Talk to me about pigs.

[PotterWatch]

My husband has been trying to convince me that we need to add pigs to our farm so we can offer pork to our customers. We currently run a CSA program where people subscribe for six boxes, spread out over 6 or 12 months. Each box has 10lbs of beef, 4lbs of lamb, and one whole chicken. We are constantly getting people who ask us about pork as well. Our beef and lamb are raised on grass only, no grains. Our chickens are out on pasture and get a supplemental organic feed. We do everything organically. No pesticides, herbicides, GM products, chemical wormers, antibiotics, etc. we don't dock tails or disbud any longer (we used to disbud our goats but quit last year).

If we were to raise pigs, we would want a heritage breed. Can those be raised on forage alone or are grains a necessity? What illnesses would we need to be concerned with? How do pregnant sows need to be kept when they are about to give birth? What kind of housing do they need when the piglets are small and still nursing? At what age do they wean? I know nothing about raising pigs at this point and know I have a lot of research to do, but I know the knowledge on this site is a good place to start. Thanks for any help and advice!

The area we would have available for pigs would be around 20-30 acres. How many pigs would that support if it is decent forage and how would it be best to break it up and move them around? 5 acre parcels or less?

 

[PotterWatch]

Oh, and how much space should we plan per adult pig assuming there is good forage available?

 

[bj taylor]

i look forward to you getting some answers to your questions so i can learn too.

 

[BrownSheep]

I don't know much about pigs except I want some.

You will have to keep them separate them from poultry and possible the sheep, but ( from what I understand) they should be fine with grown cattle.


And that right there sums up my knowledge of pastured swine... hope someone with actual knowledge chips in.

 

[Symphony]

The Tamworth seems like the perfect heritage pig for you. They are lean and fine grain and were bred for there self sufficient foraging efficiency. There is also the Large Black pig but they get quite large and are much rarer and harder to find. The Tamworth have fine bones so you would get a higher ratio of meat to bone and it says on the ALBC site that you would get 70% of the carcass.

 

[PotterWatch]

Thanks for the breed recommendations! Those are the two breeds I have been looking at the most. There is a farm not too far from us who breeds Large Blacks, so we may be able to get some from them. I will have to check around for Tamworths, but I'm sure we could find some.

What kind of forage do pigs go for?

 

[Elm Tree acres]

The Tamworth seems like the perfect heritage pig for you. They are lean and fine grain and were bred for there self sufficient foraging efficiency. There is also the Large Black pig but they get quite large and are much rarer and harder to find. The Tamworth have fine bones so you would get a higher ratio of meat to bone and it says on the ALBC site that you would get 70% of the carcass.

Do you have Tamworth and Large Blacks they sound wonderful

 

[Dino]

Berkshire are also a heritage breed. Just about any breed will forage I have found. Some work the soil more than others but that is a very good thing in most situations. Tamworth are you not truthfully a heritage breed as the Tamworths of today are recreations...