Any hog farmers on here?

[Otto247]

Fact

if there on dirt. Skip the pool. They'll make a wallow. Also if on dirt run a hot wire. If your only having two and butchering yourself it shouldn't really matter how uour going to build the pen but should you ajve to load them on a trailer for a processor keep on mind you need a way to funnel them down and if they can see through it they're gonna try to push through it. As far as the water goes with only two pigs I'd probably keep your barrel with a spigot. If you run a hose two pigs don't drink enough to keep the line from being scolding on a summer day. Ymmv when you build your pen keep shade in mind.

 

[Cammy]

**Pig update** Pigs have crossed the 150 pound mark and are at nearly 170 pounds. The kid pool wallow lasted all of about 4 days before they were laying under the pool rather than in it. All the equipment I installed (feeder, water nipple, hog panels, shade cloth and pig shelter have held up nicely. The rainy season is just around the corner and I would like to build a little shelter box to keep the feeder out of the weather.
Want to say thank-you to Nick87 for all the encouragement and help along the way as well as the rest of you who have added your experience and wisdom to this endeavor.

 

[Nick87]

**Pig update** Pigs have crossed the 150 pound mark and are at nearly 170 pounds. The kid pool wallow lasted all of about 4 days before they were laying under the pool rather than in it. All the equipment I installed (feeder, water nipple, hog panels, shade cloth and pig shelter have held up nicely. The rainy season is just around the corner and I would like to build a little shelter box to keep the feeder out of the weather.
Want to say thank-you to Nick87 for all the encouragement and help along the way as well as the rest of you who have added your experience and wisdom to this endeavor.

Sorry I missed this a few days ago, overlooked it somehow. Glad it's working out!! Ours are going in the second week of Sept. I'd say they average about 250 right now. Hopefully your wife didn't get attached like you were hoping.

 

[Cammy]

Sorry I missed this a few days ago, overlooked it somehow. Glad it's working out!! Ours are going in the second week of Sept. I'd say they average about 250 right now. Hopefully your wife didn't get attached like you were hoping.

No worries. My wife has the habit of buying them cookies from the clearance section of the Walmart bakery. Out of everyone involved in the project, I know that I am the one who is going to have to whack them in the end.

 

[longbow51]

Basically the soy causes either stronger or weaker estrogen levels in the body which has been linked to several issues including breast cancer, dementia and osteoporosis. There are several studies that support this but there are several studies that do not support this assumption. Once her mind is made up with regards to a subject it takes an act of God to change her opinion. I just roll with it and adjust.

​

Classic disconfirmation bias. You're smart to roll with it

 

[BearFoot]

Second year raising hogs. Best bacon ever!

 

[BearFoot]

After checking out all the hogs at the Alaska State Fair, my boys got to be 260-280 lbs at just over five month old.

 

[Dewy]

We had our three processed two weeks ago. Had four half’s sold but then one of the buyers backed out so I ended up with more than a freezer full for us. Lots of bacon, bone in chops and other goodies.

 

[Cammy]

*****BUTCHER DAY*****

Butcher day was yesterday for us. I had Mid-December date in mind when I started this journey but not knowing what to expect, I wish we had planned differently. All of the infrastructure performed flawlessly so there were no issues there. What I didn't plan on was how quickly the pigs would hit market weight (240-270). We used the measuring tape method to get a close estimation on weight and they were at 290 back around the end of October. Yesterday the same method yielded an estimation of 400. Thank goodness for a tractor.

3 guys who had zero experience took just over 4 hours to dispatch, scald, scrape and break the carcasses into major primal groups. Worth every bit of the experience from start to finish and I would encourage anyone who has ever considered it to give it a shot. For me though I believe that the next time the end processes will be hired out for simplicity.

Thanks to all of you who commented on this thread and for the encouragement and advice provided by Nick87.

 

[Nick87]

*****BUTCHER DAY*****

Butcher day was yesterday for us. I had Mid-December date in mind when I started this journey but not knowing what to expect, I wish we had planned differently. All of the infrastructure performed flawlessly so there were no issues there. What I didn't plan on was how quickly the pigs would hit market weight (240-270). We used the measuring tape method to get a close estimation on weight and they were at 290 back around the end of October. Yesterday the same method yielded an estimation of 400. Thank goodness for a tractor.

3 guys who had zero experience took just over 4 hours to dispatch, scald, scrape and break the carcasses into major primal groups. Worth every bit of the experience from start to finish and I would encourage anyone who has ever considered it to give it a shot. For me though I believe that the next time the end processes will be hired out for simplicity.

Thanks to all of you who commented on this thread and for the encouragement and advice provided by Nick87.

When were those pigs born ?

 

[Cammy]

When were those pigs born ?

We picked them up weened back in May.

 

[Nick87]

You think butchering sucked wait til you try to load those stubborn bastards on the trailer. Lol. Sometimes it goes easier than others. Glad it worked out. Eat any yet?

 

[Cammy]

You think butchering sucked wait til you try to load those stubborn bastards on the trailer. Lol. Sometimes it goes easier than others. Glad it worked out. Eat any yet?

Tasted a small piece off the loin. Different flavor than commercial pork for sure but it was only a small bit.

The real test in this was my patience with my BIL when he wanted to dispatch his pig. After much discussion and diagram reviews of shot location and direction, he didn't listen and missed. Was a real shit show that should not have happened. Lesson learned with that. Never let the guy who "wings it" and refuses to learn anything participate in anything that requires attention to detail with regard to humanely dispatching livestock. The guy is an amazing hunter, fills tags and is exactly what your signature line says. He just doesn't listen and it is never his fault.