Large Blacks

[Gallidaihia]

Hi, I am new to this forum so I thought I would introduce my self. I am a single mom, raising the worlds most wonderful 2 and a half year old girl (IM sure all parents feel this way, well atleast 3/4s of the time, excluding the 1/4 part where you would love your child to send you to time out) completly on my own I am just finishing my egree in Natural Horsemanship in Montana, in a month I will travel back to Tucson Arizona where I was raised and just bought 10 acres along with my daughter 2 quarter horses, Rottweiler, and 11 chickens. i plan to start homesteading and ussing permaculture and sustainable agriculture.

After graduate school I plan also use our farm as a center for farm and horse based therapies with kids from the gfoster system and group homes. Right now I am looking to start my farm and provide for my daughter and I. pluss give my daughter the kind of childhood I wish I had (my grandfather had a ranch, my brother and I never wanted to go home my sisters are city lovers).

I want to include pigs in my dream, and from my research I have found large blacks are probably thebest suited for what i want to do. i plan to pasture the pigs and suplement their feed as needed. Id like to start out this year with one or two gilts and a feew feeders to fill the freezer. my plan is to then ai (Ive learned how to ai horses and cows im hoping its not much harder) the sows and sell the best to other breeders and those that arent in those numbers as feeder pigs. I want a breed that is as friendly as possible, as I have my young daughter who is as crazzy about animals as I am if not worse. how do pigs do around children? Ive got a few questions:

Is thee Large black the best heritage breed for what I am looking for?

Is it better to Ai, or is it worth it to have a boar? are boars bad tempered, and is it ok to keep the boar and sows together or do they need to be seperated?

And where do you find them? every where i have found that has Large Blacks is only selling the end product. any suggestions?

and since I am new to this (I have spent alot of times researching, especialy when i should be doing sttistics homework) is there anything i am not considering?

 

[Bacog]

Welcome aboard.

You can find Large Blacks here. http://www.bestfarmbuys.com/

 

[Heirloom]

Hi and welcome!

I'll share my researched 'knowledge' on breeding. Success can be had with or without a boar, IF your gilt/sow cooperates that is. You will have to find her trigger to get her to stand. Some won't stand with out a boar, some will stand simply from hearing a certain sound or frequency. A familiar voice, engine sounds.....yes I know. It's crazy but true. I've heard of a gilt going into standing heat from the sound of the engine on a farm 'mule'. Some need to have weight on their backs and/or slapping her flank/hind.

I personally wouldn't keep a boar. Really his only use would be an occasional breeding. And for that occasional breeding you have A LOT of feeding. AI, borrowing a boar or taking her to have her bred would be my preference. And yes, they can be temperamental, but any of Gods creatures are prone to that. I think they recommend something like 6 sow/gilt's per boar...but I am most likely wrong on that number. Point is a boar needs more than one or two. What a pig, huh?

Kids....keep them away. At 12 weeks they out mass most 5th graders. Mine are coming up on 8 weeks and I am already modifying my routine for my own safety.... and I am a 6', 230lb healthy male. If one gets too rambunctious and clips a leg right, I could go down from a buckled knee.

Breed selection is a personal choice IMHO. Ask yourself what it is you want/expect from them and choose/breed accordingly. I'm new to pigs too, but in my reading it sounds like Duroc X Hampshires (which is what I have) are what I am looking for in body conformation, average fat content etc. I'll see if I'm happy around November.

To find them I would check local farm listings, craigslist and even go down to the feed stores and ask around!

 

[gruberguy]

Let me start by saying.... I am NOT a pig expert at all... But... We have some 1/2 large black... 1/2 old spot piglets now that are 12 weeks old... VERY gentle,playful, etc. They are actually our favorites on the farm now. They are weighing 30 lbs??? or so..... They are on pasture with grain/scraps. they are with my dorper sheep,pyrenees dogs, and 10 week old pyrenees puppy (best friends!!!), and chickens.... No problems at all..... Myself,wife,and 3 boys, 13,11,7 play/pet them everyday...


Just remember.. these are HERITAGE hogs..... TOTALLY different than the commercial breeds (I raised them in the past, and no WAY would I get in their pen!!!)

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Just remember.. these are HERITAGE hogs..... TOTALLY different than the commercial breeds (I raised them in the past, and no WAY would I get in their pen!!!)

X2. They are completely different animals.

If you are going with a heritage breed I would do one male and one female, each with it's own pen and a third additional pen to raise the offspring in. This is our plan when we get ready to get heritage hogs.

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Large Blacks are superb! We raised them for over 4 years. Yes you have to be wise around all animals BUT LB's are like big dogs. We have little ones who could go out & rub a pigs belly, she would lie down & they could just sit there beside her. The boars were the same also!

The meat is incredible - SO tasty & not anything like the "stuff" you buy in the grocery store!

Pigs are VERY intelligent so it is important to teach them how to behave from Day 1 - no hand feeding, no nudging, butting etc. You can read more info on our FAQ page - http://www.cornishheritagehogs.com/index.php/chh_faq.html

Large Blacks are NOT cheap but make sure you invest in good breeding stock. Do your research.

Wishing you all the best.

Liz

 

[HobbyfarmOkie]

I'm new to pigs as well and chose large blacks. I have three 8 month old gilts and am looking for a boar. I may end up getting a different breed until I find another large black. They seem friendly and quiet so far.