# Size of pen for meat pig



## Kida (Mar 25, 2013)

I have lots of questions and the search wasn't forthcoming (both on here and google) so here's my interrogation I don't know any of the terminology so sorry if I say things wrong.
 I'm in the process of writing out our 5 year plan and have a meat pig "scheduled" for year after next and it's today's reasearch topic sooo....
what size pen for keeping a pig from weaning to butcher?
can I keep just one? We won't even approach eating two and we butcher ourselves so selling the other would be more trouble than I'd like to deal with, but not impossible
how big should the house/shelter be? Where I live it gets stupidly hot (we recorded 114deg one day year before last and average 90) over the summer and we have mild winters with (if I remember right) around 50 days of precipitation a year
I prefer to grow my own animal feed so what should I plan to plant to feed it (we already grow barley/wheat fodder and have plenty of garden space) 
How would a Duroc do for my purposes? No particular reason other than I think they're prettier than the other standard meat breeds (as listed by the FFA guy anyway)
And lastly do they make the extra thick vacuum bags for a foodsaver? The butcher my husband used to work for had a much more complex looking vacuum sealer but I really liked the thick wrap he used. Problem is, he died a few years back so I can't ask him and his son is a bit of a prick so we don't talk to them (but they own the only butcher shop for miles, note my distaste for taking an extra pig to them)

Thanks for any help ya'll can give 

Our land covenants are really squirrely by the by. We're allowed to grow out meat pigs but aren't allowed to breed. According to the 'old timers' out here, apparently the people who owned the land before it was divyed up ran a pig farm and didn't want any competition. Only other rules are minimum lot sizes and not parking buses too close to the road lol


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## Cornish Heritage (Apr 20, 2013)

Pigs are herd animals & really do better with companionship. One pig will normally always be looking to get out whereas if he has a mate to be friends with they will be much more content. IMO the best way to raise pigs is on pasture. Much healthier for them.

As for not eating two? Are you sure? We butcher all our own meat too. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much you like your home grown pork better than that "stuff" in the grocery store. We did not eat pork for years before we started raising our own. We can easily eat 3-4 pigs a year!

If you are planning on gorwing your won feed then you need to seriously consider pasturing pigs so they can harvest their own food - much less work for you!

Liz


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