I'm new to pigs and want to convince the wife that it it worth the costs. Can anybody tell me how much feed it would take to raise a 30 to 40 weaner to 260lb? I'm thinking about just buying the 16% pig grower in the store. I think they will convert 4 to 1 on the average but is that really true? I do have unshelled corn available too, but I'm going with the worst case senario on costs. Thanks
They should do a 1 to 3 conversion or better on the 16% feed. They older they get, the poorer the conversion rate gets. I wonder if some of the homstead pig raisers are neglecting to worm their pigs. A gut full of worms will eat as much as the pig.
We wormed with Wazine17 to worm our hogs. It is low cost but effective. I think we paid under $5 for it and we are only raising 2 so it should be all that we need. Read the label well before you actually use it. The cost is well worth it. My hubby had to convience me to do it and after we did, i was very happy. We loved the meat and used it all winter. We did one hog last year and are doing 2 this year. We havent bought any meat from the store since nov. of last year and we ran out last month. We also eat our chickens, turkeys and ducks and ground turkey from the store (if we run low). The way you "have" it butchered is the key to a lot of it, if you ask me. We had all of our hams sliced into ham steaks because there are just four of us and it made for a lot of meals insted of only 4 hams. The meat is so much better and better for you. Good luck with the wife. Belinda
We have raised two pigs for the first time this year. They are pretty much ready to go. I was kind of surprised how much it is going to cost to butcher them. He said about $200 per pig, yielding about 140 pounds of meat. Since I only paid $50 per pig and food was free (I'll get to that), it comes out to just under $2.00 per pound. Not a huge savings, perhaps, but I have the satisfaction of knowing everything my pigs ate, that they were always humanely treated, and had no chemicals of any kind. As to how I fed them, I own a restaurant. It has given me such peace of mind to know that I've eliminated so much waste. I have supplemented them with a bit of pig food and some dog food too, but mot much. My kids are so much more conscious about waste. They save everything everywhere for the pigs. I also have a good friend that owns a doughtnut shop. He save his old yucky stuff for the pigs too, in exchange for a ham this fall. Nice of him! But that brings me around to my suggestion... find creative ways to provided for your pigs. You'll save a lot of money and feel good about it too. Perhaps, you could find some like minded friends in the restaurant industry that would save scraps for you. It is a bit of a pain for my employees, but they are all used to doing it now. Offer to pay a bit or trade for some meat, provide clean pails with lids for the refuse. I've really enjoyed having pigs. I will get two new ones as soon as possible. They are friendly, clean and easy to care for. Best wishes, Tina
Hi Uncle Will, I was told this was the best place by a couple of people. The price includes processing ham and bacon. I am in California. What do you think would be closer to a fair price? As I said, this is my first time with pigs and he is the only guy that has been recommended to me. Thanks, Tina, the Night Owl
Even $2/lb is a savings, plus you get better meat, that you know what happened. Plus that $250 is NOT going towards a new feedlot... I plan to get 2-4 pigs this year still for that reason, we love pork and ham. I havent asked about butchering prices yet, but even if it does cost more, I get satisfaction from it, plus a tilled garden. On my thread about how to feed, they said 10 bushels of corn, I would guess they wouldnt eat too much more feed. That would be 560 lbs. Not sure if they eat less feed though. With 3 to 1, that would be 187 lbs gain, plus what you bought them at, say 50 would be 237 lbs. I dont know if they get the same conversion with corn or not.
I'm getting my first pigs this Saturday. I've checked around for butchering prices first though. The meat market my wife works at charges $15 kill fee- 25 cents per pound for cut, wrap and freeze- plus another 25 cents per pound for anything you want smoked. I thought that this sounded reasonable since people come from all over the state for this guys "home smoked bacon".
