# So, I wanna be a pig farmer!



## flyboy718 (Feb 13, 2012)

We have some land and are looking for home grown food to put in freezer and maybe sell as supplemental income.  What kinda start up cost's am I looking at for a couple pigs to start the process?  What is the approximate cost of a piglet in northern louisiana?  At what weight do they need to achieve for slaughter and how much $ can you get for a slaughter pig?


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## Cornish Heritage (Feb 13, 2012)

LOL! Those questions are nearly impossible to answer as it all depends on how you are going to raise your pigs. If you are buying feeders & want to pasture raise them then you need to purchase from someone who already raises them on pasture. Buying "indoor, commercially raised" pigs & putting them out of pasture rarely works as they have no idea what grass is. 


What are you going to feed them? Organic? All natural? This will affect the cost of raising them.

Butcher weight? Depends on how much fat/marbling you like on/in your pork? Average butchering weight is 250lbs but others like to raise theirs to 350+.

How long does it take? Yet again depends on breed & what you are feeding them. Most times you will find that the heritage breeds (Large Blacks, GOS, Red Wattle etc) take longer to reach maturity but they tend to be hardier & actually cost the same to raise as you are not feeding as much per day. Large Blacks can take 10-14mths to reach butchering weight. 

Fencing - we train all our pigs to polywire from weaning age - much easier to keep them contained that way.

Housing - if you are only raising a couple pigs then one Porta Hut will be fine - they are quite expensive to buy new but you can normally find them used on Craigslist or in your local paper. If not you could always make a hoop house out of two cattle panels. 

Pigs do not require pampering - they do not need heated barns just some nice hay/straw in their bed.

If you are looking to start breeding pigs I would do your research & decide which breed you want. Maybe cut it down to two breeds & get feeders from both breeds. See which ones you like the best & then buy your breeding stock after that. We have personally raised Large Blacks, GOS, Red Wattles & Hamps. Our favorite are the Large Blacks & that is what we now raise exclusively. Each person though has their own favorite. See if you can go visit some farms with the different breeds on - make an informed decision. 

If you are looking to "sell some for supplemental income" do not try & compete with the commercial folks - you will sink before you even start swimming. Research what other breeders are selling around you & create yourself a niche market.

Hope this helps, 

Liz


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## flyboy718 (Feb 13, 2012)

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> LOL! Those questions are nearly impossible to answer as it all depends on how you are going to raise your pigs. If you are buying feeders & want to pasture raise them then you need to purchase from someone who already raises them on pasture. Buying "indoor, commercially raised" pigs & putting them out of pasture rarely works as they have no idea what grass is.
> 
> 
> What are you going to feed them? Organic? All natural? This will affect the cost of raising them.
> ...


Liz...I don't know what breed I need, that is why I came here, what breed would I need to keep in like an enclosed barn type covered area?  I don't think we are ready to pasture raise pigs.  What to feed them, again, that is why I came here...not organic for the first go around.  Since I can't get some sort of round about approximate ball park number as to what a pig ready to slaughter will sell for at an auction/market or what have you...can you give me some sort of feed cost to get a certain breed to weight and what would be the approximate residual realized dollars after feed costs have been deducted for a type of pig that I would like to raise?


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## Kojack (Feb 14, 2012)

Maybe this will help. I'm raising two feeders. I've had them since Nov. 26, 2011. They were about six weeks old when I got them and cost $40 each. Here are my feeding costs to date.

- $139.03: 8 bags of feed @ $13 each + tax, $20 sweet potatoes (didn't eat them unless I cooked them), $8 for feeder bread

We also feed them our table scraps and old produce from a grocery store, which provides a considerable savings. 

Another $200 or so is in the fencing and pig hut. 

Processing will cost at least $0.46 per pound. 

I didn't research different breeds, but instead contacted a local breeder in my area that had a good reputation and who was raising them on the ground and contained by electric fence as I planned to do. 

It's been a great experience so far.

I think they weigh between 85 - 100 lbs each, which is a little less than I'd hope for at this point. The breeder wormed them prior to me picking them up. Otherwise they've not been wormed, but I frequently mix in garlic and cayenne pepper to their food in hopes that it's a natural dewormer as I've read.


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## flyboy718 (Feb 14, 2012)

Kojack said:
			
		

> Maybe this will help. I'm raising two feeders. I've had them since Nov. 26, 2011. They were about six weeks old when I got them and cost $40 each. Here are my feeding costs to date.
> 
> - $139.03: 8 bags of feed @ $13 each + tax, $20 sweet potatoes (didn't eat them unless I cooked them), $8 for feeder bread
> 
> ...


Great!  Thank you so much, this is the exact info I was looking for...I will be PM'ing you from time to time to pick your brain and experiences.


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## Cornish Heritage (Feb 15, 2012)

> .I don't know what breed I need, that is why I came here, what breed would I need to keep in like an enclosed barn type covered area?


Sounds like you need a "commercial" breed that is used to being confined & grows quickly (6-7 mths) to slaughter weight (250lbs). The first pigs we raised many many moons ago were like this & we free fed them - i.e. had the feed in a feeder. We were in Montana at the time & fed rolled barley. Pigs do really well on rolled barley. 

SO if this is what you are looking for you definitely want a cross bred & preferably an F2. An F2 is what is known as a 'Terminal Cross'. This is normally piglets from a cross bred sow who would be an F1 (pure bred boar of one breed to pure bred sow of another breed) bred to a different pure bred boar. This gives you the most Hybrid Vigor. The experts say that once you breed beyond this cross there are no extra benefits. Hybrid Vigor is what will/should cause your piglets to grow faster. We have done this crossing ourselves in the past & the piglets are hardy & do grow well. 

Purchase from a breeder that will allow you to see his breeders & who looks like he cares for his pigs. Do not buy pigs that look think & weedy. At 8 weeks old piglets should be fat & already developing muscle. If you are raising in confinement then purchase from a breeder that raises that way. Putting a pastured pig in confinement is not a good way to go nor is putting a confinement pig on pasture a good way to go 

As for what you will get for a butcher hog once ready depends on your area. If you are raising crosses in a confined setting you will be competing with the confinement guys. I honestly do not think you will make much money. To make money in the "cut throat" pork business you have to create a niche market & in our experience, that means doing something different from the vast majority of others. As an example "regular" butcher pigs around here (Missouri) sell for 90c a pound so that is $225 for a 250# pig. We couldn't even feed ours out for that!

NOW if you are just raising & butchering for your own consumption that is a different story as you will know what you have fed that pig & will also save on your processing fees. 

All the best, 

Liz


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