PIGS

samjames

is there money in pigs for a small holding??

_Brian

samjames wrote: »

is there money in pigs for a small holding??

If you can get a butcher interested in free range then maybe..


But otherwise I would say no.. You will get some sale for weaners but honestly at €40-50 at 10 weeks I cant see it madly profitable.

samjames

_Brian wrote: »

If you can get a butcher interested in free range then maybe..


But otherwise I would say no.. You will get some sale for weaners but honestly at €40-50 at 10 weeks I cant see it madly profitable.

what about pig marts,

is anyone on here keep pigs and making money from doing so

Stationmaster

I've just started. Not expecting to make much out of them but reckon they'll at least pay for themselves.

Actually, does anyone know by any chance where I'd get a few second hand pig shelters? Nothing much online.

Stationmaster

Anyone else here rearing pigs outdoors? If so, what do you have underneath them if you have a pig arc or something similar? The fecking ground is saturated where I am and the inside of the pig arc is as bad.

Base price

Stationmaster wrote: »

Anyone else here rearing pigs outdoors? If so, what do you have underneath them if you have a pig arc or something similar? The fecking ground is saturated where I am and the inside of the pig arc is as bad.

IMO pig arcs are not suitable housing for pigs. In the Summer they are too hot and in the Winter they condense and are cold. Pigs need a dry place to lye, like all mammals. Move your arc to higher ground if you can and if not buy a few pig slats to elevate it off the wet ground and bed it with straw. Barley, wheaten, oaten, pea, OSR straw will do as bedding or dry rushes.

samjames

theyre suppose to be a good price at the minute

memorystick

What are fat pigs making at the moment live? I’ve a few near fat and lads are asking me for one. Sound

memorystick

Is ground wheat, soya bean and minerals sufficient for sows and pigs?

Base price

memorystick wrote: »

Is ground wheat, soya bean and minerals sufficient for sows and pigs?

I only ever fed rolled barley to fattening pigs along with waste veg & spuds. I doubt they need soya meal to fatten and certainly not for farrowing sows. Our pigs were free range so I never gave them minerals either as I reckoned they got what they wanted from the ground.

memorystick

So should I use barley instead? Mine are indoors

Base price

AFAIK commercial pig feed is barley based not wheat based.

Stationmaster

I give sow and young weaners a mix of barley and pig ration from Liffey Mills. I give a higher protein nut then when the weaners are about 8 to 10 weeks out from killing and when the sow is a few weeks from farrowing and for the first couple of weeks after having banabhs. I would supplement with veg, fruit etc.