Posted: 3/1/2009 4:59:26 AM EDT
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A buddy is trying to talk me into getting a few hogs. He said it is the easiest animal to rise for meat and don’t require much care. Are they the perfect long-term SHTF animals? They eat anything and require very little space – right ???
What say the hive. |
I've got hogs, and I'll have to say rabbits.
To be selfsustaining, you'll need a boar, or access to a boar, which you may well be feeding the rest of the time. They do have a pretty varied diet, but a lot of what they'll eat, WE can eat. And if SHTF in a BIG way, and you have no refrigeration, rabbits come in a conveniently sized package.
In true Arfcom fashion, I got BOTH! |
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I think pigs would be great, we all love pork and it can be preserved in a lot of different ways.
I've tried talking my wife into getting some pigs. She refuses because where she grew up, the neighbors had some pigs and the smell was ever present and awful. She said pigs stink way too bad and won't have them. I've never raised pigs so I don't have any information to counter her claims. |
I like hogs and would encourage anyone with an interest to raise them.
Before embarking on it, you should ask and answer some questions for yourself: 1) How will I fence them? 2) How will I house them? 3) How will I feed them? (This is a particularly important question as it makes the difference between cheap pigs and expensive pigs. And, no, you can't feed a pig out on table scraps alone.) 4) How will I turn the pigs into meat? There are bunches of subsidiary questions, but these are the main ones to look at up front. |
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Rabbit starvation is the form of acute malnutrition caused by excess consumption of any lean meat (e.g. rabbit) coupled with a lack of other sources of nutrients usually in combination with other stressors, such as severe cold or dry environment. Symptoms include diarrhea, headache, lassitude, a vague discomfort and hunger that can only be satisfied by consumption of fat or carbohydrates
Look up the info 
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Even rabbit gets old after a while.