[happygolucky]

I do not keep any animals but we have a B&B and I have had loads of farmers and there is an equation for keeping any meat animal these days, not sure what it is but its a lot, I see a lot of people on here have a hobby and thats keeping animals and rearing them, so there are not many hobbies that actualy bring money back into your pocket.
The old ways of collecting left overs from people may have been far more profitable, I am afraid. like every thing else, things are harder now with rules and regs.......every business is effected!

[benkt]

We more or less break even on our pigs. In theory, according to my spreadsheets we should be making a little bit but it never seems to work out that way  in practice. On the other hand, they are a fantastic bit of marketing for the community farm and I think we would have far fewer families paying for just the veg and eggs etc. if we didn't offer the pork as well  so in a way they do earn their keep.

[happygolucky]

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Because pigs unlike sheep and cattle are primarily needing to be fed a diet that smallholders can't produce themselves, and which the costs of buying on competition with others wanting it globally have risen so hugely, the pig has gone from being a cheap thing to raise to the most uneconomic.

Unless feed rules are relaxed I can't see that changing sadly.

[hughesy]

An awful lot depends on who you sell your meat to. We don't sell weaners because it wouldn't pay. Selling a half pig for the sort of going rate is not much help either. It's difficult for sure.

[HappyHippy]

Because pigs unlike sheep and cattle are primarily needing to be fed a diet that smallholders can't produce themselves, and which the costs of buying on competition with others wanting it globally have risen so hugely, the pig has gone from being a cheap thing to raise to the most uneconomic.

Unless feed rules are relaxed I can't see that changing sadly.

It's the increase in feed costs and concern over sustainability of supply that's led me to decrease the number of traditional breed pigs I have and up the number of Kunekunes 
Although they are slower growing, they only take a fraction of hard feeding of the big breeds (1lb per day versus 6lbs for sows  ) and graze off the grass. You need a bit more space than you would for traditional breeds, but everything considered, they do fit the bill as a 'smallholders pig' and provide a low input pork supply
Karen

[suziequeue]

Is feeding straights cheaper?

[Beewyched]

Because pigs unlike sheep and cattle are primarily needing to be fed a diet that smallholders can't produce themselves, and which the costs of buying on competition with others wanting it globally have risen so hugely, the pig has gone from being a cheap thing to raise to the most uneconomic.

Unless feed rules are relaxed I can't see that changing sadly.

It's the increase in feed costs and concern over sustainability of supply that's led me to decrease the number of traditional breed pigs I have and up the number of Kunekunes 
Although they are slower growing, they only take a fraction of hard feeding of the big breeds (1lb per day versus 6lbs for sows  ) and graze off the grass. You need a bit more space than you would for traditional breeds, but everything considered, they do fit the bill as a 'smallholders pig' and provide a low input pork supply
Karen

  totally agree Karen.  It's a real shame so many folks have tried to keep KKs "the traditional way" & ended-up with fatty carcasses.  Mine definately produced leaner meat when they lived in steep woodland year round (with cosy huts of course!).
As for profit - my OH would hang out the flags if we broke even this year    
 

[LandieMan]

We make a profit but not a wage. Do not sell to a butcher or abattoir. You are producing a quality product with care and dedication. Sell the product to friends family and anyone in the village. We sell at £7/Kg for halves or whole and £8/Kg for meat boxes. This is a hobby that pays for itself. Don't expect to get rich, but cover your costs.

[Bodger]

I was talking to a good friend last night. He's got two breeding sows, both of which he's reared from being weaners. Between them, they've currently got 19 piglets and  they're ten weeks old. At the moment, the 21 animals are eating a full bag of proprietry pig food a day. At nearly nine pounds a bag, it doesn't need much working out as to how much a week he's spending on pig food. Suffice it to say, its a heck of a lot.
This coming Friday, the piglets are off to market and with the current pig prices being as they are, my mate is going to be well out of pocket. Its very hard to see how many people are currently making money out of pig keeping, infact, i can't see how they're avoiding making a loss.

[Berkshire Boy]

Over the gate your mate is a good example of what not to do [no offence intended]. As pigs are expensive to feed you need to make sure you have a market before breeding. Sending pigs to market is the one way to guarantee not making any money. You either need to have a market for the meat or like me a market for the weaners, you can't afford to have pigs on site with no outlet for them eating 5lb of feed a day.

[Hassle]

I am expecting to about break even..... As long as I don't include my daily rate or my better OHs but then the pigs where just really a hobby and to stop me or at least reduce me eating bacon and sausages from animals that have the government welfare package as opposed to a pigs life which mine live.

[fiestyredhead331]

we're the same as landieman, £7 per kg butchered to family friends etc which helps cover the feed costs etc and the rest is in our freezer so plentiful supply of amazing meat. We have another 2 fattening at the mo which are pretty much sold already.
Out of interest H&C are running a programme just now called farmers:year on the land which showed how exactly how pigs are kept purely for meat production in Ireland, 24 weeks without ever seeing a blade of grass.

[hughesy]

I think a division needs to be made when asking this question. Clearly there are a lot of people who fit into the hobby pigkeeper category and some who are doing it as a business. The two things don't compare really. Much the same as smallholding in general really.

[Bodger]

So true Hughsey.
This year I'm keeping pigs again and I also have laying hens, ducks and for the first time in ages, this year I have a few turkeys. I think I'm pretty savvy in the way that I'm keeping them but having gone through the mill a few times in the last thirty to forty years, I don't expect to make much if any money out of them. If you don't expect to make an overall profit, then its a bonus if you do and less of a disappointment when you don't. At my tender age, i feel fortunate in as much that being a smallholder is a lifestyle decision for me rather than a necessity.
The only way that I'm making any money at all, is by specialising and in my case, this is by making and selling cider and apple juice.