Chickens & pigs

[burntmuch]

  Im considering raising a couple feeder pigs at some point.  Now I do 2 batches of meat chickens a year, So for 7 mths a year I ll have a empty chicken run. If I used the proper fencing could I use the same space for the pigs.  Right now I have chicks in the brooder right now, Im getting ready to build a pen for my meat chickens, Dont want them in with my laying hens. So could I keep chickens in there , then when their in freezer camp could I use the pen to raise a couple feeder pigs.

[spooked]

You can "ring" your pigs and decent woven wire will hold them or they can be trained to a hotwire fence..I prefer to keep my pigs away from my chicken area, hogs can catch "bugs" just like humans..

[okieshooter]

Hogs are pretty good at catching chickens too. I had pens side by side and hogs rooted a hole under the fence big enough the chickens could fit through. i am not saying they made a plan and did it on purpose. Anyway the chickens got to going through and I lost about 10 in one day. Moral of the story: Don't put your hogs too close cause they like chicken. I have also known of wild hogs to invade commercial chicken houses.

[ihookem]

Meat chickens are easy. Keep them under a heat lamp for a few weeks and put them outside in a pen till they are 8 weeks and then it's freezer camp.

[351 power]

the electric fence of their own would be best. they might need some shade from the sun if there is none in there

[zeke08]

what hog breed would you suggest as i too would like to start raising a few feeder hogs as well? How much room do you need for a hog lot? Anything special as far as feeding them

[burntmuch]

Not sure on the breed yet. Im still in research mode myself. My pen is going to be 12 X 23 for 2 pigs. Looks like hog panels with a hot wire along the bottom will do the trick. The area is completly shaded.

[blind ear]

Vietnamese pot bellied pigs were bred to be eaten. They are small and managable. Kill one and you can eat a lot of it and not have to put up a lot of meat. If you want volume of slaughter meat something else would probably be better. They can be 150# or more if raised to maturity. eddie

[billy_56081]

Being this is self sustainable living, if one were raining chickens for a ready meat source I would avoid the hybrid heavy chicken as they would not be good for breeding. A nice medium sides laying breed would be a nice bird for both eggs and meat.

[spooked]

Vietnamese pot bellied pigs were bred to be eaten. They are small and managable. Kill one and you can eat a lot of it and not have to put up a lot of meat. If you want volume of slaughter meat something else would probably be better. They can be 150# or more if raised to maturity. eddie

20 oz feed(2 1/2 cups) for a grown potbelly, 6 pds. for a traditional old breed hog( this is daily amts.)..If you have table scraps or a grazing area pot bellies are really efficient..If you want lard feed a potbelly all the soaked corn he can eat for about six weeks before slaughter, you won't believe the amount of lard obtained by so doing...Little chops are the tastiest of any hawg I've ever eaten ...presently working on some potbelly crosses ...have both..

[chefjeff]

Glad to hear this info on pb-pigs. I didn't think they were much count to eat.Are the sows better than the boars(cut-uncut) as in domestic swine? Please advise, I'm hungry already.

[burntmuch]

Hey spooked I meant to ask, What does ring your pig mean.

[blind ear]

Putting rings in thier noses so they can't root as effectivly such as under fences and such. Rings and ringing pliars can be bought at farm and ranch livestock stoors.

[mannyrock]

   Sorry, but having lived on a farm for 14 years, I just have to say it. 

   As far as efficiency, ease, cost and reliability of raising meat, the answer is raising rabbits, rabbits and rabbits.  (In cages I mean.)  The darned things thrive on cut meadow grasses and alfafa, plus a little salt.  They are extremely low maintence, carry almost no diseases, are extremely efficient as far as weight gain to fodder weight, and are a snap to clean and butcher.  And they breed like, um, . . . rabbits.

    Chickens and pigs are filthy, troublesome, and consume huge amounts of feed grain.  (Don'tya just love coming out every morning and watching your chickens poop in their fresh water!)

Mannyrock

[spooked]

Glad to hear this info on pb-pigs. I didn't think they were much count to eat.Are the sows better than the boars(cut-uncut) as in domestic swine? Please advise, I'm hungry already.

The lasr rhree i butchered were grown boars that I had a husky jarhead hold for me whilst I removed their testicles with my pocket knife, fed soured corn all they would eat for 30days and butchered..yum, yum..best pork chops I've ever had..

[spooked]

Glad to hear this info on pb-pigs. I didn't think they were much count to eat.Are the sows better than the boars(cut-uncut) as in domestic swine? Please advise, I'm hungry already.

The last three i butchered were grown boars that I had a husky jarhead hold for me whilst I removed their testicles with my pocket knife, fed soured corn all they would eat for 30days and butchered..yum, yum..best pork chops I've ever had..

[no guns here]

If you have the room there are some heritage breeds such and English Large Black that are grazing/foraging pigs.  Expensive to buy but after that, you don't have to feed near as much.  The breed and birth easy too.  Not nearly as nasty as pigs that are kept in a pen or barn all the time.  The ELB can tolerate heat and cold fairly well.  The meat is traditional pork, not the white pork we get from the supermarket now.


NGH

[Dixie Dude]

Is there much bacon on a pot bellied pig?  Or is it too small to cut up? 

[SHOOTALL]

Bacon yum

[WD45]

I'm not sure if you get any middlins off a potbelly or not. Even a standard breed of meat hog has to get a certain size before you get any. I dont know anyone around here that has butchered one. They are more of a novelty pet around here

[WD45]

also from what i have seen hogs will eat darn dear anything... including you 

[Dixie Dude]

You don't want to have chickens and pigs together.  Humans usually can't get flu viruses directly from birds, but hogs can, and they mutate and then humans get them from hogs.  The Chinese raise them together, that is why most flu viruses originate in the far east.  Remember the Asian flu, Hong Kong flu, etc. 

[Cornbelt]

Hampshire and Tamworth are good foragers, and pretty common breeds; good meat, too. But be sure to castrate all the boars you are planning to eat, 'cause boar meat just stinks to high heaven; raw or cooked.
  If you are looking for protein to add to corn, (and pigs need more than corn offers), feed them meat scraps, dogfood, or a chicken dinner regularly. They will gladly eat pork scraps too, the shameless cannibals.

[Oldshooter]

   Sorry, but having lived on a farm for 14 years, I just have to say it. 

   As far as efficiency, ease, cost and reliability of raising meat, the answer is raising rabbits, rabbits and rabbits.  (In cages I mean.)  The darned things thrive on cut meadow grasses and alfafa, plus a little salt.  They are extremely low maintence, carry almost no diseases, are extremely efficient as far as weight gain to fodder weight, and are a snap to clean and butcher.  And they breed like, um, . . . rabbits.

    Chickens and pigs are filthy, troublesome, and consume huge amounts of feed grain.  (Don'tya just love coming out every morning and watching your chickens poop in their fresh water!)

Mannyrock

May not be on topic but I have seen a lot of Farm raised "meat" and Rabbits are the best and around here you can get 15 Dollars a piece for the  adults

Medium-sized rabbits breed at 6 to 7 months of age and give birth after a month of gestation
. Female rabbits can produce up to 50 live rabbits annually, with births high during the summer. They produce an average of 9 kits per birth.

For a meat producing rabbitry selling premium priced rabbit meat, an ROI of 45% during the first year of operation is possible.

Now back to pigs and chickens sorry 

[glock fan]

Feral hogs trapped & grained out make excellent eating & they are free.  You can trap them yourself.  They usually are very hardy and well adapted to their environment.  You will have to invest in a trap or make one.  You will also have to make a small pen and provide a source of water, shade, shelter & food.  You'd have to do the same thing if you raised pigs domestically though.  Where I'm located in South Texas we have feral hogs aplenty.  Feral hogs and Havelina.  A neighbor of mine trapped 22 so far this year.  His freezers are full of deer meat & hog meat.  He says his wife prefers the hog meat to the deer meat.  There is no season on hogs in Texas because they are so plentiful they are considered a nuisance.  In fact a couple of years ago the state comissioned helicopters to hunt them.  1,200 were killed in this manner in a couple of days.  A couple of years back, my son, dad and I went to a hunting ranch and hunted hogs from a blind & feeder.  It was my son's first hunt.  He had just turned 14.  My dad was 78.  We all got a pig that day.  In fact my son got two.  It was a great day.  We had pork most of the winter from those hogs.             

[SHOOTALL]

In sailing ship days salors tatooed pigs and chickens on their feet for luck as in a ship wreck most noted the pigs and chickens always found something to keep them afloat and survived. What better companion to have in a rough time ?