[Sarahjane610]

I've had a few pigs for several months now - 2 grown for meat and 2 as pets and I have absolutely loved the experience so far (even dragging myself out on dark and wet nights!)

I think I would really like to extend my experience by breeding some weaners to sell.  I'm not looking to make significant money or to leap into anything major but would like to give it a go.

Leaving aside land, outbuildings, shelter, vet etc - these are already in place, what do I need to think about before I commit to producing a litter?  Some of the questions I already have are: 1) how do I know (as much as you can) that there is a market in your area, 2) are there certain breeds that sell better than others or any to avoid, 3) would you avoid any breeds that are already being sold in the area 4) would you go for a sow in pig, a sow where you know a boar of tha same breed is available for rent in the area, or AI? 

I've literally just started thinking about this seriously and probably won't make any solid moves until later in the year but would like to feel I have looked into all the relevant factors before I do anything else.

Thanks!!

[bj_cardiff]

I can answer some questions as someone who buys weaners most years..

The reason I buy is usualy down to price, I have my pen/field ready for them and look online at sales pages regularly so I'm in a positon to wait and see what turns up. I usually pay between £20 and £30 per piglet and its a bit of a gamble as to what they are (people lie) so hard to tell what their growth rates will be and how long they'll take to finish as its different every year.

I've often thought about keeping a gilt back and breeding but I can't see any profit in it. If a sow farrows 10 piglets and their sold for £25 each = £250, is that really enough to keep the sow fed for 6 months, and the cost of feeding any weaners that don't sell straight away and the cost of hiring a boar?

I suppose I'd look at all of the online free ads and facebook and see what weaners sell for in your area. If their all cheap, you might end up selling them at a loss?

[greenbeast]

I've often thought about keeping a gilt back and breeding but I can't see any profit in it. If a sow farrows 10 piglets and their sold for £25 each = £250, is that really enough to keep the sow fed for 6 months, and the cost of feeding any weaners that don't sell straight away and the cost of hiring a boar?

i think you could almost feed a sow for a year on that but yes you've got boar/AI costs and then any leftovers have to be fed/sold at a loss

[harmony]

I've often thought about keeping a gilt back and breeding but I can't see any profit in it. If a sow farrows 10 piglets and their sold for £25 each = £250, is that really enough to keep the sow fed for 6 months, and the cost of feeding any weaners that don't sell straight away and the cost of hiring a boar?

i think you could almost feed a sow for a year on that but yes you've got boar/AI costs and then any leftovers have to be fed/sold at a loss

That is less than £5 for a bag of feed per week. Where is it possible to buy sow nuts for less than a fiver? When the sow has a litter she needs more food. Then there is creep feed, bedding and worming. You have the cost of a boar to hire , keep or AI.


Selling weaners at £25 is not covering costs and certainly wont make you a profit.

[big soft moose]

I'm in no way an expert but £25 sounds awfully cheap to me  - from what I've seen on here, and on other sites most pure breed weaners seem to be about £40 ea

[Pigsmightfry]

It's a big step change from keeping a few weaners to breeding, mainly because if it goes wrong you could lose all the piglets and the sow. Furthermore, if you don't have an outlet for the piglets you could be left with a lot of hungry mouths to feed, which is expensive, they are then all ready for slaughter at the same time so you end up with a mountain of pork to try and sell.

We all end up with piglets that don't sell, you could sell them cheap but you are then giving any profit to someone else, so you really need to understand the market, preferably with pre-arranged buyers, then keep the runts (you will get them) for your own freezer.

You would be better off finding a local breeder and chatting it through with them, they will give you a good idea of how hard it can be raising weaners, and also how satisfying, along with all the pitfalls they found as they developed their breeding system.

Experience counts for everything, the more you have the more likely you are to succeed, enjoy keeping weaners and help out somewhere that breeds, you will then be in a better position to decide if you want to take the plunge.
Good luck

[kja]

I can answer some questions as someone who buys weaners most years..

The reason I buy is usualy down to price, I have my pen/field ready for them and look online at sales pages regularly so I'm in a positon to wait and see what turns up. I usually pay between £20 and £30 per piglet and its a bit of a gamble as to what they are (people lie) so hard to tell what their growth rates will be and how long they'll take to finish as its different every year.

I've often thought about keeping a gilt back and breeding but I can't see any profit in it. If a sow farrows 10 piglets and their sold for £25 each = £250, is that really enough to keep the sow fed for 6 months, and the cost of feeding any weaners that don't sell straight away and the cost of hiring a boar?

I suppose I'd look at all of the online free ads and facebook and see what weaners sell for in your area. If their all cheap, you might end up selling them at a loss?

If you buy pedigree birth notified weaners there is no gamble you can check d.o.b with the BPA. Believe it of not paying £45 for a pedigree weaner could save ££££'s in feed in the long run. The key to a good finished pig is a pig thats had the best start in life.

And as Harmony has said £250 wouldn't cover the sows feed cost for the year. And don't forget vaccinations etc have to be added to the yearly costings.

[bj_cardiff]

If you buy pedigree birth notified weaners there is no gamble you can check d.o.b with the BPA. Believe it of not paying £45 for a pedigree weaner could save ££££'s in feed in the long run. The key to a good finished pig is a pig thats had the best start in life.

I'm not knocking pedigree breeders, if I bred pigs they would be pedigree. IMO you need to get  at least £45 each for them to make any profit. However in this area (west wales) there are a lot of hobby breeders who like the idea and breed pigs, so the supply can be higher than demand and their not profit driven. Thats great for someone like me who is happy to raise cross bred weaners for the freezer. Nice crossbred free range porkers taste just as good as pedigree! 

[harmony]

If you buy pedigree birth notified weaners there is no gamble you can check d.o.b with the BPA. Believe it of not paying £45 for a pedigree weaner could save ££££'s in feed in the long run. The key to a good finished pig is a pig thats had the best start in life.

I'm not knocking pedigree breeders, if I bred pigs they would be pedigree. IMO you need to get  at least £45 each for them to make any profit. However in this area (west wales) there are a lot of hobby breeders who like the idea and breed pigs, so the supply can be higher than demand and their not profit driven. Thats great for someone like me who is happy to raise cross bred weaners for the freezer. Nice crossbred free range porkers taste just as good as pedigree!

Apart from the initial outlay to buy breeding stock a cross bred weaner costs no less than a pedigree one to rear. Hobby farmers very often haven't done their sums or believe that they don' need a profit and undercut those who do.


Good for people buying but not generally for the pig industry.  I also believe hobby farmers can do a great deal of harm to a breed registering and selling stock that doesn't meet the breed standard for breeding.

[Marches Farmer]

We breed pedigree GOS, have never had a runt in a litter, and generally have a waiting list for weaners.  We keep the most rare female bloodlines and, in an average year, I would register only around 10% of the gilts.

[harmony]

We breed pedigree GOS, have never had a runt in a litter, and generally have a waiting list for weaners.  We keep the most rare female bloodlines and, in an average year, I would register only around 10% of the gilts.

And that is how it should be!


However, I have lost count of the times I have asked "breeders" about underlines and they didn't know what I meant or queried whole litters suitable for registration.


Sorry maybe I should of said some hobby farmers!

[3county farm boy]

We breed pedigree GOS, have never had a runt in a litter, and generally have a waiting list for weaners.  We keep the most rare female bloodlines and, in an average year, I would register only around 10% of the gilts.

And that is how it should be!


However, I have lost count of the times I have asked "breeders" about underlines and they didn't know what I meant or queried whole litters suitable for registration.


Sorry maybe I should of said some hobby farmers!

When I was selling our Pedigree gos weaners I lost count of the amount of times people would phone me up months after buying and say they've decided to breed from one now so can I register it and send the paperwork on!!!!!! I never once did it was sold as unregistered it's because it wasn't good enough because it didn't meet breed standards. That's how they were advertised but people will always try it on

[hughesy]

On the other side of the coin, a few years ago we bought two gilts from a very well respected breeder one of which turned out to have a sub standard underline. didn't check when we picked them up as we trusted the breeder's reputation. Just shows.