[Blonde]

Yes it is all for my freezer. Not for sale to anyone. The prices are exactly what the butcher would be charging for this quality of meat from his own shop. Also, with the retail price printed on the labels the family have an additional idea of the value of what they are helping themselves to!

The £££ exercise was purely out of curiosity.... and to, perhaps, encourage other folk to have a go at having weaners...is that a problem?? The travel costs are two round trips of 50 miles, the straw was free, the water was free.

Last year I did it all the same but had no idea about whether the costs/returns were well balanced.... this year I know!! It is good to know that we are not paying crazily over the odds....I, for one, dont have so much money i can spend it willy-nilly on things without being careful. If the balance was the other way ie. it cost me £775 to get meat worth £472 i would not be able to do it!! 

Sally your assessment is spot on!!    Yeh, I do feel a bit wet!
Emma T

Water is not free, you lhave to pump it from some where to another place and that cost money in fuel or in power.  I have the same thing but it cost money in power to bring it to the surface.

By looking around and getting seconds grain/ brewery waste, day old bread, and understanding your feed and your feed conversions you can grow meat cheap than your mate or your neighbour.  I fyou get grain from the bin and you have a nutrionist on board or access to one you can obtain as a good a mix as you buy by doing your own.  You can also add straw to your feed mixes as necessary

[pikilily]

Rainwater
ET

[pikilily]

.....but I suppose thats not free either, because i have to carry it, and i have to be fed and clothed!!
ET

[DeeDee]

Hi Pikilily

For what it is worth, I think you've done a great job. We sell our free range pork at prices around those charged by our local butcher and what our nearest supermarket charge for their "higher welfare" pork. The beauty is that we know our pigs are truly free range and so do our customers - they can see the pigs and where they live and forage.

There is always something left over every time we sell our fresh meat, and this goes straight into our freezer. We see this as our greatest perk and eat the best quality, finest pork that money can buy, and we need only account for this in our trading records at cost - so we know we're getting a bargain! We know exactly what has gone into it - what our pigs have been fed, where their bedding has come from and how they have been born and raised. That knowledge is priceless! We will never be millionaires but boy do we eat well!!!

So don't let anyone rain on your parade, enjoy the (delicious) fruits of your labours and savour every mouthful!

Dee

[RobbyM]

Pikilily, you have done an exceptional job on raising those pigs, I think there are very few people on this site, including me that could get those kind of weights at 6 months with such a low fat covering.

Good job

[pikilily]

   
thanks guys!!

I really wasn't looking for high praise from anyone....     ...just pleased that it has worked out well.....and hopefully it may encourage someone else to have a bash.  After all that's what the forum is all about.....Encouragement!!

Emma T xx

[DeeDee]

Go girl!

And I agree with RobbieM, so any top tips you have to share with us.............I'm all ears (or is it eyes?)!

Dee x

[pikilily]

I honestly dont know what I have done that would be special !!! They did get rainwater....apart from once or twice when I ran out.  They got apples from the orchard when they ripened..vegetables from the garden when available..other than that I did exactly as I did last year ( got the same growing results then, btw, but dont have the facts and figures as evidence) and followed the general feeding pattern 1lb/month of age/ day/ pig < 6lb

Perhaps its the love and attention they got. I played with them with balls, including a pilates ball, groomed them and laughed at and with them.  They got plenty of exercise galloping around their paddock. 

Maybe they looked up each day and thought 'Oh goody here comes Emma';  as opposed to 'Oh chrims, here comes that bitter grumpy ol' goat'.... ........................................oops, just my imagination being fed by the tone of some of the replies 
Emma T 

Seriously, I think its probably has to be down to the good breeding line!!  Speak to Lunanlife about that bit !

[robert waddell]

if i have been following this correctly what you spent on feed equalled426 kilos now in month 5 that would be 30 days x5 kilos =150 kilos x by two =300kilos leaving 126 kilos for month 3 and 4  and 6
are you right or am i right
some may see this as being picky but i think it is important to correctly inform people 

[pikilily]

Oh yes - I stand most humbly corrected. That should have read lbs.  we can always rely on you to find our errors and mistakes! 
Emma T

[robert waddell]

it is not about finding errors or mistakes it is about putting pork on as cheaply as possible      the holly grail

[Pheasant pharmer]

Hi pikilily

I absolutely understand your interest in working out your returns even though that's not your driver for doing it in the first place. 

We've just raised our first two weaners and now have them secured in the freezer and are enjoying the pork and bacon.

We all want to know that what we are doing isn't costing us more than it's worth, although it's very difficult to value the enjoyment we got from raising the pigs and having them around. We will definitely do some more once we make the space in the freezer!

 

[scotelf]

Thanks for taking the time to post this pikilily, I've a business plan to prepare and it's helped me immensely (I've taken into account that the pork was for your own consumption).
You've done a great job with your pigs, I hope I'll come close with mine next year   

[pikilily]

Hey Lynn,  before you give your costings to a 'bank manager' or someone of that ilk, it may be good to get a similar breakdown from someone else, or even a few others, then take the average figures.

hope your plans come to a happy conclusion!!
Emma T