Feeder Pigs

While these Idaho Pasture Pigs sound good to breed / raise, but do they pencil out for total cost of production ( purchase of breeding stock, their feed , housing, management, labor,Vet., medication, depreciation, prorated costs of land, power, water, etc, and TIME ) of a home raised pork chop, ham, or bacon compared to buying a piglet and growing it out to butcher size ? Most of the smaller barnyard anmals ( be it beef, dairy cows, sheep, goats,pigs, etc. do NOT pencil out compared to the standard production sizes. The only ones making any money of a new specialized farm animal is the original developer/ producer who sells breeding stock to anyone that he/ she can convince to buy their new stock. But try to follow their leed and see what happens. If and when you fail to sell any of your produce even close to what you paid for your original breeding stock ...any local auction will sell them at a discount from what a standard bred would bring. Or eat that pig and the cost of that bacon will be quite high. Sharpen your pencil and see for yourself.

I guess that depends on if one raises any given animal per the usual commercial farming practices out there. For sure a pasture raised hog is going to cost less than a penned hog and if no one cares about when a pig gets to finishing weights because a lot of their nutrition is derived out on pasture, then it doesn't matter if they are slower growing than the commercial norm.

Even management gets easier if the pig is out on pasture....no pens to clean, etc. Then, the same could be true about vets and meds...a pastured animal is going to be healthier, especially if one breeds for hardiness.

All the typical costs, time, management and etc. changes with the method in which one is going to raise any given livestock. One cannot judge the cost effectiveness of any given method unless they have actually used that method and know the costs associated with it. Everyone has their own management style they incorporate into the livestock, depending upon their experience, their land, their available and chosen feed sources, the source of their stock, their chosen husbandry methods, etc.

I'd say it would be very hard to make a judgement on stock raised unless one were to actually have experience with that stock, experience with the method in which the other person was going to raise them, experience with the same variances in climate, pasture, soil, water sources, etc. of that person.

I'm pretty excited to see Bay venture into all of this and can't wait to see what she can do with her chosen livestock on her place. She's pretty savvy and learns quickly, so any deficits in costs incurred will no likely be of a temporary nature and be recouped as she goes along, if indeed cost is something on which she is even focused. Some people aren't and just want to do what they want to do, regardless of cost....lots of folks out there doing that nowadays, though I'm not one of them.

On CL baby feeder pigs go for between $75 to $100 here. Pot belly are all over in price.

Tend to agree with Bob. IF you are after making cheap meat how you want it raised, stay with commercial breeds. IF you want free range pork, why not just thin out the feral hogs?

@thistlebloom it sure didn't take you very long to find the mention of IDAHO Pasture pigs!! Do you have a radar alert anytime Idaho is mentioned??

@Beekissed I researched the livestock conservancy heritage breeds, but I just don't want to raise big hogs. The red wattle weights range from 600 to 800 pounds and can get up to 1200 pounds. Nope, just too darn big. I really waffled on the mulefoot hogs, but still too big. If I were going for eye candy, I would raise Hereford hogs. I'm partial to Hereford cattle and a pretty colored up Hereford hog just grabs me!

@bobm and @seedcorn I hear what you are saying. I appreciate your concern and respect both of your opinions, because I know that both of you have the knowledge and experience to back it up. In fact, I agree with ya'll on some of these "special" breeds that are way, way overpriced. But at the same time, these "special" breeds do have their place on the farm, the breeders promoting them should get a dose of reality and lower the prices so normal people could afford them. I am raising I guess what you would call "regular" pigs to grow them out and slaughter them. But even these pigs are heritage hogs. They are half Large Black and half Berkshire. The man we bought them from raises registered Berkshires and sells them for breeders and show pigs. The CULLS sell for $200 for a feeder pig! I quickly told him that I didn't want a $200 pig, a $60 cross bred was fine with me and I am happy with what we bought. The proof will be in the eating!

The bottom line is that I just don't want to raise a great big hog that looks like an army tank. And practically ALL pigs grow into army tanks. I want a smaller pig that will be more manageable. I researched and read, looked at pictures and made phone calls. I found Kune Kune breeding stock about an hours drive from us and they were priced at $1500 each. Nah, I don't think so! Besides a stupid high price, there are other drawbacks to Kune Kunes. American Guinea Hogs are small, but they are lard hogs, my Daddy raised them for a short time and was not impressed to see the feed converted to lard instead of meat. Plus, for their small size, they plow up a field!

I know I will pay more for an Idaho Pasture Pig, especially because I want registered stock. I am willing to pay a higher price, not stupid high, but more than a regular pig costs around here. I want a pig that doesn't root up the pasture, doesn't tear up the fence and is not an army tank. I could be dead wrong, but I believe that they might be what I am looking for. As far as price goes, doesn't registered, quality breeding stock cost more than Craigslist specials? Of any animal? And I don't expect to get rich selling pigs that nobody around here ever heard of at ridiculous prices. I want a pig that suits MY wants and needs. And if nobody else wants to raise them, that's ok with me, they will still make pork and people sure want to buy pasture raised pork.


http://www.whitebisonfarm.com/idahopasturepigs.htm Pictures!

And seedcorn, there is a 1100 acre high-wire fenced ranch behind us that restricts the flow of feral hogs. In fact, there have been none on our farm. If there were, I'd have no problem popping a few of them. And once on the ground, I do know how to process them. But there aren't any on our place.

baymule said:

@thistlebloom it sure didn't take you very long to find the mention of IDAHO Pasture pigs!! Do you have a radar alert anytime Idaho is mentioned??

Click to expand...

Yes and it's giving me whiplash!

baymule said:

If I were going for eye candy, I would raise Hereford hogs.

Click to expand...

Our neighbors are raising a couple of Herefords for the freezer. They look like regular old pigs to me, but I never was a pork connoisseur.

Bay, those pastures are sure lush! I like the looks of those pigs and they sound really good for what you are wanting. I wonder how they would pasture with your sheep...would they harm the lambs, I wonder? Could you run them together or will you rotate them separately?

Sounds very exciting and you'll be busier than a one armed paper hanger before long with all this livestock.

@baymule I agree, raise what you want. What I believe:
All hogs will tear up pasture-they are hogs.
Commercial hogs are bred for meat and feed efficiency-thus best value.
All hogs can/will get to close to 1,000#. Most sows will top out at 400-600. If you want to, breed gilt at 220#, then swap her out for offspring. She would make outstanding ground pork. Bet u could sell what u didn't want.
Ai on a hog is super easy, just use fresh semen-no frozen.

Friday is go to slaughter day for the pigs. I can't say that I'll miss them. I am ready to reclaim my garden. Hopefully the pigs have improved the garden soil (if you ignore the DEEP and BIG holes they rooted) I hope the pine shaving mulch, 2 trailer loads of leaves/pine straw, bags of leaves and pig poop has helped out the sandy soil. Maybe I stand a chance of not only having a better garden this year, but having a garden at all.

Friends have told me that when it came time to load their pigs, they chased and wrestled the pigs into the trailer. Sometimes the pigs chased them back! The idea of a pig rodeo really didn't appeal to me--I could see myself as the loser in a contest with 3 big pigs. So being the brilliant person I am, I came up with a better way.

This morning our friend and neighbor Russell came over with Cooper, his 7 year old son. We hitched the trailer to his tractor, then I lured the pigs to the far corner with pecans. Russell got the tractor to the gate, Cooper opened the gate and Russell backed the trailer in. We unhitched the trailer, Russell drove the tractor out and Cooper shut the gate. Then we proceeded to fence the trailer off from the pigs. The pigs will chew wires, tires, lights or anything else they can get to. Cooper stayed safely outside and shook a paper feed sack at the pigs when they came too close.


Russell said that it might take a few days for the pigs to go in the trailer, but I didn't think so. Sure enough, one of them got in the trailer to snoop around. I moved their water and feed containers in the trailer, if they want to eat and drink, the trailer is the place to find it. The way I see it, why chase them, just let them load themselves. A day or two before Friday, I'll lure them in the trailer with something stinky and then just close the end gate.

@Devonviolet are you ready for some bacon??

there's Bay with a great sounding plan!