# Here piggy, piggy, piggy



## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Well Alford (our boar) and George (our barrow - castrated male) are doing well and growing good. :2thumb:Our two gilts - (young females) should be here soon. 

So for the first time (next year) we will try our hands at little pigs .. ...
they are the one critter we have never tried to raise ... in the past, piglets were easy to find but that ... no longer holds true.

They will be out to pasture and I hope Mother Nature kicks in ... for I do not want to raise crate piglets. (that's not me) ... my dad said they will be find and do well... I hope he is right.:flower:

Anyone else have pigs???


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Haven't had pigs in years but IIRC, they're pretty darn easy. Don't let Mom Nature kick in too much as the big bad wolf will be checking out the piglets. Just keep them protected at night.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We have a great pyrenees to take care of that (well so far) We have a coyote problem in our area ... but from the day we put her on the farm we have not seen one... and I hope to keep it that way.:2thumb:


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Good call/selection on the dog. 

My dog is great at not letting predators in. Too bad she eats the prey herself...  No animals can be kept in her territory.

That's a piglets greatest threat (other than being squashed) so you're probably in good shape. Like your Dad said, they'll be fine and do well.


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## GroovyMike (Feb 25, 2010)

How do you plan to keep them in the pasture? We used electric fence.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We have woven wire around most (but not all) of our farm now ... with a hot wire about 6 inches off the ground. 

The pigs we have now and in the past have done well with it. 

As for the great pyrenees, she has done a great job and the only problem I do have with her :gaah: would be keeping her in the fence. The folks down the road started bring her 'treats' (even after we ask them not to.) So now she has put their house in her territory also.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

GroovyMike said:


> How do you plan to keep them in the pasture? We used electric fence.


I've NEVER had a pig 'wander off', they have always been MUCH too interested in trying to get into the house to get more food OR sleep on the couch! :gaah:


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

The_Blob said:


> I've NEVER had a pig 'wander off', they have always been MUCH too interested in trying to get into the house to get more food OR sleep on the couch! :gaah:


We have a draft mare like that ...  ... lol If you give her half the chance, she will try to come in the house.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Picked up our barter pigs yesterday not a bad deal 14 Guineas for 2 six wk old piglets. One female and another barrow not the two gilts we wanted but the sow had a litter of seven with only one female. Oh well ... thats alright.


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## Daegnus (Nov 12, 2010)

My only bad experience with piglets was using movable electric fence to make the pasture a bit smaller to accommodate their size. They snuffed up the soil onto the fence in short order, one of them dug under the fence, and the others walked right over it since the soil (and grass and misc. plants) that had been piled up on it shorted the fence out.

Since you've got a hotwire at 6 inches I think you'll probably be fine though


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

The only bad experience I can remember was a piglet that could get out of our pigpen. (As a child ... yes, Oh so long ago ) but I do remember my dad calling that little piglet more than a few names. lol As I also remember we put him under the 'chop block' early.  lol


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

*Andi said:


> Picked up our barter pigs yesterday not a bad deal 14 Guineas for 2 six wk old piglets. One female and another barrow not the two gilts we wanted but the sow had a litter of seven with only one female. Oh well ... thats alright.


that _*is*_ a good deal! wow :congrat: :beercheer:

don't worry, with enough food soon they will be more than big enough to not worry about coyotes (pronounced kai-yohts in my house :lolsmash: just felt the need to share that)


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

*Andi said:


> Well Alford (our boar) and George (our barrow - castrated male) are doing well and growing good. :2thumb:Our two gilts - (young females) should be here soon.
> 
> So for the first time (next year) we will try our hands at little pigs .. ...
> they are the one critter we have never tried to raise ... in the past, piglets were easy to find but that ... no longer holds true.
> ...


One of the "Latest BIG deals to the yuppie organic crowd " is the so called "Free Range" pigs.. seems they are turning them out into the woods and fields, to graze all day they feed a bit in the am and in the evening...

According to the article they are actually much better tasting then the usual pigs... I know free range chix give super eggs.. all them bugz and baby snakes lol... so there may be something to it..

I had to laugh several years ago when a rancher in MT started offering Organic free range beef... meaning it was out on open country feeding it's self..( called out to pasture) they were getting way above top dollar and couldn't keep up with demand.. We all cracked up because it's what we called Grass fed beef.. no feed lot crap... and it is better just not a full of marbling ( AKA...FAT)


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We have always done the pasture pigs. I also think a pasture pig taste better to a crate pig. 

Our local tv station ran a story about pasture turkeys ... (I saw it on their web page) They were selling for 5 bucks a pound (live weight) for Thanksgiving and the local farmers that had them, sold out by Aug. 1st. lol

Looks like pasture critters are making a come back.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Well ... George went into the freezer (and more than a few canning jars. ) over the weekend.

If you are going to have temps in the 30's might as well put them to use. Started out yesterday and just finished up... with most of it. The lard will have to wait till morning because I'm beat. :surrender:


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

God bless George for his sacrifice.  He sounds delicious!!!


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