[highhorse]

hi guys

if i could fence an acre or so of land with shelters, would that be a suitble place to keep some pigs for breeding purposes?

is there pofit in selling piglets?

what breeds sell well, are hardy and of a gentle disposition?

any advice, suggestions appreciated :-)

x

[sabrina]

I don't breed pigs but have raised for pork. We have two Kune-Kune pigs going this week. My first experience of raising our own pork were the all black. I let them get too fat just because I lacked the experience. Being our 2nd lot of the Kune-Kune I find them easier to keep, cheaper but slower growing. At the rare breed sale last year piglets sold for £5. I buy ours from a breeder so you would have to find out if there is a market for any piglets you would be breeding in your area. Ground would need to be rotated .

[highhorse]

I don't breed pigs but have raised for pork. We have two Kune-Kune pigs going this week. My first experience of raising our own pork were the all black. I let them get too fat just because I lacked the experience. Being our 2nd lot of the Kune-Kune I find them easier to keep, cheaper but slower growing. At the rare breed sale last year piglets sold for £5. I buy ours from a breeder so you would have to find out if there is a market for any piglets you would be breeding in your area. Ground would need to be rotated .

gosh £5? that doesnt sound promising. i remember i bought some piglets about 8 years ago and i paid 40 each back then :-) . has the market crashed somewhat for pigs? ;( x

[bloomer]

good weaners from a reputable breeder are 40-60quid, but there are often more around than required, it will depend on your local area etc, weaners rarely make good prices at market its just not the place to sell them...


is there any money in it???


doubt it, i know a few pig keepers, at best its break even and a freezer full of pork once a year... at worst its a money pit...

[shygirl]

have you kept pigs before? if not get some weaners then reevaluate after a year or so.

i could say an acre isnt enough for breeding pigs 24/7 but many are raised for less ground so it depends on how it is managed, ground, worming, poo picking, whether they are in during winter etc whether you sell as weaners, or keep some on to finishing for yourself, whether you have to house a boar.
its very hard to make a profit.

weaners are much more fun and less risky. maybe get in a group of them and see if you have a market for meat near you. then the ground is rested when they have gone.

[highhorse]

hi shygirl

ive had pigs before but never in a 'got to make a bit of money sense'. only ever had 2 at a time and got them as weaners, cant evn remember the breeds

if i bought weaners is there a specific kind that i better to go for?

what age do you rear them too and where do you sell them.....paper as is....markets....butcher etc?

x :-)

[hughesy]

It's not fair to say there's no money in pigs but selling weaners isn't the way to make it. It costs upwards of 250 quid a year to keep a sow in feed alone, plus all the other costs. If you end up with a lot of weaners that you can't sell your finances are going to take a big hit and you'll probably end up sending them to market and getting a fiver each for them. I don't think an acre of land is enough fo a viable pig breeding venture really but could be ideal for keeping a few weaners to see how you get on and develop a market in your area.

[highhorse]

It's not fair to say there's no money in pigs but selling weaners isn't the way to make it. It costs upwards of 250 quid a year to keep a sow in feed alone, plus all the other costs. If you end up with a lot of weaners that you can't sell your finances are going to take a big hit and you'll probably end up sending them to market and getting a fiver each for them. I don't think an acre of land is enough fo a viable pig breeding venture really but could be ideal for keeping a few weaners to see how you get on and develop a market in your area.

if an acre wasn't enough, what do you think would be? (I have 20 but don't want to give it all to the pigs )

are you saying breeding is an option to make money only a few people I have spoken to have been negative about it and now I'm not sure, although it was in my original plan.

x

[hughesy]

It's not fair to say there's no money in pigs but selling weaners isn't the way to make it. It costs upwards of 250 quid a year to keep a sow in feed alone, plus all the other costs. If you end up with a lot of weaners that you can't sell your finances are going to take a big hit and you'll probably end up sending them to market and getting a fiver each for them. I don't think an acre of land is enough fo a viable pig breeding venture really but could be ideal for keeping a few weaners to see how you get on and develop a market in your area.

A lot will depend on the type of soil you have. We're on clay which is not the best for keeping pigs on as it gets very muddy and stays that way. An acre of land is capable of keeping a lot of pigs but will need to be rested for periods of time to recover, but if you have the option of moving your pigs around your 20 acres you'll be in a much better position. Our breeding stock are contained within electric fencing so we can move them easily. Generally we keep them in one field for about 6 months then move them on and use the field for something else. This year we're growing swedes and turnips on the ground that's been pigged out which will go towards the feeding over next winter. We have several smaller pens which house our various growing pigs until they go to the abattoir, some permanently fenced and some electric. I'd say about half of our 8.5 acres has pigs on it at any one time with the rest either growing stuff or being grazed by the geese/rested.

if an acre wasn't enough, what do you think would be? (I have 20 but don't want to give it all to the pigs )

are you saying breeding is an option to make money only a few people I have spoken to have been negative about it and now I'm not sure, although it was in my original plan.

x

[kja]

At the rare breed sale last year piglets sold for £5.

auction prices are very much dependant on time of year …..quality of stock…….and in most cases white pigs reach top prices.

the last time we took weaners in prices were down the first few pens of coloured weaners reached £3 - £7 we were ready to take ours home but they reached £35 which we were happy with considering the time of year being january which always sees prices down..

i have seen them reach £50 - £60 in late summer in readiness for the christmas pork trade, again whites win over.

maybe worth checking out local marts and doing some research before making any final decisions.

[hughesy]

kja has a good point regarding prices. I've seen weaners go for a fiver each, some for 60 quid each, and ready to go porkers sold for 60 quid all at the same sale. Coloured pigs go cheap because the butchers prefer white. They don't seem to realise that they all kill out the same colour. If you intend to sell at auction you need to provide what the buyers want. Offloading finished pigs that way is a definite loser or a nice opportunity depending on which side of the fence you're standing.

[FiB]

High horse I'm noticing a theme to your posts....     admire your aspirations .  If I didn't love rearing my own food, I have concluded so far ( 3 years ) that the best profit we would get on our  12 acres would be max small bale hay, rent winter grazing aftermath, and sfp. NO animals at all!  I think if you have good footfall or a great local farmers market, or developed a brand and did some serious footwork with local restaurants.... Maybe you would turn a decent profit on direct sales meat, but as others have said re all the other animals, reputation seems to take decades to build up if you want to sell live animals as breeding stock...  The trouble with smallholding re profit is one ill or dead animal blows the accounts disproportionately, so lucky year...bad year....no buffer.  Took a lamb to the vet a couple of months ago and lost a ewe over the winter... All profits blown :-(.  If only there was  a magic cash cow , excuse the pun, animal... 

[Backinwellies]

FiB .... total second your post ... have said much the same in HH cattle thread.

HH
If profit is your driver , or if you have to earn a living , don't expect it to come from your 20 acres with animals ...  a market garden in the right areas will make a decent profit  but if farmers are not making a living off 100's acres  then a few pigs/cows/sheep on 20 acres isn't going too.

We went into smallholding with our eyes open , aiming to break even if we could and make just enough to keep place going whilst feeding us our own grown food.  We bought smallholding outright so no mortgage or rent to service. We both continue to work elsewhere to earn our living and fund our smallholding in it's development.

The few on here do make a profit but they are mainly farming  sheep over large acreages or have developed a specialism over many years.

We do it cos we love it 

[Fowgill Farm]

Agree with all before, don't expect to make money on pig keeping, at the very best you'll break even and have some tasty pork in your freezer.
Have a look at www.gospbc.co.uk pig management tab which will give you some ideas and things to think about.
I cannot stress what a huge step going into breeding is, it is a massive learning curve and you have to take the rough with the smooth, an unpleasant vet bill or death of an animal can really kill your project.
It may be a help to you to contact somebody locally and see their set up.
Theres a lot to think about and consider
HTh
mandy

[hughesy]

All the above is true in varying degrees because every set up is different, every area is different, and we're all different. There's no magic right way to do it and nobody can really tell you how to go about it. You need to find a market for whatever you produce and it isn't easy. To a large extent you need to create the market for your produce because even if it exists in your area the potential buyers will need to be educated and prised away from their current suppliers and somehow induced into buying yours. One big plus is that Joe Public is more and more wanting to buy locally produced food and he doesn't mind paying for top quality.