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Wish me luck! (loading day!)

1K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  Unregistered-1427815803 
#1 ·
Well I was able to sell one of my hogs and will be taking both of them to the butchers today. I am awfully nervous about trying to load them, after all the stories I have read about that task! I made sure to take the time to make them fall in love with me, and they will come running whenever they see me... I also did not feed them this am, hoping that the combination of hunger and me will be enough to get them to brave the loading ramp into the van! The butcher is only about 15 minutes away, and they will not kill them today, prefering to let them settle in and de-stress before slaughter.

I am really happy with what I got for the one hog... 250 for approx 150 lb hog, including butcher fees, which will be under 100. So the sale of the one will cover butcher of both, plus purchase of both and a good chunk of the feed bill. I am excited about a freezer of excellent pork for pennies a pound!

Stephanie
 
#8 ·
You may wonder why it took me three days to update you all... lol... well, that is because it took three days to accomplish!!!!!!!

Stoooooooopid me! Boy did I learn a lot this weekend.

1. No matter how *in love* your hogs are with you, when things look scary, they are gonna revolt.

2. Pigs don't like steep ramps

3. Pigs don't like strange people.

4. Pigs will bust through cattle panels like they are paper

5. You can't *catch* a pig running through the woods

6. Pigs won't come for a treat until all the scary people have left.

7. Pigs will run for their treat and go right back into the pen 5 minutes after the contracted hauler leaves.

8. ALWAYS build a pig-tight holding pen, that a truck can be backed up to and leaves them no room to escape but INTO the truck.

9. When all else fails, professionals with cattle prods and livestock trailers are worth every penny.

Wow, was this an experience... took three days... Day 1 van was a no go, Day 2 had to hire a guy the butcher uses to come get em... he had to come back on day 3. I have never seen a more lovely sight than the hauler driving off with my hogs in his trailer!

The little profit I had hoped to show was eaten up by paying the hauler... but I will still have a freezer of pork for pennies a pound. On days 1 through 3 I said NEVER EVER EVER will I get hogs again. Today, I am thinking, well, if I build a pen over THERE, and use pallets and make a ramp HERE... lol Am I a glutton for punishment or what? Oh well, another experience on the farm that was certainly an education.

Laugh away, once I stopped crying I laughed at myself too!

Stephanie
 
#10 ·
Nothing like on the job training to see what the problems can be. You learned more in those three days than you could ever had taking someone else's advice. Now you know why we all wanted to hear the bottom line on your new adventure. Things like that are funny to everyone but the injured party. Next time will be a piece of cake. Right?
 
#11 ·
AH! Now you are an expert!!!!

I have been told stories of self loading pigs, these where trained to load by feeding them on a raised platform that looked like the back of a pickup or trailer.
 
#12 ·
Thumper, that sounds like a great idea. All you'd have to do is find a used bedliner that someone is throwing away, and set it on a few pallets with a ramp. Raise it as they get bigger. Maybe line it with some hogpanel for authentic scenery.... Hmmmn--now you've got me thinking!
 
#14 ·
Now that it is over I find it amusing too! What is really cool is that I have made a new friend in all of this... I ended up spending so much time talking to the butcher, that we discovered many common interests and have decided to start attending the auctions and swaps together! I have had a hard time finding any female friends out here that like the farm stuff, most are men... and it will be so nice to go to stuff with a fellow wife/mom/farmer instead of always going alone.

Gee, wonder what I will buy next... lol

Stephanie, drooling over the thought of BBQ spareribs!
 
#15 ·
slkirky said:
Now that it is over I find it amusing too! What is really cool is that I have made a new friend in all of this... I ended up spending so much time talking to the butcher, that we discovered many common interests and have decided to start attending the auctions and swaps together! I have had a hard time finding any female friends out here that like the farm stuff, most are men... and it will be so nice to go to stuff with a fellow wife/mom/farmer instead of always going alone.

Gee, wonder what I will buy next... lol

Stephanie, drooling over the thought of BBQ spareribs!
The main thing to remember about moving hogs is the view :) If they can see a hole they presume they will fit thru it!! If you make sure your runs are covered on the sides so they can't see out, your problems will be over. Move them forward with a solid hurdle with a handgrip for your hand. It must block there view so they will not atempt to go that way.Avoid sharp corners in your runs and make them a gradual curve so they will keep moving and not have a reason to balk The final run and the loading chute should not have room for them to turn back!When you see how other people do it you will see that it is not rocket science :D
Mr. Wanda
Mike
 
#16 ·
Still thinking about those bedliners. I've seen a bunch stacked outside one of those places that sprays Rhinolining into pickup beds -- I'm going to ask them if I can have them. Then I thought, they would make a good hog shelter, too, if I lean them into an A frame sort of thing and seal up one end also. Where my hog shelter will be is not in the sun...black plastic would get too hot in the sun.
 
#17 ·
It has been interesting to watch my pigs roam about our place, they will follow me anywhere, up and down steep banks, even the ones the goats will go around! The pigs walk up and down pallets, go up and down steps, they have followed my husbands pickup halfway to the gate!
I saw one of them jumping up and running over tires the other day.
I thought they couldn't or wouldn't do such things!
I am going to try stacking blocks or something up to the bed of the pickup, just to see if they will climb up to go in for food.
 
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