[Dundonald hens]

Well said Beth !
The 2 pigs we had last year gave us hours of amusment watching them I had even got a big float from the fishing boats as a trade for a chicken so i could drill holes init and fill it wih food ( dare i say Bought food ) and then we would sit and laugh as they played withit trying to get the food out.
They also would run after the horses then the horses would turn and chase them and so on and so  as if they were playing tig with each other.
Its not all about cheap meat or growing veg and stuff for them its like all the other animals we have its about the enjoyment and the quality time spent with them and the family oh and of course some good yummy dinners !!!!

[ballingall]

Hi gavo,

It wasn't your comment I meant- I actually consider bringing in (for example) a new boar for new blood lines to be the same equivilent as a stud fee. Though obviously with a boar it would split out over several litters (hopefully).

And, I would expect people buying weaners in NI are going to be aware that costs may be higher. I have sent goats to both Southern Ireland and NI before, and I know it is NOT easy.

No- its more the fact that I don't think people should be expecting their piglets to pay for their sow's food for the full year.


Beth

[gavo]

I most definately agree with you if you have pigs you have to expect costs,but as you say they more than pay for their keep in enjoyment and as stress relievers ;nothing better after a hard day at work than to go down the field and give the pigs a good scratch and have a chat with them.

[Padge]

gavo.....i did say whilst ducking for cover

The osb weaners in question were not registered and we were not looking to breed. The lady in question quite openly boasted that due to demand for hobby farmers wanting to keep pigs she had a waiting list and could pretty much command whatever price she liked. We opted to go back tou our original breeder and had saddlebacks.
I follow and read with interest a blog from a guy calling himself stonehead. He's a crofter in Scotland. He runs a very raw account of his pig keeping experiences trials tribulations et al. I have often wished that when it came to buying our weaners we lived nearer. I have no objection whatsoever for paying good money for good quality stock we ourselves keep and breed sheep....for a sustainable way of life....all for very romantic notions....and we love it....and when it comes to the costs involved neither of us are fools....BUT we are all to much aware that there are some very unscrupulous people out there.....

[Tiva Diva]

I don't agree with the folks who feel we should be subsidising our pig-breeding. If any of you have been on Tony York's course at pig paradise he's quite vociferous on the subject. He wants breeders of good rare breed pigs to keep breeding - which they won't do if they're losing money on it. Of course we shouldn't be ripping buyers off - but we do expect to turn a (small) profit on our pig-keeping, through the sale of pork and of piglets. We are not wealthy enough to breed and keep pig at a loss - and if we were, we shouldn't: selling too cheaply would drive other breeders out of business. (Though if we factored in our time, even at minimum wage, we would definitely be making a loss!)
To keep a large, good quality gene pool going we need plenty of rare breed pig breeders.
Also, some "cheap" pure bred weaners may be a bad bargain. We bought in a batch of OSBs at a low price - and they never did well, taking much longer (therefore costing more in feed) than our home bred ones to reach slaughter weight. One of them also had erisipylas!
Caveat emptor

[gavo]

I don't think anyone minds a breeder making a profit(chance would be fine thing) but as Padge has stated this breeder was "making hay while the sun shines" which whilst not inherently wrong does gall a bit when they were so blatant about it they should be more subtle (and dare i say it they would probably get the price they wanted).We do need to remember that many are farming as a business even if it is on a small scale, as specialist niche markets are still presently vaguely profitable;we consider ourselves lucky if the farm "wipes its face" which it does sometimes.

[Padge]

  .........sometimes

[HappyHippy]

I think it might have been me who made the comment about the cost of the sow's feed 
I don't want to make huge profits from my pigs (as someone said 'chance would be a fine thing' ) but I can't afford them not to cover their costs  If that were the case I wouldn't be able to breed and try to help keep some of these breeds going. That's my prime motivation for breeding, if it weren't for that I would buy weaners from someone else to raise for slaughter. As Tiva Diva says - if you can't cover your costs or make a small profit it's not good sense to continue breeding and what would we do then 
I'm not greedy but I'm not rich either and do need to at least break even - I only hope that people who see my pigs realise that they've had the very best care and start in life are prepared to pay the prices I sell for.
Karen x

[robert waddell]

OK some hard facts     discount the cost of your pigs either weaner's gilts or in pig gilts        and go straight to production 2 pigs having 2 litters per year and 1 boar to cover them you feed 4lbs of sow rolls to each pig increased to 8 lbs when lactating   with feed costing £300 per ton
that is 5 and a quarter tons of feed  rounded to £1600  20 piglets per year is £80 per weaner ,if you are lucky and get 40 weaner's it comes down to £40 each add on birth notification registration BPA MEMBERSHIP individual club membership collecting fruit and veg straw tags and wormer
YOU ARE BASICALLY PAYING SOMEBODY TO TAKE THEM OF YOU HANDS     you are all needing a reality check
go out and buy the £5 specials
are they such a bargain are they diseased what is there parentage   how long do you keep them to get a good return  will they put on 5-12 kilos of pork per week       my pigs can and the figures are open to scrutiny     22 weeks old and 90 kilos without forcing them

[gavo]

Padge

Generally the farm makes a little money when we sell meat, the weaners cover their costs,but i live for the day when they both make money,i reckon if i live to about 110 i might just see it happen!

[gavo]

R obert

I have no qualms paying or charging quality prices for quality stock as i've said before pay for shite and that's what you get i've chatted to people who are quite happy to spend a fortune on clothes and shoes and vast sums of money on pets but they can't see further than the end of their nose when it comes to pig prices why oh why are pigs such an undervalued animal?

[robert waddell]

at stirling show yesterday the amount of people that viewed the hamtams and asked about the mythical micro pig  do they grow to that size       pointing to the sow       yes           what weight is she 260-300 kilos  no not wanting one now          bugger just not got the sales pitch polished of yet

[Padge]

gavo
we may.......if we're lucky......break even in the nxt 18 months.....tho i have to say we are not running this as a business it is purely as hobbyists with a desire to produce something good for ourselves along the way. I think you misunderstand my tongue in cheek 'sometimes' quip   as we know all too well even at our level  it really is 'sometimes'

[gavo]

Padge i did "get it" just wanted to highlight that money isn't everything even though i'm meant to be running the farm as a business (it's a hobby that got out of hand) so now it tries to justify itself as workig.