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Ironically I am feeding a Feral right now. Not sure on her age, probably 2 months old? Got her from a trap. I named her "Pickles."
I plan to feed her only household scraps until I get bored with her, then she will be eaten. After 10 days now, I am realizing just how many items of food stuffs are wasted in a week in my kitchen. From onion scrap, potato peels, leftover rice and beans, old lettuce, carrot peels, apple cores, old tortilla chips, beef scraps... My dogs are still getting the choice pieces of table stuffs (venison trimmings, bones) but .... man, I thought I would be buying a bag of feed by now....? nope, still finding that a 2 quart container is filled with scraps, leftovers, trimmings each day. I am sure that volume will decrease over times, since there was a backlog of items leftover from a party last weekend. Never realized how many calories were being wasted around here. Pickles probably only weighs 8-10 lbs right now, but she has lived on nothing but scraps for 10 days now. TRG |
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After 10 days now, I am realizing just how many items of food stuffs are wasted in a week in my kitchen. From onion scrap, potato peels, leftover rice and beans, old lettuce, carrot peels, apple cores, old tortilla chips, beef scraps... Isn't that interesting? We very definitely notice the difference in food "waste" when we have pigs versus when we don't. I guess the downside to it is that not as much stuff goes on the compost heap. I'm looking forward to hearing how the pig you're feeding tastes in comparison to the wild ones you've eaten. I'm pretty sure it'll taste different....just not sure how much. 
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After 10 days now, I am realizing just how many items of food stuffs are wasted in a week in my kitchen. From onion scrap, potato peels, leftover rice and beans, old lettuce, carrot peels, apple cores, old tortilla chips, beef scraps... Isn't that interesting? We very definitely notice the difference in food "waste" when we have pigs versus when we don't. I guess the downside to it is that not as much stuff goes on the compost heap. I'm looking forward to hearing how the pig you're feeding tastes in comparison to the wild ones you've eaten. I'm pretty sure it'll taste different....just not sure how much.
I doubt it'll taste any different at all Feral. I've done a handful of blind taste tests with wild pork vs farm raised and my testers couldn't tell the difference. |
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After 10 days now, I am realizing just how many items of food stuffs are wasted in a week in my kitchen. From onion scrap, potato peels, leftover rice and beans, old lettuce, carrot peels, apple cores, old tortilla chips, beef scraps... Isn't that interesting? We very definitely notice the difference in food "waste" when we have pigs versus when we don't. I guess the downside to it is that not as much stuff goes on the compost heap. I'm looking forward to hearing how the pig you're feeding tastes in comparison to the wild ones you've eaten. I'm pretty sure it'll taste different....just not sure how much.
I doubt it'll taste any different at all Feral. I've done a handful of blind taste tests with wild pork vs farm raised and my testers couldn't tell the difference. IMHO, Feral, ferals taste better than domestics, hands-down. However, texture ... domestic is always tender. Ferals, not so much. I have a pic of the little piglet. Will take another every week or two. TRG |
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Meet 'Pickles':
This is the day I got her out of the trap. 
This is about two weeks later. 
She does not appear to have grown too much. She eats a couple of cups of corn each day, and whatever table scraps/leftovers we have from the previous day. She has also received some squash and other vegetables from the neighbor's garden (some squash and zukes got too big) TRG |
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my advice, get a nipple or the kind feral has. and put the water tank outside the pen. they will tear up/turn over/destroy/empty anything in there.they are amazingly strong. if you use a nipple, just use one. make sure its outside the wire. or they will use it as a scratching post and tear it off. ask me how i know this. 55 gallon barrel outside the pen is working pretty good for me now. a square caged container would be ideal. |
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Been absent for a while....apologies.
Still got Pickles, TRG? She looked weedy but kinda cute. Our pigs are coming along. Nothing shocking to report. Guess they're in the 90-100 pound range at this point. Been feeding a pelleted feed (as opposed to mash) and I have to say I like it. There's zero waste and they go through it slower than the mash. The pigs are big enough that the little one steers clear. She wants to pet them, but they want to nibble on her so she keeps her distance. 
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Been absent for a while....apologies. Still got Pickles, TRG? She looked weedy but kinda cute. Our pigs are coming along. Nothing shocking to report. Guess they're in the 90-100 pound range at this point. Been feeding a pelleted feed (as opposed to mash) and I have to say I like it. There's zero waste and they go through it slower than the mash. The pigs are big enough that the little one steers clear. She wants to pet them, but they want to nibble on her so she keeps her distance. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/FredFeral/Pigs2010/IMG_3761.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/FredFeral/Pigs2010/IMG_3762.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/FredFeral/Pigs2010/IMG_3763.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/FredFeral/Pigs2010/IMG_3765.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/FredFeral/Pigs2010/IMG_3766.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/FredFeral/Pigs2010/IMG_3769.jpg Great pics and piggies...tell the little one that soon enough, she will get to nibble on them... 
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You guys see any issues with using Ivomec Pour-on as a wormer? It's only labelled for cattle........
I asked over in the Pets forum too. Figured there might be some vets floating around over there. |
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I have no idea how to embed a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHVmtZFYaKo |
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The pigs are getting big. They're nearly as big now as the bunch I took to the butcher last year. I think they'll finish nicely.
They were pissed tonight because we let their feeder run dry. 
Mrs. Feral does most of the feed hauling. It's about 100 yards from the barn to the pigs, but she doesn't mind toting the feed. 
The baby likes the pigs but keeps her distance. She finds them a little scary. 
I took this shot before we dumped them their feed. Hungry pigs are friendly pigs. 
And speaking of friendly, these pigs are friendlier than pigs we've had in the past. I can't really explain that, but these guys are much less "bitey" than any other pigs I've been around. Mannerly pigs......but they'll still run you out of the pen with their friendliness.....as Feral Jr. found out this evening.
Young pigs love to run. They're surprisingly fast but tire quickly. 
We planted sunflowers along two sides of their pen. Mostly this is a visual screen as I figure the neighbors would rather not have to look at our pigs. When the seeds are heavy, I'll keep some but cut the heads off and give the pigs a treat. 
The pigs don't care too much, but I like looking at the sunflowers. 
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Quoted: Great job Feral....... Now I see how Mrs. Feral stays in such great shape! But, tell her since she has two shoulders she ought to be able to haul 2 bags LOLLOL  LOL dont say that; tell her that REELDOC says...she outta haul 2 bags; and then get in the kitchen and make a sammich.
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Whoa!
I need to post pics of 'Pickles' to compare her growth rate to the domestics. I think she was about two months old when i got her from the trap. She is now about five months old. Maybe six months. She gets table scraps, leftovers and soured corn each day. But, she is not even close to your growth rate. there is leftover, uneaten corn in her cage, so I don't think she is underfed. The wife looked at her the other day and said, 'Man, she has gotten huge!' but IMHO she is 1/3 smaller than your hogs. I think she probably weighs 35lbs right now. I looked at your pen, and compared it to mine. Extremely hot and dry in my country right now. So, there is no mud in my pen. I give Pickles one gallon of water each day. Half of that spills from her trough and makes a mud hole to keep her cool in the barn. What has surprised me is that she is very 'clean' in her behavior. She pisses and shits only in one small area of her pen. Even when she is scared by new items (water hose, people, dogs) she still uses only one small area to do her bidness. Never expected that from a wild hog. She seems intelligent, but will still crash against the sides of the pen if anything new appears around her. I watch her behavior to compare it to what I see from the wild ones that I hunt. Fecal patterns, eating habits, track sizes and hope to learn more from her. TRG |
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Nice update Feral!
Surprised how green it is up there. We have JUST started getting rain last week, before that NOTHING since mid June. I have not mowed but around the house since then. Broke 100F 3 times already, and LOTS of 98-99 degree days. Auction tonight, but going to wait another couple months before I get more feeders. |
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great update. about when do you start to cut them up? They'd be fine eating any time. But as they stand right now the bellies would be thin which doesn't lend itself to a nice bacon. It's pretty hot so they won't pack on much weight for the next few weeks. I have a tendency to take my hogs to the butcher too soon and I'm pledging to not do that with these guys. I'm figuring late October to mid-November for processing them. |
| I know this sounds like a total novice question....well, because it is, but is there any real cost savings raising your own vs. just purchasing from a butcher? I mean, once you take into account, the pigs, pen materials, food, water, transporting them, etc...is it still less expensive than buying a pig already butchered? |
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Whoa! I need to post pics of 'Pickles' to compare her growth rate to the domestics. I think she was about two months old when i got her from the trap. She is now about five months old. Maybe six months. She gets table scraps, leftovers and soured corn each day. But, she is not even close to your growth rate. there is leftover, uneaten corn in her cage, so I don't think she is underfed. The wife looked at her the other day and said, 'Man, she has gotten huge!' but IMHO she is 1/3 smaller than your hogs. I think she probably weighs 35lbs right now. <snip> Interesting, isn't it? Nature and nurture. Pickles is wired to grow slow and subsist on whatever she can find. My pigs are wired to eat everything they're given and make meat in as short a time as possible. On the "nurture side", I'm pouring the calories to my pigs in the form of this spendy hi-test hog feed, whereas your providing more of a subsistence diet (and, of note, Pickles isn't gorging herself. My pigs definitely will gorge.) Post some pics with some kinda scale marker––I'd like to see how she's doing.
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Whoa! I need to post pics of 'Pickles' to compare her growth rate to the domestics. I think she was about two months old when i got her from the trap. She is now about five months old. Maybe six months. She gets table scraps, leftovers and soured corn each day. But, she is not even close to your growth rate. there is leftover, uneaten corn in her cage, so I don't think she is underfed. The wife looked at her the other day and said, 'Man, she has gotten huge!' but IMHO she is 1/3 smaller than your hogs. I think she probably weighs 35lbs right now. <snip> Interesting, isn't it? Nature and nurture. Pickles is wired to grow slow and subsist on whatever she can find. My pigs are wired to eat everything they're given and make meat in as short a time as possible. On the "nurture side", I'm pouring the calories to my pigs in the form of this spendy hi-test hog feed, whereas your providing more of a subsistence diet (and, of note, Pickles isn't gorging herself. My pigs definitely will gorge.) Post some pics with some kinda scale marker––I'd like to see how she's doing.
Pickles probably weighs a hell of a lot more than you think. Pigs are ALL muscle and I'm sure a feral one is even more. A 40lb pig is about the size of a sheltie (dog). Really!!!!!!!!!!! pigs weigh a ton for their compact size. |
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I know this sounds like a total novice question....well, because it is, but is there any real cost savings raising your own vs. just purchasing from a butcher? I mean, once you take into account, the pigs, pen materials, food, water, transporting them, etc...is it still less expensive than buying a pig already butchered? Depends how you do it and what you are looking for. I like to KNOW what goes into my food and I can control it. I ENJOY raising hogs. I have almost nothing in their pen (mix of some old 6'X12' kennel panels, 6' chain link fencing, old posts,etc) Already had a fence charger and wire, so I actually bought a few insulators. 50 ml of wormer that will do a LOT of feeders. Pigs I've seen run from $100 down to $11. Higher in the spring for 4H kids, etc I'm a contrarian,and get mine in the fall, kill around Easter. I've found a source of out of date, premium US made dog food (20% + protein) the last few years. That provides the bulk of their diet, with some hog grower pellets as well. The last two went from 20# last fall, to 300# in April, and I only bought 10 50# bags of feed, and a bag or two of whole corn, to keep them entertained. Also supplement with table scraps, etc. This year, I cooked and fed a fair number of beaver carcasses as well (plus dogs LOVE it) from beavers I had trapped. Killed and processed 3 of the last 5 myself, so no more transportation/processing costs either. One of my brothers just trenched and sank a 6' fence 1' down, and will put 6-8 in. He has access to 30 yds3 of produce waster per day. We'll see how he does. Wife is at auction NOW! |
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I like to KNOW what goes into my food and I can control it. I ENJOY raising hogs. +1 Not to mention that the meat's better than commercially raised stuff. The whole "Pork, the other white meat" marketing campaign was a very clever spin on the fact that commercially raised pigs––no sunshine, no grass, no exercise––produce a poor quality meat. I have to wonder how many folks would swear off pork after being in a commercial hog house. Sounds like you're still getting that dog food––that's a great deal.
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I know this sounds like a total novice question....well, because it is, but is there any real cost savings raising your own vs. just purchasing from a butcher? I mean, once you take into account, the pigs, pen materials, food, water, transporting them, etc...is it still less expensive than buying a pig already butchered? Here's a more detailed answer. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.
I can raise pork for somewhat less than the cost of a "pig package" from one of the local custom meat processors. The pork I raise is higher quality than what they offer as they're just processing commercial animals in a "custom" manner. By selling my surplus animals at a price just slightly higher than the offerings from the local custom butchers, I can defray my costs to the point where the pork we keep is comparable in price to supermarket pork. With that said, we don't really do this for economic reasons. We do it because we like to know where our meat comes from and, more importantly, we like our kids to know where it comes from. If you ask our 2 year old "What sound does a pig make?" she won't say "oink, oink." She will come back with an uncanny imitation of a pig grunting. I was tickled yesterday at the breakfast table, eating some bacon, to hear my son explaining to his little sister where bacon comes from: "It grows inside the pig and we get it after we kill the pigs!" which is considerably different than "It comes from the supermarket in a plastic pouch." We find value in that kind of learning. But I digress..... If cheap meat were my only goal, I'd make the rounds of the local 4-H shows and buy the animals that people didn't sell and don't want to haul home. You'll get some outrageous bargains there as Dave will attest. Coming in a close second, I'd just watch for the loss leader sales at the local supermarkets. It's hard to beat the commercial food system if cost is the sole object––buy meat only when it's on sale and buy in bulk for the home freezer. |
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Ya'll don't know how lucky you are to be able to raise live stock. I guess I'll have to stick with my illegal chickens the way the economy and my job situation are now. I had my eye on 5 acres a year ago, alas it is still there  I bet you could do rabbits with nobody being the wiser. |
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Ya'll don't know how lucky you are to be able to raise live stock. I guess I'll have to stick with my illegal chickens the way the economy and my job situation are now. I had my eye on 5 acres a year ago, alas it is still there I bet you could do rabbits with nobody being the wiser. Nice pigs Feral! I hope to have some next year. You are probably right about the rabbits. I've also heard that rabbits produce more meat per dollar than many other livestock animals. Is this correct? |
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Ya'll don't know how lucky you are to be able to raise live stock. I guess I'll have to stick with my illegal chickens the way the economy and my job situation are now. I had my eye on 5 acres a year ago, alas it is still there I bet you could do rabbits with nobody being the wiser. Nice pigs Feral! I hope to have some next year. You are probably right about the rabbits. I've also heard that rabbits produce more meat per dollar than many other livestock animals. Is this correct? LOL, depends on how well you scrounge. Commercial rabbit feed, like all feed, has gone thru the roof the last few years, cost wise. I killed a couple dozen of ours last week, at we are now probably down to 70 or so. (even canned 14 qts  )
After the fairs, we'll cull HARD (also sell a good number at/after the fairs) Have found a niche market with "snake people" as well, and don't even have to skin them! As feral said, these sales offset much of our cost. We have our kids make "hay" out of grass clippings ( I haven't mowed since the first week of June this year- JUST started getting rain last week) We feed a good bit of this to supplement the commercial pellets (except for lactating does) Takes the rabbits a little longer to make weight, but saves some coin. A buck and two does will provide plenty for a family's own use. In our case, DEER provide the most return for our investment! 
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Should work now. Pretty funny. |
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After reading about Feral's pig adventures for the last few years, my dad and I finally decided to give it a try. It's been great fun and we have learned a lot. Thank you Feral for being so open about your projects.
We have been feeding them out of the garden (they love watermellon) and hog grower and finisher from the farmer's co-op. About three weeks ago, we transitioned from a open water tub to a gravity feed nipple waterer. Here they are in the trailer just after we picked them up. There are three females and one cut male. It was a hot day so we hosed them off as soon as we got home. We blew a tire on the trailer (you can see it in the back of the trailer), but we had a good spare. 
We decided to build a feeder rather than purchase one. The feeder you'll see in these pictures was made from drawings from te 1950's. It holds about 450 lbs. of food. We have about $85 in materials in it and put it together in about 2 hours. Here's the link to the PDF. In this picture, we're showing them how to use the feeder. 
Now they've figured out what's in the feeder and are helping themselves. 
Here's a picture of the feeder now. They love to use it as a scratching post. 
Here's a picture of the tub we have been using. They like to stand in it and so it gets about a inch of mud in it about three times a day. 
Here's a picture of their new nipple waterer. The nipples I've found don't really like gravity feed so I drilled out a few holes in the flow adjustment disks. It's works great now. I used schedule 40 pipe because I figured they would try to scratch with it. 
Here are a couple of pictures of the pigs now and the fence. I was worried that they would dig under the cattle panels as they were rooting around. So we cut panels in half and put them on the ground before putting the upright panel down. Then we tied them together with wire. 
For the last few weeks, they have been averaging about 5 pounds of feed per pig per day. It's impressive to see how they're converting the food. R. |
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Any problems with them snapping the PVC on your nipple? Can see the mud on it from nosing/rubbing. Maybe a section of rigidly mounted galv where it is inside the enclosure? No trouble yet. It's sturdy. The plumbers tape is holding it down pretty snug. I was reading online from a guy who says to use the galvanized pipe, drill a hole through the post, and put the pipe through the hole to secure it. I may try that if they break this one. R. |
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After reading about Feral's pig adventures for the last few years, my dad and I finally decided to give it a try. It's been great fun and we have learned a lot. <snip> Cool......new pigs to look at. Thanks for posting! 
Looks like yours are growing nicely. When do you plan to butcher? Gonna try it at home or ship 'em out? |
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Looks like yours are growing nicely. When do you plan to butcher? Gonna try it at home or ship 'em out? I'm not sure when we'll butcher them. We're not set up to process them at home this year but I want to at some point. I'm going to visit a local abattoir this week (if I get a minute) to see their operation and get some pricing. I want to be sure get my pigs back, and I would like to watch the process to learn more. I can't tell everyone how great this has been. We have learned so much. I've been concerned that my family would have trouble seeing their food walk around but for the most part they have been great. They'll ask where the bacon or the butt comes from and you know they're on board. Any time they feel a little weird about it, I point out that these pigs were going to die this year no matter what. The issue is whether these pigs have a good life before they get to that fateful day. Without a doubt, these pigs have had a good life. Thanks again Feral. We never would have tried this if it weren't for these piggy threads. R. |
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Last ones I held someone else do, were $40 each to kill,scald/scrape and gut, then off to another guy who cut and wrapped for $0.50/lb, hanging weight.
Smoked product (hams and bacon) and sausage was an additional fee/lb Vacuum sealed was another $0.10 or $0.15/lb. I only had one vacuum sealed, others were fine up to a year, and meat don't last that long around here. I did my last two myself (well, me and one of my boys on one, and another completely by my lonesome) Took around 3 hrs from pulling the trigger, to cleaning up. (that's to the point of meat all intact, and chilling- I cut and wrap and grind and stuff,over the next few evenings) I took pics of the last one, but can't find the camera card! 
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Current pic of "Pickles" ... http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/TheRedGoat/Photo_082910_002.jpg TRG She's still cute. 
Pour some hog feed into her for a few weeks and see how much she gains. My hogs are getting almost scary huge. I'm thinking I might have to process them in September just so they don't get too fatty. Pics when I can. |
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Current pic of "Pickles" ... http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/TheRedGoat/Photo_082910_002.jpg TRG Yeah. Shes not growing too fast. Give her the good stuff. |