Baymule's Pigs 2017-2018

baymule

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First off, let me clarify-- we ain't got a lick of sense. I repeat, we ain't got a lick of sense.

Last night I was looking at Craigslist and at 10:37 I found an ad for 2 pigs. A 1 year old boar and 2 year old sow, take both for $75. I had to read it a few times to make sure it really said both for $75. I read it to my husband. Then we tried to talk ourselves out of buying the pigs. We wrangled with it and finally came to the conclusion that we'd have to be purdy darn stupid to pass up a deal like that. No picture, really buying a pig in a poke.

Being late, I texted and we went to bed. I got a response at a quarter to midnight but I slept through it. I responded this morning and the upshot was, we were going to go get them between 1 and 2 PM.

Still had chickens in the trailer from the poultry trades day a week ago. Moved the half grown ducks in with the big ducks, put the chickens in the little ducks pen.

The Hawg Hut was in the backyard and needed to go through 2 gates, down the driveway and through another gate to the front pasture. We called Robert over to help. With DH on the Kawasaki Mule, we jockeyed the Hut around. The skids have holes drilled through and I have pins I put through and we wrap a chain around them. We had to take up part of a fence. When we got it lined up, DH took off and didn't stop until he was at the pasture gate. He swung wide and dragged the Hawg Hut to it's new home.

There was a mangled mess of a car body in the trees and Robert chained onto it and dragged it out. It was the entire rear end of an old 1951 Studebaker. A neighbor, Jerry, came over to get it for scrap metal. He was glad to get it but we were even more glad to get rid of it.

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We took a cold water break, DH was sweat soaked,dirty and splattered from washing out the trailer. He headed for the shower. I finished up outside.

We went to get the pigs, about 45 minutes away. That lady had rabbits, goats, ducks, chickens, quail and a ram. All were healthy, we'll fed, and very friendly. Her pens were a hodgepodge of pallets, wire and scrap lumber. The pens were clean. There was no smell. She had a LOT of animals but it was obvious she took very good care of them. The pigs were friendly and looked happy and healthy. I couldn't help but think of BYH and how many people are living their dreams with their small farms.

She, her son and his wife walked the pigs to our trailer using hog panels held together at the ends. I coaxed them in the trailer using dog food and the door slid shut.

The lady had on a tank top that showed red marks on a very flat chest that bespoke radiation burns and a double mastectomy. I didn't have to ask. She said she was tired of pigs and I paid her. We figured this lady had seen the dark side of hell and her animals were her sanity and gave her something to get up for every morning.

We got them home and turned them out.

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She said the Sow has had 2 litters. We plan on letting them breed, then slaughtering the boar. After she weans the pigs, we'll sell them and slaughter her. Neighbors have already come over to admire them. They weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. Seventy five dollars. The chickens bought them. We used egg money.
 

Nyboy

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Good for you love a Craiglist bargain. But I have to ask if she is a good mother and only 2 why would slaughter her after only 1 litter ? Sure pigs breeding age is not short, a good whelper is worth weight in gold. I would wait and see how she does with babies before deciding.
 

baymule

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I really don't want to keep pigs all year around. I am not in it to be a breeder, but for $75 bucks for two corn fed hogs, I'm in! :lol: We typically raise several pigs for slaughter for us and neighbors. Check out my Feeder Pig 2017 thread on BYH, we home slaughtered, there are pictures-you have been warned!

We'll slaughter both of these. Hopefully she'll raise a nice litter, we are thinking of 3 neighbors that would be happy with a weaned pig. Any others we'll sell. This was just one of those deals we couldn't pass up.

We have dragged the trailer to one of these Craigslist hog-deal ads before and turned around and went back home because the hogs were in such filth. So we didn't know what to expect when we responded to this one. We were so happy to see that all the animals were so well cared for and clean. If it had been filthy conditions, we wouldn't have bought them.
 

seedcorn

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In Indiana, the boar would bring about $30. Sow, not a lot more. Hogs are cheap-especially older, breeder stock.

The real cost of pork is in the processing-all the government regs.
 

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