The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: sausagesandcash on January 21, 2011, 06:08:05 pm
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My ladies only seem to farrow at night! Still, we got eleven lovely weaners last night (I decided to stay up and watch the birthing process). This sow has always farrowed fine unassisted, but I just wanted a look see. What a wonderful, if lengthy process...and a tad cold too (-6).
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oh bless well done pics please :pig: :wave:
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We find three periods - as it gets dark, aorund 10-11pm (last check - oh good ::) - 1's just started, oh well make the coffee!), and at daylight.
We get the occaional "during the day", but these are rare.
If you think about nature, this makes sense. A wild pig would be busy foraging for food during daylight, and it would not make sense to stop doing this to risk giving birth with lots of daylight scavengers around who could see you from far away. Better to wait until dark, and have them in darkness, that way you have until morning for them to gain some strength. Alternate strategy, wait until it gets just light, check for no danger, and then have them. We find much the same with sheep.
Congratulations !
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and horses
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My pics are too large to upload, but some are on http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/livestock/1826959
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They really have that ooooooooooo factor.
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Maybe this isn't the place to ask but....how do you breed your pigs (stop laughing). I mean do you keep a male at all times to do it?
How much land do you have? What do you do with the weaners as they grow (sell them?)?
We have fattened and butchered 2 years in a row now. 50 pounders in March then butcher in October.
I would love to do the whole cycle of breed, birth, butcher......
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Maybe this isn't the place to ask but....how do you breed your pigs (stop laughing). I mean do you keep a male at all times to do it?
How much land do you have? What do you do with the weaners as they grow (sell them?)?
We have fattened and butchered 2 years in a row now. 50 pounders in March then butcher in October.
I would love to do the whole cycle of breed, birth, butcher......
Hi YankieGirl, if you haven't done it before then you can't know the answers, unless you have had the benefit of talking to people in "the know" which is where all these Guys come in.
Some people keep boars on site, some people mainly do AI(for which it is best to have a boar or you can use a product called "boar mate"), some people borrow aboar(something I've never done) Just all depends on land or space you have available.
Outdoors its approx. 10-12 sows per acre.
What you do with year weaners depends on what market your selling to. You can sell them as weaners(6kg), growers(30kg), porkers(65kg), cutters(75kg), Baconers(85kg-110kg). It all depends who your selling them to.
With weaners that grow you change their diets in stages(piglet, weaner, grower, fattener diets) and either split them down and/or move them to different accommodation.
And I don't see why if that is what you wish to do that, that you can't do it.
So go for it Girl!!!! ;D
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StevieG
Thanks for the info and encouragement!
At some point I will do exactly what you say...go for it. I have found that if I wait until I feel comfortable with a new adventure, I'd never do it.
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10 sows per acre seems a bit more than my land would take. I would be comfortable with 6 on good dry land. Boars are great, but remember they grow blooming great tusks, not a problem, just be aware when handling them.
Of course growing your own piglets is just phenomenal.
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Yankiegirl
We do keep a boar (we have another bloodline in at the moment for a service, and then he's up for sale). We generally sell as weaners, but have done fattened pigs before. Weaners are the handiest, in my opinion. We have circa 7 acres.