Most people would be butchering around the 250 pound mark, for a nice balance between fat cover and good size cuts of meat. Pardon Our Interruption. Feeder pigs can be purchased from a local small farmer, online ads or an auction. Feeder pigs are fed a ground feed containing corn, soybean meal and a premix supplement that contains all of the minerals and nutrients they need to grow at the optimal rate for their size. You'll need to have a top price that you are willing to pay and a pen ready for the pigs when the hauler brings them, if you are not picking them up yourself. Additional information is available in this support article. Which breed of feeder pig is best? Be sure to listen to the announcements at the beginning of the sale.
Now that we have home butchered both pigs and cattle, we are wondering why it took us this long to try this at home! Buy at least two feeder pigs. I can help you with some of the basics so you can be more confident your new enterprise will start well. Get cross breed feeder pigs. There are a few reasons this might happen: - You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed. The most common cross bred feeder pig available is called a "blue butt", which are piglets from a white sow bred to a colored boar. Feeder pigs can be purchased at the farm where they were born or at a livestock auction. You determine the ideal finishing weight. The more time you waste, the more the skin cools, the harder it is to get off! If you go to a farm for your pig expect to pay a bit more per pig. Your pigs should have feed and water at all times. A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running.
Yes but be aware that the adult size of a farm pig is 500 plus pounds. If the only pig farms in your area are CAFO's (confinement farms), not those. Feeder pigs sell at livestock auctions. Call the auction and see what they can set up for you. Save your passwords securely with your Google Account. Those pigs were purposely feed longer than normal to have more body fat at butchering because, at least around here, people like to have a fat hog to grind in with their deer.
Both choices have advantages and disadvantages. Keep their feeder full. However, the best breed for you to start with is actually a cross breed. Good air flow and some sunshine and they will be happy. I just sold a few market hogs that were over 300 pounds, 305 to be exact. In our area the prices for feeder pigs are highest in the spring when all the kids are buying pigs to take to the county fair. There is plenty of information available online, our first time we used the directions in a book-worked great!
Your pigs will dress out at 72% of slaughter weight. As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. Local feeder pigs are your best option, since most auctions sell feeder pigs in larger groups. The best breed of feeder pig is a hot topic. We have weekly livestock auctions in our area so this is the easiest choice for us. Purchasing your first feeder pigs from the farmer will give you a good idea of how he raises his pigs so you will know what your pig is used to. The main point here is you get to choose.
Yes as long as it is legal in your area and you are willing to let the pig root up your yard. You've disabled cookies in your web browser. Start your pigs on a 16% feed. Buy healthy, spunky feeder pigs. If you want a pet pig that will stay smaller get a pot bellied pig or smaller yet a mini pig. After completing the CAPTCHA below, you will immediately regain access to the site again. We like 300+ pounders, so we plan on the pigs taking longer, more like 4.
Check out the local auction reports for the current prices in your area so you can know what to expect to pay. Honestly, it's not that hard. Yes, you can butcher your pigs at home! What on earth was I thinking letting them get that big? First off, I doubt they have feeder pigs available for sale to the public and secondly, these are not the type of pigs you are looking for. If you purchased your pigs at 60 pounds they will finish out for you in about 3. Great question, actually! The tractor is needed because you will be butchering the pig when it is 250 pounds you will need a way to lift up the carcass. Another aspect of price to consider is that pigs are herd animals and like to have company of other pigs. Feeder pigs take 4 months to finish.
Just have some help the first time and you'll be good to go! If you like your pigs larger (we do) it will take longer to reach processing weight. When your pigs are stressed it will take them longer to reach their finished weight. You came to the right place! Fair pig buyers tend to raise the prices of all feeder pigs at the auction simply because of increased demand equals a higher price.
If you decide to go to an auction get there early so you have time to look around. Most people will start their pigs out on an 16% protein feed then as the pigs get older you can go to a lower protein (less expensive) feed. To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page. Have these pigs been outside or kept inside?
This is for an three month old or so cross bred pig. Best Breed Of Pigs For Beginners goes into more detail about why some breeds are easier to raise than others. You can plan on spending $50 per feeder pig at an auction. Everyone seems to have their favorite choice or is excited to try out for themselves a breed they read about online. Pigs are one of the best choices for raising your own meat.