Am I overdoing it with animals?

[jlgoinggreen]

Hi,
We are very new to the farm life and I wanted to start slow, but not sure what happened. We just moved to a small farmette (6 acres) on September 1 (never lived on a farm before, unless you can count from ages 5-7 yrs old while my grandfather was ill). Before we moved I researched chickens and new we wanted to start with about 5 Buff Orpington Chickens. I was planning on doing one animal at a time as we got used to having a small farm.

Well we ended up with 16 Buff Orpington Chicks since we are now planning to sell eggs, 2 Nubian does (one of which is pregnant) that we have to pick up by next week, and now thinking of purchasing a Tamworth pig (maybe two to breed).

Is this too many animals for a new to farming homeschooling family?

If it were me I'd stay with the chickens and the goats for the moment. Maybe do the pigs next year once you are sure you're up to speed with what you've already got.

.....Alan.

[Terri]

Do you have shelter for them yet? Living where you do you will need it.

Personally, I think that once you get your chickens and your goats settled in you will KNOW if it is time to get a pig.

You might want to find out how folks in your area winter over pigs: I have heard of giving pigs a big heap of straw to burrow under but we live in a warmer area than you do: will one pig be warm enough??? Your neighbors might know.

Also, straw here is $5 a bale where I live. You might add that to your figures to decide if a winter pig will be profitable for you: if the cost of wintering the pig is too high you might prefer a spring time pig.

[uncle Will in In.]

Hogs are to cheap right now to pay their feed bill. If you want one or two to butcher and have garden and other scraps to help in the feed cost it would be OK, but hogs to breed and sell the offspring is rather iffy.
unk

[Curtis B]

I would say not to get too many at once, but then I would be a hypocrite. It does get overwhelming though.

[jlgoinggreen]

Thanks everyone for your help.

We do have shelter for them as we moved into a farmette that already had a shed converted into a chicken coop, huge barn, smaller barn/pen, a summer kitchen, a large garage/workshop, and small workshop. Some of it needs work, but easy stuff.

I've already read quite a few books from the library on chickens, goats, and pigs. From there we purchased those I felt would be a good fit for my family. I've also read a lot on the web and I am asking a lot of questions (I just found this forum, so you guys will probably get sick of us soon tee-hee). We've cleaned and cleared (not completely cleared) where our goats will be. We are going to buy the hay and feed for them this weekend.

Our plan is to become more self sufficient and try to consume as much from our land as possible. We will be getting meat and eggs from our chickens, milk from our goats. The reason we are considering pigs is to have our own meat and not have to buy it. We are anxious to start, but at the same time I don't want to over do it. My 13 year old son is stating he will take care of the pigs and his 5 year old brother is stating he will help. My 16 yr old is helping me with the goats. We are still planning on working as a family and helping each other with all the animals. Yet still I am kind of worried about over doing it as I can imagine it is a lot of work. My kids think I'm being a worry wart.

[pookshollow]

Have you considered rabbits instead of pigs? Smaller, and a quicker return of meat for work/food input. Also, less dangerous to young children!

[TurnerHill]

Originally Posted by Curtis B

I would say not to get too many at once, but then I would be a hypocrite. It does get overwhelming though.

True that.

[jlgoinggreen]

Originally Posted by pookshollow

Have you considered rabbits instead of pigs? Smaller, and a quicker return of meat for work/food input. Also, less dangerous to young children!

My daughter wants rabbits, but we've personally have never eaten rabbits before. There are so many options with meat from pigs that I know of, I'm not sure we would have the same options with meat from rabbit.

[TurnerHill]

Personally, I think breeding pigs might be a bridge too far. Raise up a feeder, first.

[jlgoinggreen]

Originally Posted by TurnerHill

Personally, I think breeding pigs might be a bridge too far. Raise up a feeder, first.

I'm sorry to sound so dumb, but what is a feeder pig? Is this a pig raised for the sole purpose of eating, or a type/types of breed?

[hobbyfarmer]

Originally Posted by jlgoinggreen

I'm sorry to sound so dumb, but what is a feeder pig? Is this a pig raised for the sole purpose of eating, or a type/types of breed?

Pigs are way too cheap right now to feed a breeding pair, imo. You can get a weaned (feeder) piglet in the spring for little to nothing, feed it up, have it processed, and fill your freezer without the added cost of year round management. I don't have a breed preference for feeder pigs personally, just whatever local farmers have available.

I do think pigs are a must have. They aren't all that much trouble and you can't beat the taste of fresh pork. We'll have two processed next month and start with two new feeders right away to process around Easter.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by jlgoinggreen

I'm sorry to sound so dumb, but what is a feeder pig? Is this a pig raised for the sole purpose of eating, or a type/types of breed?

Feeder pigs you buy at maybe 40 lbs of weight, and feed them up to maybe 220 lbs, and have them made into meat for the freezer.

If you buy a sow & a boar & feed them, have them mate, raise the 8-12 baby piglets that appear every 4-6 months, and figure out what to do with the baby piglets, and take care of them in all sorts of weather, and.... That is raising pigs from start to finish. It costs a lot to feed that boar to sit around all year for 3 days of work.... It costs a lot to take care of the sow, and so forth. Winter is a difficult time to breed/raise small pigs.

Right now hogs are real cheap. It does not pay to do the 2nd option, and it is a great deal of work. And you should end up with close to 30 hogs a year of various sizes if you do it right.....

Perhaps you meant you want to raise 2 feeder pigs, and see how that goes? Even that will cost you more than buying the pork right now, but it is not too stressful to raise 2 feederpigs & get your feet wet. Not too much hassle to get 2 feeder pigs raised.

I do not think you want to consider a breeding pair at this time at all. Much work, much expense, and difficult at this time of the year. If you want to get into raising hogs from scratch (breeding your own), you'd likely want a few sows to go with the one boar & make it all worthwhile - which means a lot of work & a lot of piglets and a real sales network you'd need to develop. Breeding hogs tend to be the most hands-on critter there is. Not talking you out of it, but -

I'd start with a couple feeder pigs for now and see how that goes. NOT a breeding pair.

--->Paul

[TurnerHill]

Originally Posted by rambler

Feeder pigs you buy at maybe 40 lbs of weight, and feed them up to maybe 220 lbs, and have them made into meat for the freezer.

If you buy a sow & a boar & feed them, have them mate, raise the 8-12 baby piglets that appear every 4-6 months, and figure out what to do with the baby piglets, and take care of them in all sorts of weather, and.... That is raising pigs from start to finish. It costs a lot to feed that boar to sit around all year for 3 days of work.... It costs a lot to take care of the sow, and so forth. Winter is a difficult time to breed/raise small pigs.

Right now hogs are real cheap. It does not pay to do the 2nd option, and it is a great deal of work. And you should end up with close to 30 hogs a year of various sizes if you do it right.....

Perhaps you meant you want to raise 2 feeder pigs, and see how that goes? Even that will cost you more than buying the pork right now, but it is not too stressful to raise 2 feederpigs & get your feet wet. Not too much hassle to get 2 feeder pigs raised.

I do not think you want to consider a breeding pair at this time at all. Much work, much expense, and difficult at this time of the year. If you want to get into raising hogs from scratch (breeding your own), you'd likely want a few sows to go with the one boar & make it all worthwhile - which means a lot of work & a lot of piglets and a real sales network you'd need to develop. Breeding hogs tend to be the most hands-on critter there is. Not talking you out of it, but -

I'd start with a couple feeder pigs for now and see how that goes. NOT a breeding pair.

--->Paul

A much more eloquent and complete version of what I was trying to say.

Also (and not to get into the breed wars here) why Tamworth pigs?

If that is what is available, fine. Or if you have done meaningful research and settled on Tamworths, fine. I don't know much about pigs, myself.

I ask only because certain words raise red flags for me. These are words that indicate that a prospective homesteader has been taken in by breed propaganda. "Tamworth" is one of those words. Others include "Jersey", "Dexter" (not the TV show), and "Brandywine".

[cathleenc]

it all depends on you. What works for you may not work for anyone else - only you can decide.

We moved from a total urban environment to a small farm - the move got delayed - by the time we set foot on the farm I had close to 18 animals paid for and waiting for pick up. Sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, Added geese, rabbits, and ducks within a few months.

Were we over our head? No, never. Everyone thrived and did well, including us. We worked hard at developing great local contacts with vet/farmers/people who helpd us when we needed it, read like crazy, and volunteered at others farms to work exchange for learning.

It was a crazy ride but one I will always remember with great joy and pride!

have fun!

[FrontPorch]

Originally Posted by jlgoinggreen

Hi,
We are very new to the farm life and I wanted to start slow, but not sure what happened. We just moved to a small farmette (6 acres) on September 1 (never lived on a farm before, unless you can count from ages 5-7 yrs old while my grandfather was ill). Before we moved I researched chickens and new we wanted to start with about 5 Buff Orpington Chickens. I was planning on doing one animal at a time as we got used to having a small farm.

Well we ended up with 16 Buff Orpington Chicks since we are now planning to sell eggs, 2 Nubian does (one of which is pregnant) that we have to pick up by next week, and now thinking of purchasing a Tamworth pig (maybe two to breed).

Is this too many animals for a new to farming homeschooling family?

I would suggest getting through one winter at the new place before adding any more animals. That will give you a better idea of the logistics of it all.

[seedspreader]

I agree with what everyone said here almost completely. I would just add this: Whatever animals you want to have... build the fence for them now. Build it before you have to feed them. A good fence, built the right way, will make everything in your life easier.

If you want pigs eventually... spend the money you would on Pigs and feed and build a pig fence.

Fencing and cross fencing will just make EVERYTHING easier... I speak from experience.

[fixer1958]

Originally Posted by seedspreader

I agree with what everyone said here almost completely. I would just add this: Whatever animals you want to have... build the fence for them now. Build it before you have to feed them. A good fence, built the right way, will make everything in your life easier.

If you want pigs eventually... spend the money you would on Pigs and feed and build a pig fence.

Fencing and cross fencing will just make EVERYTHING easier... I speak from experience.

I agree with that.
Plus.... if you keep pigs long enough they can get as big as a compact car only not as economical from the feed stand point.

[wwubben]

Keeping a pair of breeding hogs is very expensive.You can artificially breed a gilt or sow but I would start out with two feeder pigs.Hogs can be a real problem with an inexperienced person.They definitely need a very strong pen.They eat chickens and other animals.

[Ezekiel's Garde]

A newbie, almost one year later...

I'd stick with chickens and goats and get the feeder pigs in the spring. My 2 cents. We've gone back and forth on a couple of different animals to add to our chickens nad goats, and decided against getting nearly all of them. First it was guard llamas. Then, we wanted sheep (well, still do, actually, but not this year and maybe not next). Then, more chickens. We got more chickens. That was it. We're looking at guineas and maybe geese in the spring. IMO, the poultry aren't terribly difficult to raise and care for. Goats aren't too bad, either, but with that, the garden, and trying to keep house, that's all I can handle.

Another thing, if you have a wife, you both need to be on the same page. Whoever is going to be doing most of the work has to know up front that it can be messy, difficult, and uncomfortable. You have to do it whether or not you feel like it. Even if you're the only one who can milk the goats, and the baby was up all night, and you're coming down with a terrible cold - and you have tennis elbow from too much milking and gardening.

Other than that, my personal opinion is that you're doing fine. Just don't do too much until you've gone through an entire year cycle with what you have. At least that is what we've decided is very wise.

Also, if you're establishing a garden, orchard, etc., you need to take a similar view. I nearly cut off more than I could chew, quadrupling my garden from my suburban garden. It worked, however, just not as well as I wanted. And I need to fence my garden because the free-range chickens ate most of my tomatoes and green beans that was supposed to go in my canner.

HTH!!!