. They eat the hay too. I lost their water trough for 3 days, I couldn't see it anywhere and without a line of sight to run in and get it, not happening. I finally saw it up against the outside fence and was able to go out the front gate and around to get it. Lucky for them that they have dug pig ponds that I can fill with water. 

We went to @Devonviolet 's Friday and got more whey for them. This ought to be some good pork! We also bought more smoky mozzarella cheese, ricotta spread (I don't call it failure cheese any more LOL) and more kiefer--for US!

If she is this mean now, she will be a 400 pound holy terror if she farrows. So we'll just pack them both in the freezer, we have a half hog sold to 2 different families which will make us a little money on this deal. Not too bad.

I am going to rethink my pig raising. I will continue to buy and raise feeder pigs. I am going to build a dedicated hog pen with a better watering system. The feed bin feeder I have for the feeder pigs will continue to work, but I didn't use it for these wrecking machines we have now.  I'm not going to put them in one of my pastures as we work too hard for pigs to root it up. Where ever I put the pen, it will have back up the trailer access, kinda hard to do when we have so many trees. But I'll figure it out. 

9 more days......


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## Devonviolet

Yup!  I'm shore disappointed that y'all wind be narrowing that sow.  But I certainly understand.  I'm kinda thinking about those pasture pigs now.


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## Simpleterrier

The wife is canning sausage today!! Just had thirty pounds made into rope sausage. Cut into sizes that fit in a can in jar we are using wide mouth pints. Put a teaspoon of water in each pint then pack with sausage. Leave head space. Put in can and can for 1hr and 15 mins at ten lbs. A friend of ours has been giving us some of hers and that's how she does it.


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## Simpleterrier

here's a pic of my hog pen and house. I run a string of electric around the inside. The blue barrel is a gravity feeder I made and the white one has a hog nipple in the side of it for water. I loaded them.monday night to haul on Tuesday to the butcher. I have a portable loading shoot I made and it went beside the shed with a gate from the left side to the shoot . I then opened the gate and let them go into a smaller area then ran them up the shoot into the trailer.


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## Baymule

Devonviolet said:


> Yup!  I'm shore disappointed that y'all wind be narrowing that sow.  But I certainly understand.  I'm kinda thinking about those pasture pigs now.


If you are going to get feeder pigs, skip the pasture pigs. (you still have to feed them)  You will pay handsomely for a pasture pig, and a longer wait to reach butcher size. Your sweet husband will tire of the pigs long before you slaughter. A regular pig will reach market weight much sooner and sometimes, sooner can't come soon enough. If you want grazing pigs, all pigs graze, but wouldn't you want that pasture for your goats?

I gave them serious consideration, but I don't want to be a breeder. Why would I want to pay more, get less and take longer? I made the decision for feeder pigs, the short term works for me.


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## Baymule

Simpleterrier said:


> View attachment 39728 here's a pic of my hog pen and house. I run a string of electric around the inside. The blue barrel is a gravity feeder I made and the white one has a hog nipple in the side of it for water. I loaded them.monday night to haul on Tuesday to the butcher. I have a portable loading shoot I made and it went beside the shed with a gate from the left side to the shoot . I then opened the gate and let them go into a smaller area then ran them up the shoot into the trailer.



I like your set up. Can you post a close up picture of how you have the hog nipples attached to the barrel? I will more than likely be using them next go-round. Can you also post a picture of your chute? Last time we loaded up lambs, we made a temporary one of cow panels. 

That is interesting about the canned sausage. Did you precook it or put raw links in jars? Post a picture!


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## Simpleterrier

Raw links right in the jar. The links float untill they cool down then the Greece floats  to the top.


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## Simpleterrier

blue gate and loading shoot are temporary solid side on a loading shoot works best for pigs.


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## Simpleterrier

here's a pic of a gravity feeder I made


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## Simpleterrier

here is a side view of my waterer. I did have the nipple screwed directly into the barrel. But had to add the bi nipple and coupling so it could reach threw the fence. I put the barrel on the outside of the pen so the hogs can't beat it up


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## Simpleterrier




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## Baymule

I love the barrel feeder! I sure would have made one of those if I had seen your feeder before I went and bought a metal bin feeder at TSC. I will keep it in the back of my mind for when the metal one bites the dust.

I like your loading system. When we build our dedicated hog pen, a loading chute will be part of the plans. Great idea! 

On the water barrel, is there a vent opening for air displacement as they drink the water or is the top on tight? Again, great idea. 

Before we get pigs again, we will build a smart set up like you have. The first time we had pigs, we put them in the garden for the winter, just backed the trailer in and fed them in it before we took them to slaughter. The second time, we had them in a front one acre pasture and we shot them and slaughtered them ourselves. This time, they are in the same one acre pasture and loading them promises to be interesting. LOL We plan on building a quick cow panel holding pen at the gate, not feed them the day before and luring them aboard with some really yummy stinky soured corn. LOL LOL

Your sausage looks good. Next time you can sausage, you should take lots of pictures and post a how-to tutorial. I guess enough water and fat cooks out of it to seal it up along with the lid seal. Beats worrying about your meat when the freezer/electricity goes out. 

Thanks for posting the pictures and sharing your ideas with us!


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## Simpleterrier

I am pretty sure that's how my great grandma canned meat. The water barrel has a hole in the top where there is a screw in cap I just leave it out. Good luck loading those pigs I would personally start a week ahead of time trying to get them loaded they can always spend their last days in the trailer.


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## goatgurl

simpleterrier's water barrel is like what we used for my granddaughters ffa pig a few years back.  they work really well.  something for you to keep in mind for the next feeder pigs you get bay.  
I so totally agree with you about just buying piglets instead of raising them.  I have seen people brought into the hospital that have been torn up by their own pigs or wild pigs and i'm just not give them the chance to do that to me.  much less trouble to support your local heritage hog breeder.  that's why I was so upset when that last sow that I bought turned out to be pregnant.  not happy at all.  be careful with them kiddo.


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## Baymule

Hogs are loaded. We built a small enclosure with one cow panel and a half one for a gate in the corner where the 12' gate is. Then we could block them out while we opened the 12' gate and DH backed the trailer up. Our neighbor Robert came over to help. DH dumped wood chip mulch and raked it up for a loading ramp. 

I didn't feed them yesterday so they'd be hungry this morning. I saved a stinky soured bucket of corn and when they got a whiff of that, they were pretty easy to get loaded. We opened the half cow panel gate, let them into the enclosure, then shut and tied it off. After several false starts, they both climbed in and the end gate banged shut. 

They are parked in the shade and I spray them down once an hour to make sure they stay cool. I fill their water tub, they blow bubbles then tump it over. We pull out 6:45 AM in the morning.


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## goatgurl

yea!!! piggies loaded and ready to go.  greed gets mine every time, they hear and smell the food and climb right in.  door slams and there they are.  I think you were very wise not to keep that sow.  if she is snappy now just think how bad she'll be if or when she has piglets.  safe trip tomorrow.


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## Mike CHS

You are going to be glad you got rid of some more chores.  

I think I'm more leery of ornery pigs than I am of ornery cows.


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## Baymule

Now my next chore is finding freezer room! A neighbor is going to put some of the meat in her freezer for me. I'll give her some meat in exchange for her help. This place doesn't cure hams or bacon. So we'll be making bacon!


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## goatgurl

you can always can some of it.  chunks of pork canned sure makes tender pulled pork and remember you can always can sausage too.  just a thought.  I still have the former bacon bit who is now officially a full grown hog.  he is going to freezer camp in December and i'm thinking that i'll can a lot of him because i'm running out of freezer room too.  i'd love for him to go sooner but my butcher stops taking domestic animals about the 3rd week of oct until the middle of dec because they process hundreds if not thousands of deer during that 8 week period.  so wait I shall, sighhhh


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## Mike CHS

We bought a 22 Cubic foot chest freezer to go along with the upright the same size thinking we would never fill them up.  They are full but I don't have room for a third one.


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## Baymule

What a nice problem to have, lamb, chicken, pork, half a beef, and lots of vegetables. People in the country know how to grow their own food. Yum!


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## Bruce

@Baymule you can send me a pork belly and @Mike CHS you can send me any extra lamb you can't fit


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## Baymule

Just dropped off pigs. Pick up meat in about 2 weeks. Yay!


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## Baymule

Got hanging weight on pigs. The sow is 245 pounds! That means she must've been bumping 500 pounds live weight! Sooooo glad I didn't keep her!! The boar's weight is 216.


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## Bruce

So glad you didn't have to push them into the trailer!


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## farmerjan

On hogs you will find that the hanging weight is more like 2/3 the live weight as opposed to cattle that run closer to 50-60% of live weight. Hogs do not have as much gut weight, skin/hooves etc are less than bovine.  I would say the sow and boar weighed in 400 and 350 weight range, by looking at the pictures.


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## Baymule

Thanks farmerjan!


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## Bruce

I would think 400 pounds is still a big lump if you have to move it and it doesn't want to.
Did you consider putting her on SlimFast?


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## Latestarter

She DID the pig slim fast... took it to the butcher for a kill shot followed by gutting and beheading... Lost 2/3 of her weight rather quickly is my guess.


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## Baymule

We had them 36 days. That comes to 461 pounds of meat.


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## Bruce

@Latestarter's goats ate Mel!!!!!!


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## Mike CHS

No matter how you look at it there is a lot of good eating coming there.


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## Baymule

It is the day before Thanksgiving. We should get our pig next week. Can't wait!


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## HomeOnTheRange




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## misfitmorgan

Well i totally misssed this thread!!

Great buy Bay! Often the cheap pigs are the problem pigs which is why they are cheap.

Not breeding that set was a good idea, if they have a bad attitude having piglets is only going to make it worse. 

I would still encourage anyone to try to breed pigs at some point, but finding the right pigs to breed if your new to it can be hard. I go sit on the floor in the pen with the herefords...the gilts are north of 250lbs and the boar is around 300lbs. They come up and get pets and scratches and just do their thing they know they are not allowed to put their mouths near me, nor smell me, bump me, lay on me, or put their face close to my face, they dont seem to mind my rules and dont challenge them. These herefords are absolutely the most laid back pigs ive met in my life.

Would i go sit in the big girls pen...no. Do i go in their pen without a short piece of 2x4 in my hand....no. Are they mean and trying to kill me...no. They are very large and do not realize how big they are and have hurt me on accident a few times so when i go in the pen i make sure they stay a reasonable distance away from me. I do pet them over the stall gate. To give you an idea of their size..the gate I'm petting them over is 4ft tall and i dont have to reach down to touch their backs. They weigh north of 500lbs and are trim.

Are all herefords awesome...i doubt it. Definitely look more at the pigs attitude then breed, if you can see the sow they came from and judge her attitude the piglets will likely take after her so it helps with buying piglets even for meat.

i would say send me some pork but.....i have more then i ever want to eat already.


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## Baymule

I am in love with the Hereford hogs, they are strikingly beautiful. I have seen a few on Craigslist but they are $100 and up for feeder pigs. I like feeder pigs in the $40-$60 range.

@misfitmorgan have you ever butchered a sow that was a couple years old? How was the meat? I am afraid it might be tough.


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## misfitmorgan

Yes we have butchered pigs pretty much all ages at this point. The meat is more tough then a young pig but not like an old shoe leather steak. If we have an old sow or boar we generally do all ground meat, bacon, ham and roasts, no steaks or chops. Some ground meat is left plain for just ground pork, the rest is divided into Italian sausage and breakfast sausages. As i mentioned it is not like chewing on an old cow but it is noticeable, she does look younger and probly has only had one litter of piglets so i think you could go either way and be happy with the results still.

The oldest pig we have eaten was 7yrs old.

i love our herefords, the prices were not cheap but we got papered and registered and our trio cost us $600 though they are breeders not feeders. Thats why we have the mixed breed pigs so we can offer cheap meat pigs and more costly show pigs or breeders.


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## Baymule

Thanks for the information!


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## misfitmorgan

Any time Bay!


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## Baymule

Picked up meat today. I fried a package of pork chops from the boar. NO boar taint. The meat is marbled with fat and melt in our mouths TENDER. Husband is raving between mouthfuls. Best pork chops he's ever had! Supper is two pork chops each and a salad. Two chops covered the plate. I am happily stuffed. Soooooo darn good!


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## Mike CHS

That looks delicious.


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## Baymule

It was. I have bacon brining now, will smoke it in a few days.


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## CntryBoy777

Sounds like ya came out really good with your CL find there Bay. I apologize for missing out on the posts on your thread, I got sidetracked on so much other things happening it totally slipped my mind. How is the piglets doing now?....or was she not pregnant?


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## Baymule

CntryBoy777 said:


> Sounds like ya came out really good with your CL find there Bay. I apologize for missing out on the posts on your thread, I got sidetracked on so much other things happening it totally slipped my mind. How is the piglets doing now?....or was she not pregnant?


We took them both to slaughter. The sow came into heat right before we took them, whether she got bred or not.....? I realized that I have more than enough to do, raising a litter of pigs would require a better shelter that I don't have time to build. It would require more projects that I just don't want to have to do right now. So off she went.


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## Baymule

Hanging weight was 245 on the sow and 214 on the boar. One of the families buying a half hog backed out because they had to rush their daughter to the ER, she had surgery to remove her appendix. They had no insurance, the bill is $29,000. I understand, that's their child. She was gracious enough to "store" the meat in her freezer until we can do something with it. We have liver, chopped fat and a hog head split in two in a neighbor's freezer.

The other family over paid us. Their half was $488, he handed us $500 and refused change. We are brining their bacon and will smoke and slice it in a few days. He offered to pay us for that, but we refused.

Processing on both hogs came to $584.05
Purchase both hogs $75
Feed $164
Total cost $823.05
Less $500

Our cost $323.05

We had the hogs 36 days. We are pleased.


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## Bruce

Our lovely healthcare system.

Glad the pigs worked out! You have really nice breakfast, lunch and dinner for a long time.


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## Baymule

Tonight we had porkchops from the sow. They were less marbled with fat than the boar. They were just on the verge of being a little chewy. The flavor was excellent. I would give the boar an A++ and the sow an A for meat quality, tenderness and taste. We are really happy that we bought these hogs. Along with the porkchops, we had a green leafy salad with pomegranate.


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## Baymule

We had 90 pounds of meat in our friends freezer, no way to fit it into ours. A friend in Livingston offered us a small chest freezer last week when we were down there. We were in the car, not the truck, so we didn't get it. 

But what to do with this meat? We decided to give it to a couple that we have been friends with for years. We gave them the freezer that we couldn't pick up, as well, since they didn't have one. They were thrilled beyond words.  We were blessed with all this meat, we made a darn good deal on it. We have plenty, so why not share the wealth. They got the freezer yesterday, took it home, cleaned it up and plugged it in.

They came up today, we had lunch and visited. I had cooked some of the pan sausage this morning and they ate some of it. I cooked a pork roast for our lunch and they loved it. They couldn't believe that we were just giving them the meat.  We packed their meat into their ice chests and they went home. 

We thank God for all our blessings. He gives us so much.


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## Bruce

You are a good person (as is DH) Bay!


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> You are a good person (as is DH) Bay!


shhhh......don't tell nobody....


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## Bruce

I won't, I know you want to keep your reputation


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## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> shhhh......don't tell nobody....



Too Late   That is about as good of a Pay it Forward example that I have seen in a long time.


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## Latestarter

Giving folks are a blessing to many. You are good people Bay!


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## Baymule

So whaddaya do on a cold day? Sit outside and smoke bacon! DH is terribly upset because it's his job, but he is sick and I won't let him outside to play. Took the first batch in, smoking the second batch. Using apple wood chips.


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## HomeOnTheRange

Looks great @Baymule!  I sure you have already sampled the goods...


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## Baymule

No, still outside freezing my patatootie off! LOL


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## Latestarter

yeah... definitely not the preferred TX weather/temps. I'm showing 38 right now and dropping as the sun sets.


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## Bruce

Shall I PM my address?? 
I gave Mama Wall's eggnog recipe to my vision therapy optometrist today. She's going to make it for Christmas. Planning on the lower amount of booze as you and I did so hopefully no one gets ****faced.


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## Mike CHS

That bacon looks super good.  I have heard it said that the good thing about bacon is that bacon is even good wrapped in bacon.


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> Shall I PM my address??
> I gave Mama Wall's eggnog recipe to my vision therapy optometrist today. She's going to make it for Christmas. Planning on the lower amount of booze as you and I did so hopefully no one gets ****faced.


Mamma Wall would be pleased that so many people are enjoying her eggnog.


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## Baymule

Latestarter said:


> yeah... definitely not the preferred TX weather/temps. I'm showing 38 right now and dropping as the sun sets.


_SLEET_ fell on me today. Couldn't it have waited until tonight?


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## Bruce

Y'all in the south sure are getting some cold "not even winter yet" weather!


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## CntryBoy777

I just had to share this with ya Bay....just to prove I wasn't fibbing about it....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-diapers-that-fit-that-work.1211492/#post-19283773

 .......  ....


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## Bruce

Takes all kinds. And I guess there are a lot of them if that person is making a business out of selling diapers for ducks.


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## Baymule

CntryBoy777 said:


> I just had to share this with ya Bay....just to prove I wasn't fibbing about it....
> 
> https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-diapers-that-fit-that-work.1211492/#post-19283773
> 
> .......  ....



Yeah, I figured out a long time ago that I didn't belong in the duck forum on BYC. Duck Diapers-what a bunch of loonies.


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## Bruce

Yeah, don't those people know it is BACKYARD chickens (ducks) not HOUSE chickens (ducks)?? That would be an entirely different forum (on which I wouldn't read even a single post!)


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