How many litters can a pig have in a years time?

Been thinking about getting me a sow and a boar and raising young ones off of them. I've raised many pigs for slaughter but have never raised for breeding purposes. Will the weeners pay for the feed bill? How much daily feed for the boar and sow? Do I need to keep them in seperate pens all the time? Or just when the sow furrows? A lot of times at the local sale barn they run whole litters of weening aged piglets through for people to buy the whole litter if wanted. Would that be a cheaper way of raising them? Sometimes they go for around $12 - $15 dollars a head. That would be highest bidder takes all.

[uncle Will in In.]

Two litters per year. 4 months bred and two months nursing. You can wean them sooner but you will have smaller pigs. Lots of hog farmers would like to know if pigs are going to show a profit. When you can buy 40 lb pigs for $15 the farmer raised them for nothing. If you are feeding a boar for only one litter at a time, you would have less than nothing when pigs are cheap. When they are high and corn isn't you can make money.

[arnoldw]

I have 10 sows that I keep for 4 to 6 farrowing and 1 boar that I keep only for one year. After 1 year a boar eats more than hes wourth. I dont sell any of my pigs at the auction. I sale to individuals at 5 weeks old. What is not sold individual I have one man that pays me $25 dollars a piece for All I have left. I use as much alternative feed as possible. Bread, leftover vegeatables. Feed right know here in NC is $7.10 per hundred with vitimans. about 20 percent of my feed is bought. You cant make money with hogs with just one sow and a boar. It may be more economical to buy feeder pigs If you can buy them that reasonable. At the auctions here 220 to 260 pound top hogs are bringing over 50 cents a pound. If you looking at making money maybe goats maybe the answer. I have never seen ditch bank goats sell so high at the auction as there selling for know.
Arnold

Arnold, right now my wife and I are running a small bakery business. We have waste that we are feeding to a finisher right now. So far I am mixing about 50 percent hog feed with 50 percent bakery waste and feeding it to that one pig which is ready for the freezer. So I think goats is out of the question for what to do with the bakery waste. But what I have been thinking about is buying a litter of piglets and feed the waste to them. As they grow I'll cull them out one by one by either eating them or selling them until I end up with one left to finish out.

Thanks Uncle Will and Arnold for your input.

[dla]

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

Two litters per year. 4 months bred and two months nursing. You can wean them sooner but you will have smaller pigs. Lots of hog farmers would like to know if pigs are going to show a profit. When you can buy 40 lb pigs for $15 the farmer raised them for nothing. If you are feeding a boar for only one litter at a time, you would have less than nothing when pigs are cheap. When they are high and corn isn't you can make money.

How much will it cost to maintain the boar? Do you keep them year after year?
Will they KEEP GROWING?

[arnoldw]

Originally Posted by dla

How much will it cost to maintain the boar? Do you keep them year after year?
Will they KEEP GROWING?

The bigger they get the more they eat. But thats not the proublem. I just hauled a boar to the sale that was 2 and weighed 580 lbs. Big boars will harm your younger sows because of there weight and the larger boars tend not to produce as many pigs. Hope this helps. I keep a couple of quilts every year and do not want a large boar to hurt there bscks breeding them.
Arnold

[GeorgeK]

for me it has generally been 3 litters for 2 years

[highlands]

Two litters a year. That gives the sows a little rest to recondition between litters.

But for a single sow I wouldn't suggest keeping a boar. He'll eat all your profits even if you pasture totally in the warm seasons. We have four sows and we have an arrangement with another farmer who brings his boar by to visit the ladies time to time. I have to feed the boar for a month or more and then I give the other farmer the boar back plus a piglet from each litter. That way he's only here about two to three months a year. With four sows that makes sense. With more you might want your own boar. With one I wouldn't unless you couldn't get a boar on time.

The other thing is the boars get big fast. The boar we used last time is now 800 lbs and being retired.

Cheers,

-Walter
in Vermont