Raising pigs

Sapsorrow

Ok so I was up in Clare visiting a good old friend of mine who's jsut starting to venture into raising his own meat. So far he has slaughtered two pigs (the first one yielded something like 85 pounds of meat) and has 2 lambs with three months to go before they're ready. He said not a scrap of meat went to waste, he got a load of sausages and even the bones for his dogs, the slaughtering, butchering and vacuum packing was less than 100euro altogether! He reckons he was spending about 11euro every two weeks on feed per pig and then giving them lots of scraps.

It's really got me thinking about what we could do ourselves with the bit of land we've got: 3/4 acre of meadow + the garden, farm yard, stables, barn and a tiny bit of woodland type land for snuffling too. It seems like the most ethical way to go about eating meat to me because you have complete comfort in knowing the animal was living a happy and carefree life enjoying the sunshine etc. without paying crazy prices for free-range or organic.

After talking to my friend it seems pigs would be our most viable option, the place is riddled with foxes so chickens are a no go and I'm intolerant to eggs anyway, there are some pretty wild dogs around the area that prowl in packs too so lambs would be pretty risky too. He said pigs are easist for beginners as sheep are prone to so much disease too. He also reckons it's easy to breed a few pigs for piglets to keep yourself stocked up and then sell the rest to pay for some of the feed used in fattening. So what I'm wondering is how healthy would pork raised on minimal grains and lots of fruit and veg scraps fare in terms of omega ratios etc? I can probably get plenty of free apples in the autumn to sweeten the meat up too. Can pork be regularly consumed as part of a healthy diet in this context? It would probably become a staple food for us if we were to go for it so I want to know it's ok.

Lol who woulda thought I was veggie for the last 12/13 years! :rolleyes:

Muffin top

Off topic I know, but, out of interest what has you eating meat again?

Sapsorrow

Muffin top wrote: »

Off topic I know, but, out of interest what has you eating meat again?

My health!

Muffin top

Fair enough!

El_Dangeroso

Oh wow! That's a fantastic idea! I will totally buy as much pork as will fit in my freezer from you if you're willing.

On the subject of a grain-free diet, I may be wrong but I don't think it's possible. You need some grains to fatten up the pig. Having said that, pastured pork has a million time better fatty acid ratio than intensively raised. You can probably supplement their diet with flax, but it's probably not necessary.

Sapsorrow

Ya I think the feed is grain based and then we'd try to minimise the amount they'd be inclined to eat by giving them plenty of fruit and veg scraps. So by pasture fed you mean the ones that are free-range and so have access to some greenery etc but are still primarily raised on grains? I wonder could I get flax in bulk cheaply somewhere. I'd love to raise lamb but I don't trust the dogs in the area one bit, they're very nasty wild little f*ckers and collies are well able to clear a fence.
It's still only a pipeline idea, but I didin't realise it would only take 8 or 9 months from start to finish to actually do it so it's not as big a commitment as I would have imagined it to be. We actually have a few friends who are all starting to think about raising their own meat on a small scale so it'd be great if we could all learn from each other along the way. We're going to talk to our nextdoor neighbour who's an organic cattle farmer and see if he wants in on it and that way if we need to go away we have someone to feed them etc. and who can help us do a good job on fencing and the likes.
Lol I'd say we'd have plenty to spare alright so if it's goes ahead I can sort ya out, otherwise when my friend starts selling I can hook you up with him, he's only 45mins from Galway, I'm going to be stocking up on lamb when he gets his two slaughtered, he's getting it all certified so he can start selling it at markets. Need to get me a big ass freeezer asap!

El_Dangeroso

Oh great! Definitely be interested in buying off that guy.

I think things like these are going to become increasingly popular in the next few years. I remember talking to a guy in work who had a farm about how they sell their cattle for €2-3 a kilo and then the supermarket sells it for €13 (I only roughly remember the figures before someone corrects me on that!). Now I know there are overheads of slaughter/hanging etc. but that just strikes me as a system that is prime to have some middlemen cut out of it.

I've been buying from these guys:

http://www.castleminefarm.ie/

They already sell out of Moycullen market are starting to sell in the Galway city market at the end of July I understand. The prices on the website seem a bit higher than the market prices in my experience.

The bacon is unreal, really flavoursome, no nasty additives and not too salty. They age all their beef too. Not organic but very close to it. They even grow most of their own feed.

Sapsorrow

Oh stop the taste difference is unreal! For breakfast at his place we have a load of his own pigs sausages and tehy were incredible and so simple, he also threw on a load of crackling(??) normally I have a real aversion to eating the fat off any meat but he talked me into trying a bite of it and it was amazing, just melted in your mouth. That was the major selling point for me, apart from the economical issue. We're spending a small fortune on food these days, never realised how affordable vegetarianism is by comparison.

brianthebard

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Oh wow! That's a fantastic idea! I will totally buy as much pork as will fit in my freezer from you if you're willing.

On the subject of a grain-free diet, I may be wrong but I don't think it's possible. You need some grains to fatten up the pig.

I think that's only true if you are looking to get your animal up to the max weight possible for the purpose of getting the most money possible at the factory, which isn't the case here. It would probably take a bit longer to fatten up the animal and it might not be as big as possible but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously they'll be able to furrow in the fields and get the majority of their feed themselves but I'm not sure how long a couple of acres would last for pigs. Sounds like a great plan Sapsorrow, you might also look into goats in the future as an alternative to sheep.

El_Dangeroso

brianthebard wrote: »

I think that's only true if you are looking to get your animal up to the max weight possible for the purpose of getting the most money possible at the factory, which isn't the case here. It would probably take a bit longer to fatten up the animal and it might not be as big as possible but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously they'll be able to furrow in the fields and get the majority of their feed themselves but I'm not sure how long a couple of acres would last for pigs. Sounds like a great plan Sapsorrow, you might also look into goats in the future as an alternative to sheep.

That's great to know BtB!

Sigh, my apartment balcony isn't even big enough for a chicken.

Sapsorrow

Oh I actually love goats, I'm very intrigued by the meat too I'd love to try it because I love middle eastern cookery. I have been warned by my parents and friend not to go near goats because they're so naughty and destructive, I've actually played around with the idea of getting them for milk in the past but I'd fear for the safety of my veg patch and flower beds!

brianthebard

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Oh I actually love goats, I'm very intrigued by the meat too I'd love to try it because I love middle eastern cookery. I have been warned by my parents and friend not to go near goats because they're so naughty and destructive, I've actually played around with the idea of getting them for milk in the past but I'd fear for the safety of my veg patch and flower beds!

They're no better or worse than sheep in terms of being naughty or destructive (I think sheep are worse personally, because they're so dumb), I think they're a bit easier to milk although both can be milked, we haven't had any goats in years so I don't know first hand what they're like disease wise.

Sapsorrow

Hehe I have been told by so many people that sheep are really dumb at this stage!

brianthebard

For serious, lambs seem quite smart but you can actually hear the brain cells dying in adult sheep.....

Sapsorrow

I think I've noticed that is some people I know too.

alabandical

Thinking about raising pigs meself. Is it ideal to have a few pigs together as they're social animals, or is this irrelevant? What would be the minimum area you would keep them in too?

brianthebard

I think you'll want more than one, although sometimes you can mix and match animals, some get on better than others together. You'll want to do plenty of research before taking the plunge anyways. Check out some of John Seymour's books they are well written and perhaps the most practical for someone starting out.

Mac222

Just out of curiosity how did the pig thing go ? im thinking of doing it now

hardCopy

Mac222 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity how did the pig thing go ? im thinking of doing it now

Check out the Smallholding Forum too, you might get some good info there

Mac222

Thanks Hardcopy !