The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: goodlife on October 09, 2010, 09:14:42 am
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Hi all
I want to raise 3 piglets for meat,
I would love any advice for a first timer
The plan was to get them over the summer months but we are now in October, it is still good to do at this time of year for a first timer what are the pros and cons
plenty of people are doing it but as a first timer I want to get it right
looking forward to you hearing your advice :pig:
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Hiya,
Firstly WELL DONE for asking questions and thinking about it BEFORE getting your pigs - so many folk just rush in with little or no forethought :(
I'd advise waiting til spring for a few reasons
1) It'll cost more to raise them to weight in the winter as most of their food be used just keeping warm.
2) You'll need a more substantial house for them over winter (especially if it's a winter like last year) Spring to Autumn raising you can get away with something made from straw bales or pallets.
3) Ease of tending them - it's no fun trailing out, in the dark, cold winter days and your fields would get more cut up and really muddy - pigs DO like mud, but only when it's warm. Cold, wet and mud makes for unhappy pigs (and can lead to arthritus)
4) You'll want to spend time with them, they are hilarious and great fun - it's more enjoyable doing it in better weather.
Obviously these are just my thoughts on it, and by all means it is possible to do it autumn to spring, it's just easier and a bit cheaper to start in the springtime.
HTH
Karen
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HH makes some very good points, and as you have not yet started, I would agree that waiting until spring is certainly a good option.
BUT - plenty of our customers grow pigs all year round, and as long as you go in eyes open, there is no reason not to start at this time of year - HH's coments should be taken on board, and more planning is required to consider things like getting them into a trailer in say February, and how you will feed them and when, and we tend to move our pigs more in winter to help keep ground reasonable. But with three pigs it is not as though you will be large scale, so have a think.
Good luck whichever route you choose
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Yes, I'd definitely wait for spring, too, if you can chose. If, say, they're born in March, you can pick them up in May and take them to slaughter in September, which works out really well.
There's not only a big difference in size between a 6-month old pig fattened in winter compared to one fattened in summer, but it'll be so much more pleasant for yourself, too, and ultimately nicer for the pigs when they have long days to root around instead of long nights to be bored.
We spend quite a lot of time sitting in their pen during the summer evenings - and warm mud is much more pleasant to get covered in than cold mud! ;D
Ask away, you'll learn a lot in their first year but it's great fun and they taste divine!
Eve :wave:
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Very good advice.
Although if you are like me, I couldn't wait to get my pigs. So the thought of waiting even 4 months to get my first pigs seemed a lifetime.
I got my first at the beginning of a November and loved every minute. I now have 35 and they keep coming :) :) :love: :pig: :love:
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hi we got our first tamworth last october and it was fine through the winter. with three they will keep each other to huddling up to for heat. as for feeding them set the time for when its still clear cause they will stick to the same time every day. pigs like company.so more than one is a good idea.
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:pig: :chook: hi there yes pigs are great fun and very time consuming, they are so great to just watch and they love to be brushed every day ;D
I an also new to the whole pig keeping experience, but must say its so enjoyable.
we got 4 welsh weaners in August they were 8 wks old and so cute, when it rains it rains here in Cornwall but its been dry for a few weeks now and its nearly dried out.
We will be sending them off to be slaughtered in November and I'm dreading it :-[ .
good luck with whatever u decide to do but pigs are great :love:
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Pigs are wonderful any time of the year. For your first venture it may be that you would find waiting until the spring better. Your first pigs will prove to be an almost magnetic attraction to you and family. Its so much nicer standing watching (or sitting) on a warm day than a freezing cold wet one. Although the novelty never really wears off the first pair are always the most memorable. Also the learning curve of pig keeping is a steep one. So much better to learn that the electric fence is too low/high not strong enough etc. when the weather is good and the nights longer rather than managing with a torch in a howling November gale. Thats just a personal thought after years of keeping pigs. Personally nothing could have deterred me, except the very real difficulty of finding outdoor rare breed pigs here in Brittany at that time.
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hy ya goodlife i have to say i agree with those that say wait till spring to get them in.
we are new to pig keeping ourselves, we are on our 2nd lot of pigs now, the present ones are going to slaughter in november
and i was thinking of getting some in again, but after reading those replys about bringing pigs up in winter concerens me so i will
wait till spring, you know it makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!
langdon ;) :pig:
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I had forgotten about the water. I wheelbarrow about 400 litres of water twice a day when the pipes freeze. Worst of all is wheelbarrowing the containers through mud when its raining and the pipes are still frozen.
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That's commitment for you!! Chapeau!
Eve :wave:
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we got our first lot of pigs in feb and kept them till summer & had lots of wet and horrible days during that time period - though not as cold as winter obviousyl. However, we found that nothing in the veg garden was ready and we spent a lot on feed.
we get our secnd lot week after next and already we have lots of apples, root veg and pots for them so expecting the feed costs to actually be a bit less. time will tell of course but planning to keep an eye on our 'experiment'. we have 2 separate areas marked off for them so we can move them half way in the hopes that neither area gets too muddy.
one of the areas is a rather over grown veggie plot and i'm hoping they will root and eat everything and have it ready for me to plant up in the spring - yet another reason why we are trying over the winter this time.
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:pig: :pig: :pig:
Finally I have got my 3 piggys
OS&B we have 2 girls 1 boy all 14 weeks old
any advice would be great
the kids are loving it and when they go off to school I take my turn
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Congrats ;D
Is the boar entire? If so you will need to separate the pigs relatively soon - someone else on here with far more experience than I will be able to give you a timescale.
In the meantime enjoy ;D
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Yes the boy is intact
and I was starting to worry about this
they are for the freezer
but any advice please on when i should be separating them
thanks
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Is it worth thinking about getting the vet to castrate him? Don't have to worry about taint then, either.
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Hi
We keep O.S.Bs we separate the sexes by around 4/5 moths we keep entire boars until around 11 months and have never had taint. When you separate them keep them within sight/ hearing of each other or you'll have a very lonely boar.
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Congratulations on your OSBs. They're a magnet for all kinds of folks, people will borrow children as an excuse to come and see them! (And bring you sacks and sacks of apples for them in the autumn.)
The organic farm shop & cafe across the road were quite upset when I moved mine into a different spot, away from the road, for a few weeks - clearly they and their customers had been enjoying conversing with Meg over the wall! (And so had Meg - but we had to fence off the bit we just sowed with turnips and cabbages... ;))
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We separate our OSBs at 4 months old: I do know of people who have had "accidents" leaving boars and gilts together longer than that. We've kept an entire OSB boar to 10 months and had no problems with taint either.
I absolutely agree with SallyIntNorth about the interest your pigs will generate: everyone will want to come and visit them and bring you spare apples, plums etc for them.
Thinking ahead to when you slaughter them: it would be kindest to send all three at one go. You certainly shouldn't leave just one behind, and I don't like to send one to slaughter on its own.
Enjoy your pigs!
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We kept a GOS boar and his two sisters together until they went to the butchers at 21 weeks old and never had any problems, he didn't seem interested in them i don't know if this was because they were his siblings or he just had no male influences to encourage him to do boy stuff.
HTh
Mandy :pig:
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I absolutely agree with SallyIntNorth about the interest your pigs will generate: everyone will want to come and visit them and bring you spare apples, plums etc for them.
Absolutely! We've always got people hanging over the dyke and taking photos of them - locals and tourists alike.