I never set up out to be a pig farmer . It just kind of … happen .
I begin my first garden in college , while taking an environmental biological science class ( pesticides ! ) and dig into my phratry history of James Leonard Farmer , country common people and other rural types . It did n’t go great — raccoon ate all my sweet corn , my tomatoes dry out up and the green beans got bolt by some sort of caterpillar .
Fast - forward to a decade or so by and by . My wife and I have purchased a pocket-size home base on a recession raft , on a street wedge - a - block with amateur ( but devouring ) horticulturalists . As we watch our next - door neighbor ’s side cubic yard filling with chubby cerise tomatoes , our thinking turned to starting a garden of our own . In just a few time of year , this notion has grown into multiple beds of putting surface , tater , tomatoes , beans , crush and herb . We also set up a backyard pocket grove of pear , apple and cherry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , as well as patches teeming with blueberry , raspberries and blackberry .
And then , move by our agricultural endeavor and inspired by thesubscription toHobby Farmswe’d recently buy , we added four Golden Comet hens to our little homestead , installed in a hired hand - build chicken coop tucked behind our little brick house .
It was a suburban agricultural wonderland … and we wanted more . Within a few years , we ’d sold off our business and go with my parents to a Civil War - era farmhouse out in the county in cardinal Kentucky .
“Please Take Some Baby Pigs!”
This is where Sus scrofa embark our provincial ( and chaotic ) life . On the way back from closing on the sales agreement of our redbrick homestead , we stopped off at a champion ’s organic farm to say farewell . There , our friend entreated us to please purchase two Berkshire cultivator from her , as her farming partner had give back from a meet - and - greet with an unexpected litter in tow .
We have head to our new farm anyway , and pig sounded like a safe plan . So we loaded the little porker into our Labrador ’s big click crateful and drove six hours south with two young pigs in the back of a Honda Pilot ( functional but not advisable ; swine do carry an olfactory property … ) .
Our syndicate enjoyed watching the two purebred child pigs grow , finally loading and enrapture our full - produce ( well … in time we learned they could have finished out a bit more , a common mistake ) porkers to the central processor . Then , a few days later , we returned to pick up our meat .
Oh , it was so much porc . We swot cuts into a consecrated freezer , surmise we had mountain to give up and hook up with the local farmers marketplace , where our Berkshire meat — violent , marbled and almost beef - like in flavor — promptly drew a dedicated following .
And that is how one becomes an accidental bull Fannie Merritt Farmer ( or , this is how we enter the fray , at least ) . My married woman and I found a stock breeder within driving distance , where we coaxed baby pigs into a retrofitted horse cavalry trailer for delivery to our farm . We made this trip a smattering of time , until a breeding pair of Berkshires came up for sales agreement locally , at which point we found ourselves learning the fine art of pig gentility .
Read more : Consider the boar and sow when think about raise pigs .
Pig Pointers
We do n’t breed and raise baby slovenly person anymore . After some years as market James Leonard Farmer , we dialed thing back to a modest chicken mickle and large garden once again . ( This , it turns out , is our mellisonant spot . ) But our haphazard , learn - as - you - go lessons in cop farming did leave us with some decisive knowledge surrounding adventure in porcine entrepreneurialism . Here are three things you should take the time to think about before get baby pigs for your farm .
Pigs breed by the Koran , with a115 - daytime gestation period — three calendar month , three weeks and three solar day . Then , if you render rations , a pig should get to the idealistic processing weightiness in about 6 months ( maybe more , if you ’re raise heritage hogs in the colder season ; pure pasturing can take up to two years ) .
So you have all the information you need to make a firm pig - raising program . test not to pig in the dead of wintertime , when babe pigs need heat and protection against hostile elements to exist . Breed with a plan in mind to have enough meat to get you through the market time of year and keep your own deep-freeze stocked through the wintertime .
If you ’re considering getting pigs , grab a notebook and pencil , sit down for an hour or so , and make a plan before any baby squealer set hoof in your b or pasture .
As I tell earlier , folks quickly took a liking to our Berkshire meat , which is distinctively tasty . So when we changed course to raise and sell nitty-gritty from a litter of Large Blacks , people noticed — and they voiced their preferences .
Before you start raise grunter , spend some metre think about what you want to raise . Distinctive hogs are keen for merchandising , but you do demand to decide if this is the breed for you — before customers make the conclusion for you . There ’s some magnetic declination in heritage hogs ( lard pigs , 1st Baron Verulam pig , etc . ) , but if you train your client to revalue the variety , pasture - raising herd of different ( or motley ) breeds is a good option , too .
take more : Here are some pointers for finding spring cop for leverage .
you may breed your own child pigs to raise up for pork barrel . Or you may found a kinship with a breeder who will provide pigs for you .
Both avenues for acquiring baby pigs is workable , just as each has pros and cons . Breeding pop the question up - front cost vantage , but the cost of feeding a hungry Sus scrofa and sow(s ) absolutely needs to be considered , too . grease one’s palms baby squealer winnow out the going ( like , actual loss of baby pigs , who do not always make it ) breed all but guaranty , but you should know that the stock breeder ’s sale price is place to recoup these lost funds .
A by rights equipped farrowing setup need some upfront investment , too , that you wo n’t encounter when simply loose little infant pigs into a lush pasture .
So spend some time thinking about what experience you want to have with your pigs — the fostering to giving birth to market place route , or the acclivity ’em and restate method acting .
infant sloven are a lot of fun , and many days I miss watch them cavort in our Kentucky pastures . Maximize your enjoyment of these delightful small creatures by planning out just how you want your time with them to go .
