The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: mowhaugh on November 07, 2014, 08:17:02 pm
-
So we have out first 4 Large Blacks back from the abattoir, and are quite pleased. They were 30 weeks, and have just over a cm of fat - our butcher said they would be a little too fat for most of his customers, but he thought they looked ideal.
As you know we deliberated at length over what to charge, and got lots of advice from people on here, which at times confused us more as people had very different ideas, but in the end we have decided the easiest way is to charge them on the weight on the abattoir tag, so we are going to charge £4.50/kg on that weight, but the pigs will then be butchered to their specification included in that price. So it will work out a bit more than that per kg to the customer, but exactly what will depend on what they have done to their piggie. As they are already weighed, it seems the most straightforward way to do it just now, we'll try it this time and see.
This will make us a small profit on each pig, although if I counted in my time, it probably would leave us breaking even. However, as I mainly have the children with me when doing piggy stuff, I don't mind not counting the time, if that makes sense.
Getting to this point has been quite scary, just so relieved they are not hugely fat! We have been weighing them and condition scoring, but as they are our first pigs, we didn't have anything to compare them with, so are looking forward to the next batch, if they ever arrive - Delilah is now a week overdue!
-
Can you feel the piglets moving whilst she's lying down? If the boar stayed with her she may have held to a second service :-\
-
Can you feel the piglets moving whilst she's lying down? If the boar stayed with her she may have held to a second service :-\
Yes, at least I am fairly sure I can - you know when you start to doubt yourself? She didn't stay with the boar, so she is definitely well overdue, and I have had several people check my counting!
I will ring the vet Monday, or before if she is at all off colour, but she is quite happy just now.
-
Gestational length is only a guide - gilts may well go several days over and hardly udder up at all before farrowing. Sometimes Mum looks as though she's got fifteen ferrets in a sack charging around her belly and sometimes nothing moves at all .....
-
Gestational length is only a guide - gilts may well go several days over and hardly udder up at all before farrowing. Sometimes Mum looks as though she's got fifteen ferrets in a sack charging around her belly and sometimes nothing moves at all .....
Thank you, that makes me feel a bit better. Keep hoping I will go out and they will have appeared, but not yet! We are new to pigs, just our second litter. How far over can they go? One of my ponies never foals before a full year, quite unusual, but totally normal for her, but don't know about pigs!
-
We have had one go upto ten days over sodon't panic yet, as MF says its only a guide, check for the signs, is her tush swollen dark pink, has her belly dropped (look thro her back legs to see) is there milk or liquid in her teats, is she making nests, these will all tell you roughly how far off she is
see http://www.gospbc.co.uk/so-you-want-to-keep-pigs-part-6/ (http://www.gospbc.co.uk/so-you-want-to-keep-pigs-part-6/) for more info
hth
Mandy :pig: