getting pigs!!

[mener6896]

I am in the research process...need help
I will probably get 2 feeder pigs, sometime this spring. I am currently looking in to the fencing.

1) I will probably go with pig panels; have noticed they are hooked together in a square, but no one has explained about a gate to me...I know, crazy question. The reason I am looking into this type of fencing is because I thought I would move the fencing the following year so I can plant where the pigs were the previous year (potatoes and such) any issues here?

2) I am located in Indiana, is a 3-sided shelter okay here? Since I may get them in February or March, the weather shouldn't be too cold, I hope to have butchered before it gets too hot.

3) Anyone know anything about the pvc pipe waterer? I just saw one on Craigslist.

4) about how many lbs of feed will 2 pigs eat/week, I also plan on giving them garden scraps and grasses

5) vaccinations- is this necessary if I am only raising them the few months needed to fatten up? Should I buy prevaccinated or not vaccinate at all? I would like to avoid vaccinations, but don't want sick pigs either.

Is there anything else that is imperative I know about before buying?

just an fyi, I have about 60 chickens that I plan on keeping separate unless they can be together sometimes?

 

[freemotion]

No gate because you can step right over them. Consider running a line of electric along the inside lower edge.

I can't help you with anything else because I am a newbie, raising my first two pigs on pasture. I did learn a lot about pigs and fencing this year, though! Make it hot! Make sure it doesn't ground, as they test it daily here.

As far as how much they eat, mine on pasture eat very little....MUCH less than the charts and graphs I've seen in my own research. Mine are also fussy. Not sure of all that they are eating, but they are getting plenty, apparently. They leave a lot of food behind....

 

[DoubleVLegacyFarms]

No gate because you can step right over them. Consider running a line of electric along the inside lower edge.

I can't help you with anything else because I am a newbie, raising my first two pigs on pasture. I did learn a lot about pigs and fencing this year, though! Make it hot! Make sure it doesn't ground, as they test it daily here.

As far as how much they eat, mine on pasture eat very little....MUCH less than the charts and graphs I've seen in my own research. Mine are also fussy. Not sure of all that they are eating, but they are getting plenty, apparently. They leave a lot of food behind....

Ok first of all, Yes you absolutly need a gate! imagine it this way, you have raised your pigs to 200 plus pounds and now you have to get them to the butcher... without a gate you have to take down your fence or lift them over it in order to get them in a trailer/truck stock pen. if you do take down the fence, i dont care how docile your pigs are they will not be agreeable to getting into said trailer. Do you have a loading chute built? you can build one fairly easily, but we just back up to the gate and set up two corral panels on each side of the trailer gate, adjacent to the pen gate and then walk the pigs out the gate and into the trailer.

Second, you can build your pen many ways besides hog panels. Our pastures have electric fence for their borders, and we have had no issues. We do however have a permanent center pen (barn lot corral) that we can move hogs into to rotate pastures, facilitate breeding in a safe environment. our pastures spread out from this center corral in wedge shapes, narrow at the corral, wide at their farthest outer perimeter.

you can kind of see our fences in pictures at www.doublevlegacyfarms.com if you would like, or I can email a drawing of how we have done it.

I do recomend you have a well built pen that is permanent, as you may need to isolate a pig because of disease, or pen them if the fence goes down, or for breeding purposes.

Oh and the PVC pipe waterers work great, we have 3 automatic waterers in the ground in each pasture we use, and we have built 4 pvc waterers that we use in the temporary pens, in the trailer if we are hauling, etc. but dont buy one, build it yourself they are very very easy to build and you can buy the nipples for around 5 bucks at many farm stores, or tractor supply online.

Good luck, Raising hogs is a wonderful experience!

 

[DoubleVLegacyFarms]

The answer to how much feed is really unanswerable. different breeds will process feed differently. Also it is greatly dependant on what feed you are feeding them.

As a example we bout 4 feeders last year, 2 were blacks and 2 were whites. feeding the exact same feed, on a full feed regimine (feed available all the time for at will eating) the blacks grew at twice the rate the whites did. with a diffr=erence of 45 days between butcher of the blacks to the whites.

We feed our breeding stock a custom ground feed we have our feed store grind and mix for us, in 1000lbs it is 800lbs corn and 2hundred pounds soybeans. they get 2lbs twice a day and cycle regularly and have no issues. our feeders are on full feed of the same mix from wean, 8 weeks, to 230 pounds. you can expect typically 45 to 90 days to reach 125lbs ( the growing cycle) and another 90-120 days for the finishing cycle. hogs will be 6-9month old at butcher. Our pigs also forage in the pastures and root for food all thought the cycle. Make sure your feed has enough protien, not just filler. Straight corn wont do it. Show pig feed is very good, but very expensive! garden scraps they will adore.