3 Little Piggies Coming in 3 days. HELP!

[Healthy Skeptic]

Thanks for asking. All went really smooth compared to the many stories I read. Haha! My 13 year old is the one who did 90% of the work. But when I fry up that yummy whole hog sausage, it’s worth it.

I really want to do it again. It’s great having pork in the freezer. My hubby wants to try a cow. That seems way stressful. Haha!!

The smell has not left. The trailer we took them in. Yikes. Still stinks.

Our biggest issue right now is having to throw away scraps. We miss having pigs to not waste scraps.

We do have some changes to make to the pen. There is now a hole near the foundation. And I think if we would’ve had one more pig then the inside would have been knocked over.

I think I also want to sell one of the pigs next time to help pay for the cost.

My biggest word of caution… Is to make an appointment months ahead of time to get them butchered! That was the hardest part for us. Our pigs were ready around deer season and there was not an opening anywhere!

Other then this all went great!

Lonely empty pen!!

 

[canesisters]

<~~ This is Eva, my cow. She raises a beef calf and provides several months of milk/cream/butter for the house.
I haven't tried cheese yet except for the easy 'farmer cheese' that is made by adding a bit of vinegar to break the milk into curds.

I was offered 3 pigs a few weeks ago. One adult from one place and a pair from another. I ALMOST jumped into the whole pig owing thing with both feet - but thought better of it after talking with some folks and seeking advice on the forums here.
I had decided to wait till spring and get a couple of little piggies like you did... but now I'm re-thinking where I had planned to put the pen. I was going to set up against the barn, similar to how you did, but there is a gap under my barn wall and now I'm thinking that they'll root up the floor and 'escape' INTO the barn.

Housing ANY livestock is always the hardest part.

 

[Healthy Skeptic]

Nice cow!!

Yes, we had a beautiful barn and they rooted and made such a mess that there were holes under the foundation!

My husband is a Carpenter and said it’s an easy fix, but not everyone may think so!

 

[Baymule]

We go straight to the car wash after dropping off pigs. Sheep, horses, not so bad. Sometimes we let it dry and sweep out. Pigs? Not a chance, power washer!

Glad your pig experience was a good one! For the feed, water and time invested, you get a LOT of meat from a hog. I totally get it on the scraps. I keep a "chicken" bucket on the counter. When we have feeder pigs, it is the "pig" bucket. I throw everything in it, even egg shells.