The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: verdifish on August 13, 2013, 01:11:11 pm
-
Our sow is due to pig in the next few days and having had a BBQ at the weekend one of the guests and a workmate of mine have both expressed an interest in maybe. Having kune,s what would be a fair price? The Piglets could be registered(gilts only as they are our 1st litter) we didn't pay much for the sow as she was rescued by a freind so what should I be asking for the piglets??? Cherers Verdi
-
Regular pedigree piglets go for around £40-£50 each so i'd use that as your guide, don't know about KK's but HH will be along to advise i'm sure.
Or you could check the kune kune website for more info.
HTH
mandy :pig:
-
Thanks mandy , I take it HH is a kk guru?
-
Guru :roflanim: Just a keen enthusiast ;D
Our Kunekune piglets sell for between £90 and £150. They're all birth notified to the BKKPS, wormed and fully vaccinated for erysipelas (2 jags) before they leave here. We normally wean them at 8 weeks and keep them here for an extra 2 weeks just to be sure they're doing fine without mum.
Meat weaners go for £90 (unregistered) usually sub-breeding standard gilts or boars which haven't been castrated due to hernia risk (if uncastrated boars are being sold for pork I never mix the sexes ;))
Breeding boars (if there are any good enough) are £150 and breeding gilts are £125 - these are registered with the BKKPS.
Most of our boars are castrated by the vet between 3 and 6 weeks old (closed castration) and these tend to be the ones that go to outdoor 'pet' homes (never indoors or singly with disillusioned owners ::)) because of the cost of castration they are £125 each. Castrated boars are really the best option for 'pet' pigs - they don't have any of the hormones or urges that uncastrated boars and gilts have :innocent: Piggy PMT is not to be underestimated :D But castrates just follow you around like big, mucky dogs waiting for a treat or a belly rub ;D
We also run some on for pork, so by having all the boars castrated, we know we can run them all together in one big family herd and we'll not have any little accidents.
If you've not already, join the BKKPS (only £14 per year :thumbsup:) without membership you'll not be able to birth notify or register any offspring. The website and forum are packed full of useful information and there's a newsletter sent out quarterly with lots of information too.
http://www.britishkunekunesociety.org.uk/ (http://www.britishkunekunesociety.org.uk/)
HTH
Karen :wave:
-
Thanks Karen,
I have already read quite a few of your posts before and since we've got the kune kunes, my OH is just a little slower on the uptake, particularly where technology is concerned!
I have joined us up to the BKKPS and have the details etc to be able to birth notify, and I have read quite a few bits on there, it's a very useful website.
Still no piglets yet, but I think it'll be within the next week, verdifish had been hoping they would be there for the barbecue we had at the weekend, but I didn't think she was far enough on.
We got her from a friend of a friend, through this forum, who had rescued them from England and was told one sow was in pig, but all were running with the boar!
They were at least 7 weeks separated from the boar when we got her at the beginning of July, and looked well in pig.
I thought probably mid to end of August would be most likely, so any time for now, and with udders filling up, and increasing nesting and lying around outside, she seems to be getting ready for it, no doubt will happen when noone is looking!
I agree with you with piggy hormones, the pregnant sow is quite a grump with me, is fine most of the time, then occasionally charges, and bit once. Since she got a smack on the nose and a firm 'no' she seems to be a bit better, and does come to me for cuddles on her terms.
The young gilt is obviously not quite sexually mature, and is a much happier camper, plays and gives kisses!
They are good fun to have around, and we are looking forward to bringing up the wee ones!
-
Hi there :wave:
We sell all of our piglets for £100 each, no matter if they are castrated or registered or not.
I just find it easyer that way, but I used to charge £150 for some good girls
I always have to turn people away from each litter as I can never have enough piglets, however it defo depends on the time of the year, I have kept back 4 for the freezer this time and for the first time two are lovely gilts, however if I sold them then I wouldnt have what I want for the freezer..
-
Tis true I am just getting used to this technology malarky but I will get there. I only wish I knew where THERE was!!!
-
Blimey :o You folks get good money for your piglets, how do you manage it? :thinking:
-
Blimey :o You folks get good money for your piglets, how do you manage it? :thinking:
They all stick together, and no-one severely undercuts. Therefore the KK market works !
Unlike the rest of the market, where you can buy cheap, so no-one dares buck the trend !
When feed process go up, pig prices stay the same. :(
-
I know that I'll struggle to get anything like half the price for my pedigree GOS piglets when they arrive. :fc:
-
You've got to be confident with your pricing - we're trying to make a viable business from breeding pigs (2 years in and no sniff of profit :-\) so we need to factor in costs of medicines, cost of keeping the sows and extra feeding/bedding etc for when the piglets come along.
Our big breed weaners this year (cross bred from pedigree parents - so all for the freezer) will be selling for £60 each. They'll be wormed and vaccinated against ery before they leave and once they're weaned they stay here for at least a week before leaving to make sure they're 100% okay and coping without mum.
We are (in my eyes at least) good breeders who provide the best care and welfare standards to our pigs and unfortunately it all comes at a cost. By the time we factor in all the costs, we're lucky if there's any 'profit' per piglet (which, if we were paying ourselves a wage wouldn't even cover the time we spend looking after them every day)
We're not cash rich so need to make the pigs pay for themselves if they're to stay (and I really want to keep them here as we've got one of the rarest lines of Large Black) we're lucky that people who buy weaners from us understand the struggle and can see the quality of the stock & the care we give them - if it wasn't for the continued support of our customers we wouldn't be breeding.
Pig feed prices are at their highest, so it follows that the price of weaners has to go up (unless you'd rather give folk your hard earned cash ?) by underselling/undervaluing your stock you're not doing yourself any favours in the long term and might upset other breeders in your area if you (as a relitively new breeder) are selling your piglets for a lot less then theirs. So do your sums and make sure they all add up ;) :thumbsup:
(Sorry, this sounds a bit negative - not my intention but I'm rushed.....always in a rush lately ::))
Karen :wave:
-
Speaking as someone who rears pigs for meat, the price of Kune Kune makes no sense. I can understand people paying a lot for a cute pet type pig but for a meat pig? All the kune kune carcasses I've seen at the abattoir were the subject of much mirth among the staff there due to their odd shape and incredible fat content. Does anyone seriously rear them for meat? Don't they take a long time to finish? Spose they'd make a decent sausage.
-
I would think location also plays a big part in your piglet priceing stratagy,living up in banff it will be interesting to see what a realistic price really is . From this litter we will sell what we sell and the rest are going for sausages. Next year we will be able to alter our sales\pricing stratagy using this years experiences as a starting block.
-
I must admit to a degree of amazement when I saw the prices. I've been to numerous markets when Kune Kune piglets haven't attracted so much as a bid and if they did, then they've been sold for next to nothing. ???
-
For us the attraction came with their adaptabillity and being great for 1st timers and making great pets and meat aside this will allways make them popular!
-
-
The odd thing with micro pigs is there,s technically no such thing and plenty of very unscrupulous breeders selling kunekunes but calling them micro pigs which as somewhat soiled the airpropulsion device for them.
-
Kunekunes make fantastic pork pigs :yum: ours are at 'killing weight' between 10 and 12 months old having only eaten a fraction of a traditional breed. They're only fatty if they're overfed and kept in unsuitable environments (they need plenty of space - half an acre minimum) and that's down to the owner, not the pig ;)
We've had traditional breeds with more fat on them than our Kunekunes - so the myth about them being fatty is just not true, again it's down to the owner to control the hard feed, they'll not get fat on grass :innocent:
The castration costs are probably what pushes the price up - a closed castration (to reduce the risk of inguinal hernias) will cost on average £50 per piglet :o
I could write for hours about how great they are ::) ;D (you'll all be pleased to hear I'm in a rush and can't :innocent:) but for lots of people they're the perfect pig :thumbsup:
Right, off to wean 16 Kunekune piglets and socialise cuddle them :excited: :excited: :excited:
-
Mine have only ever had the normal castration, I have had two piglets go wrong when I changed the vet but apart from that they are usually fine.
I dont advertise my piglets, just birth notify them, then I spose people look them up on the BKKPS website under recent notifications.
I think the appeal for them is that although they are slow growing, they require much less feeding.
They do need a good deal of space though so they dont go fat, my pigs have got a good amount of muscle and are nice and lean. And then if kept on nice flat grass they dont root/root as much
My pigs have not rooted since winter 2011, but when people ask if they root I dont say that they wont! its just my ground is hard and flat and grass, they will root up weeds.
When the sows arent feeding piglets they dont get fed, (well between April-October) but they do have 2 acres of grazing and I have a good supply of windfall apples.
They do make very tasty pork and sausages, the bacon is lovely but I have only tasted my friends bacon as of yet, cant wait to make my own :)
Due to me taking the pigs far (Barton Hill in Hereford) for the boar last time I only just managed to break even
My parents might be moving in the next few months to a house with no land and so I am moving some of my sheep to rented land near my Uni (cirencester) but cannot find anyone who is willing to rent land to 2 pigs (the two sows who I cannot bear to part with)
So my kunekunes might not be around for much longer :gloomy:
-
Kune kune pigs have taken a knock in price due to the micro pig pet market I think,for a while big prices were being got for pets.This was fine but lead to a lot being bred due to the chance to make money,The problem then arises that people get fed up with there pets when they grow to adults and poss over feed them in the prosses.Kune thrive on grass and veg diet and need very little pig pellets,especialy in summer if grazing is a available,concentrates are needed in winter but they will eat hay and,haylage as well.For a quality breeding pig or boar then I would expect a good price,if reg,but for unreg stock a realistic price should only be the same as any other meat pig.A kune piglet grazing and getting a bit of hard feed will take longer to mature,we kill ours at about 10 months,poss earlier with a boar,maybe taking longer to mature than some breeds but should cost less if on grass.If over fed yes they will put fat on but so will any rare breed pig.Look for a good long back when choosing a piglet for meat.We have been selling kune meat for a few years and its lovely tasty meat and not fatty if the pig is fed right,if you have a older fatter pig and wish to eat it put the whole pig to sausages and ask the butcher not to put all the fat in,i can recommend the meat.Another factor is that the kune has a lovely temperament compared to some breeds and is a pleasure to own.At 10 months you can expect about 43 kilos of meat back from the butcher to enjoy.