a few questions please

[bj taylor]

I think i'm going to be ready for pigs by early spring. it's just hubby & me. I thought I would get two weaners. my questions...
1. do I get them just as they are weaned? I want to know what their diet has been & their living conditions
2. do I keep them till a specific age (what would that be) or a specific weight (what would that be) before processing? it will be just me taking care of them & i'm a little concerned about these huge animals knocking me down & hurting me intentionally.
3. does breed matter when i'm just going to have them a short while & won't be breeding them? if it does to you - what breed do you pick? I am most interested in good fat, bacon, & chops.
4. do I need to provide a wallow if they have plenty of shade (we live in hot & dry). i'm assuming I provide piles of hay for them to snuggle in during cold times.
5. what am I looking for when I go to a person's place that tells me I want to buy from them?

thanks for your answers.

 

[Parsnip]

Ohh!
I am so glad I found this post!
I love talking about hogs

I raised them all throughout highschool in 4-H!

You can pretty much get a weaner pig anytime after they are weaned!

Like this size
They've most likely been in a smaller area with their mothers since birth.
You'd have to ask the breeder what they've been eating!

Pigs just keep growing and growing and don't really stop lol, but I always had my hogs butchered once they were about 300lbs or so, which is a fairly good weight, I think.

I personally think that how much fat is on the pig, depends on how much, and what you feed it.
The pigs I had this last Spring(in the pictures above) were York/Berkshire crosses.
They turned out to be VERY lean, but still producing a considerable amount of meat

I'm never been a fan of hog breeds that produce more fat...
But Berkshire bacon has a unique flavor, very mild and lean.
Their meat is perfectly marbled!
So I personally would go for Berkshire.
Or Duroc. I didn't really touch on Durocs, but they can get to be big and also have a pretty high quality carcass.

The pigs I had were NEVER mean. If you treat them with love, they will accept and love you back
Especially if you have a banana or give them belly scratches. They will seriously be your best friend.
As they get more heavier, they kind of know how to throw their weight around. They get smart about that lol
So they might knock you down?
Either to get to food, or to play, or to use you as a scratching post.

Whether you provide them a wallow or not, they will probably make one themselves!
It'll happen either way. lol
If you live in a hotter climate, PLEASE have lots of water and shade!
Pigs can easily get heat-stroke if left out in the sun. And they can get sun-burnt :/ ... If it's cold, they like to snuggle WAY under straw to keep toasty warm It's adorable!

OH BOY I can go on forever on what to look for in a market hog haha.
I've already typed WAY too much here, maybe I'll make another reply.

 

[elistxs08]

Nice Post!