# Newbie Here! Pigs VS Cattle for profit and home?



## CherokeeGal

Hey there! I posted this on BYC and then saw BYH!

Hi everyone,

After getting chickens (and loving it! ), my family has decided to have our land work for us more. We have four acres, and are considering raising hogs and or cattle to sell and keep. I've done some research, but can't really find any specific numbers for how much things cost and how much you can make per hog, cow ect.

We have a friend who raises cattle and rotates them through local people's pastures. She has agreed to help us if we want to- but I really want to get some opinions on the pros and cons of both. My Dad is a carpenter so wood and shelter for both aren't really a problem. My parents have lived with hogs and cattle before and know the basics, but have never raised them personally.

So here's some of my questions-

How much can you buy a piglet for?

How much do they sell for?

Do you sell them directly to a butcher or auction them off?

Someone told me acorns are poisonous to pigs. Is this true because we have a LOT of oak trees!

How bad is the smell really with only one or two of each animal?

Can you feed pigs table scraps? I've been told both yes and no on this.

Thanks for putting up with my newbie questions! I really like the idea of raising our own food and possibly making a little money on the side. I'm not thinking it will be a hugely profitable venture, I just want something my little brother (11 years) and I (15) can work at to make a little bit of money.

Thank you!

-Sam


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## Run-A-Muck Ranch

THis is what we do......
It might not work for other, but it works for us.....

We get pigs in March usually paying around $50 each for them. Our girls raise them for 4-H. Come time for the fair in June they are over 200 pounds (225-275 usually), the girls put one in the auction for the fair, we keep one, and sell any others at that time to others. 
At the 4-H fair kids can make anywhere from $2-$6 a pound. Yes that's more then market prices. I don't know hwat the market price is, I just know that people pay a bit more when it's 4-H. Now the other pigs that we have to sell at the fair not put in the auction usually go for about $1 a pound. Butchers around here will also buy them from people, but I don't know the price he pays either.
As for feeding the pigs.....Our pigs get EVERYTHING...I've even thrown in a ham bone or two..lol They love the table scraps, but don't live on that alone...Usually around here I get 500 pounds of pig feed at a time...Depending on where i get it from it's anywhere from $50-$75 for the 500 pounds. obvioulsy when little they don't eat that much, but towards the end they are eatting 500 pounds pretty quickly.  I have heard the same thing about acorns--but I've also heard it wasn't true....Now  our pigs love them, and eat them any chance they can get...
As for the smell....Well I live on a farm already and am in farming country.....I don't notice it...Nobody has ever mentioned a 'smell' to me that they couldnt' deal with. Obviously tehy are gonna smell to some point, but even chickens can get stinky.
Make sure they have a nice mud wallow though. Our pigs love to be in the mud. 

I love having our pigs. They are so much fun. Make sure if you get some to have more than 1. They will eat better and gain more weight if they have compatition. It'll also keep them from being board and trying to escape....lol We usually have 3 at a time, but this year I think we are gonna go with 6.


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## miron28

this was my first year at raising pigs and i promise u it won't be my last. we did 4 pigs to have meat for my family and it truned out to be the best pork we have ever had. we had so much meat i sold half of it cause i had no room for it all but the people that i have sold it to want more so i think i am going to do 6.  
 to answer some of your questions 

1. if you go to a auction i bought all 4 pigs for about 40 dollars they were about 8 weeks old 
2. i sold my pigs for 1 dollar a pound 
3.if you auction them off at a action you might not get too much 
4.i have a ton of oak trees and i always rake the acorns up and give the acorns to them they absolutely love them.
5. we had 4 Yorkshire and 2 pot belly pigs and the smell was pretty bad but you could only smell them when you were about 20 feet from them 
6. i give all the table scraps to my pigs they eat everything no matter what it is.


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## rebelcowboysnb

> cholate milk, and strawberry milk shake


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## miron28

that's what happens when you let a 3 year and a 4 year old that loves chocolate milk and and strawberry milk name your goats!


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## snewman

In this same vein, I have some more piggy questions;

1) where do you buy baby pigs?

2) How old are they when you get them (as in weaned, bottle fed, etc)?

3) Do you go by age or weight in deciding when to butcher?  

4) Is there a critical age not to exceed in terms of meat flavor?  

5) What is the approximate cost of processing?  

6) Is there a preference for male or female pigs in taste?  If male, must they be castrated or, if butchered young enough, left intact?

Like the first person who posted, I started with poultry and am ready to try some new things on our little farm, thinking about pigs and steers.


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## jhm47

I would buy my feeder pigs from a local farmer if possible.  Otherwise, you must have an auction barn nearby, and you can buy them there on regular sale days.  Make some phone calls to find out when/where.

The prices vary a lot from day to day.  Right now, the price of pigs is very low, and I would guess that the feeder market is also very low.  Depends on their size and quality of course.  

Be sure to have any male pigs castrated.  They have a horrible "boar" taste if they are not.  Gilts are more mild mannered than barrows (castrated males).  Be sure to feed a well balanced feed, and worm them regularly.  Do not feed garbage.  You may infect them with Trichinosis, and you REALLY don't want that.


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## Run-A-Muck Ranch

snewman said:
			
		

> In this same vein, I have some more piggy questions;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1) where do you buy baby pigs?
> 
> 2) How old are they when you get them (as in weaned, bottle fed, etc)?
> 
> 
> 
> *WHen our girls get their pigs for the fairs we pick them up in March of that year. They get sold in June.
> They are approximately 40-50 pounds and we usually pay $50 per piglet.
> Before they started showing for the fairs though we were able to get pigs elsewhere that were about the same weight but running alot cheaper, anywhere from free - $40 a piece.
> The piglets are all eatting on their own, none are bottle feed, and they do just fine.*
> 
> 3) Do you go by age or weight in deciding when to butcher?
> 
> 4) Is there a critical age not to exceed in terms of meat flavor?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 5) What is the approximate cost of processing?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> *our butcher always give us a deal, but that's one of the perks of living in a small town. Normally though it's about $75 dollars total for our butchering...that includes the butcher/slaughter fee, so much per pound hanging weight, as well as the smoking for the hams and bacon. Like I said though, our butcher give us a deal.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 6) Is there a preference for male or female pigs in taste?  If male, must they be castrated or, if butchered young enough, left intact?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> *We have had both gilts and barrows, and have never noticed a difference in the meat. I honestly can't say anythign about having a boar though.*
> Like the first person who posted, I started with poultry and am ready to try some new things on our little farm, thinking about pigs and steers.
Click to expand...


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## snewman

Thank you for your answers, you've been very helpful.  

Runamuck, where in Wisconsin are you located?  I'm in Belleville, south of Madison about 20 miles.


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## Run-A-Muck Ranch

snewman said:
			
		

> Thank you for your answers, you've been very helpful.
> 
> Runamuck, where in Wisconsin are you located?  I'm in Belleville, south of Madison about 20 miles.


I'm in Northern Wisconsin. About 30 minutes south of Rice Lake, or 45 minutes North of Eau Claire.


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