Farm bought pig vs. shelf bought!

oldat31

Hi all, I am on a quest to bring down my cost of living and I am looking at food and ways to eat better but cheaper.

I have been growing veg for a while now, started fruit this year and also have chickens for eggs. It works but really only saves buttons..

Looking at meat I was wondering would it be cheaper for me to buy a pig ready to be slaughtered and butcherd, or would it be the same cost as buying as I need from a butcher?...

Is there even anywehre I can buy a pig and have the whole process done in one go?

BTW I live in south Co, Dublin.

bbam

oldat31 wrote: »

Hi all, I am on a quest to bring down my cost of living and I am looking at food and ways to eat better but cheaper.

I have been growing veg for a while now, started fruit this year and also have chickens for eggs. It works but really only saves buttons..

Looking at meat I was wondering would it be cheaper for me to buy a pig ready to be slaughtered and butcherd, or would it be the same cost as buying as I need from a butcher?...

Is there even anywehre I can buy a pig and have the whole process done in one go?

BTW I live in south Co, Dublin.

We rear pigs for our own table and TBH you saving little/nothing as far as I'm concerned.. Maybe others will correct me but it's about quality and tracability for us, and the enjoyment of having pigs, don't underestimate that..

Check on DD, there are often lads selling either butccher ready pigs or there was one lad in Cavan some time back selling butchered pigs half or whole, I havent seen his add in a while so I suspect it wasn't making much money..

sweeney1971

We use to rear pigs and get them killed for our own use, but that was when we had lot's of whey and bread waste. To be honest by the time you have spent money on fattening it it does not really save you any money. The only good thing is that you know what its been fed on.
Your better off getting some meat breed chickens and killing yourself, thats what we do and when we get fed up of chicken we swop our neighbours chicken for either some pork chops or a joint. This trading lark is really working well in our little area we also swop eggs for honey.

oldat31

I live in a built up area so rearing chickens for meat is a no go because of the cock...

Rearing my own pigs is also a no go because I dought I would be allowed....

I was thinking I could buy a ready pig, have it slaughtered and butchered but not sure if its worth it. Theres 3 of us that will pool money and then devide the meat.

eorna

oldat31 wrote: »

I live in a built up area so rearing chickens for meat is a no go because of the cock...

Rearing my own pigs is also a no go because I dought I would be allowed....

I was thinking I could buy a ready pig, have it slaughtered and butchered but not sure if its worth it. Theres 3 of us that will pool money and then devide the meat.

you don't need cock to rear chickens for meat. get a few broilers either day old (need lamp) or 3-4 weeks old give them plenty of grain and grass and the meat is like different animal than bought chickens...i don't think you'll save money..i could nearly bet that would cost more than bought chickens but.....

oldat31

eorna wrote: »

you don't need cock to rear chickens for meat. get a few broilers either day old (need lamp) or 3-4 weeks old give them plenty of grain and grass and the meat is like different animal than bought chickens...i don't think you'll save money..i could nearly bet that would cost more than bought chickens but.....

The point is to save money, buying broilers will cost atleast E10 a chick, then feed. So each chichen ready to eat will be E15, I can get 2 for a tenner in the butchers.......

redzerologhlen

oldat31 wrote: »

The point is to save money, buying broilers will cost atleast E10 a chick, then feed. So each chichen ready to eat will be E15, I can get 2 for a tenner in the butchers.......

I got broilers at day olds last year and they only cost 50c each They cost the price of a normal chicken to rear but they weighed between 6 and 7lb and the quality didnt compare to be honest. Make what you want of that but I think the home reared broiler was still better value.

lakill Farm

you need to go to a meat factory shop, a wholesaler or supplier to restuarant trade and get trade or wholesale prices.

PatQfarmer

We rear 2 or 3 pigs each year for freezer. Definitely not cheaper, but if provenance is important, then fine. nice to have around too.
M&S sausages at 2 packs for €4 are waaaay cheaper though...and equally nice!
That said, the hams are nearly worth the cost alone. Entirely different from most that you would buy, if fed right.