A Jesusfreaks tales of farm life with soon to be Six kids

Jesusfreak101

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It's alot when the going rate was .45 cents per pound and that was with out vacuum sealing which they charged more for of course. Most of weren't booked around here at all. They all said just to call and they would get them in the next day. They just aren't taking them near us for one which i guess that what frustrated me was that they had been taking them and told me i didn't need an appointment which is why I called to began with and was expecting to get told baised off what you said in the past the first time i called to ask was i believe in like December or January and was told that(i didn't need an appointment) and then called again in April to get them booked/appointment for this month and was told again just to call and they would process next day. Our areas are different to the extreme which is funny considering there are alot of cattle ranch, sheep, goats around us not so much pigs but they are there just not as big operations that i have seen. Maybe everyone over here been going there. Most if not all the butcher shops have shut down their processing unless its for their own animals that they saling in the store.
 
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Jesusfreak101

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Okay so I posted some of this on the coffee forum so bare with me its partly for my records. Anyways we took two of the pigs two processors today. The butcher said he would get the carcass friday and process them this coming week. So i find out how much meat i get from them and now i been given a work sheet for what cuts i want. i am trying to think of what each is and what pounds i want them in. an of course one kid is napping so thats great for thinking but the older two are talking nonstop to me not helpful. i need to go to the feed store and get some things also need to do some inside and outside chores. i dont even know what we get but i guess i just write what we want from what we hope to get from each i dont know anyways. we going to be buying five more pigs kunekunes one boar and 4 females (boar is unrelated to the females but the females are sisters). i am going to keep 2 females and sale two if they dont sale they go to the processors with my last female pig that we got for free. I also have some rabbits that i be processing soon and two drakes may be more depending on which we decide to keep. i am thinking of going down in duck hens duck eggs dont sale atleast around me they arent as popular. i currently have seven hens... but i do raise for meat so at the same time not a big deal the eggs dont sale. just need a new incubator, need a new pen for the pigs, need a new coop, hutches, and house. okay lots of things to do need to replant again some seed didnt come up no clue as to why but oh well. i looking at buying some plants and starting to order seeds or just buy from the store for now. i got to go to feed store 2 year olds awake so that means i got time to go see yall gotta run will finish this later
 

farmerjan

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What do you eat the most of in pork? Chops, bacon, ground pork, sausage, hams or ham steaks..... figure out what you use the most, then tell the butcher what you are looking for and how many in the family. If they cure the bacon have them do the jowl too, it is just as good as the bacon,; the hams can be sugar cured or salt (country ham) cured or just chunked up into fresh ham roasts. There is always a fair amount of ground pork just from cutting up the other cuts. Do you eat much sausage? How about cooking with sausage like Italian sausage as opposed to breakfast type sausage..... links or just patties of breakfast type. Think about what you buy and what you all like. The butcher can help you decide if you have some basic stuff written down to give them an idea of how you use it.

On the new hogs, give the 4 sows a chance to show their personalities before you just up and sell 2. Really, you want to keep the 2 that do the best for you and sometimes the nicest one won't be the best mother. You don't want to keep a mean hog, but you don't need to keep one that only raises 2 or 3 pigs, but one that will raise you a decent litter of at least 6 or more. I don't know what is average for that breed. Mine had to raise and wean off a minimum of 8 or they did not stay. But I had Hampshire/Duroc/Berkshires and crosses out of them. You might want to try raising a litter off each, and I don't think that piglets will be that hard to sell with the current "pandemic" situation.... and evaluate their mothering ability as well as their overall dispositions. Or you might just find that one of them is just not as nice a hog and take it and the other pig you still have and get it killed..... lots of possibilities.
 

Jesusfreak101

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Okay so i haven't a clue what i was posting earlier moving on to the now lol. I picked up the five pigs in my mini van in two large rabbit cages with a tarp underneath and a large/medium dog crate in the back lol how much more country can you get lol :lol: anyways the pigs are settled in the goats are have flipped stalls so i can milk panda morning and evening now. Her kids go in the first stall instead of the inner stall. They aren't thrilled with being seperate oh well. They go in the Pasture, mama stays in the pen. Yay goats yelling lol. The calf is a pain she likes to chase the other pigs so she in the stall with mama goat to prevent unwanted behavior with the pigs until i get rid of miss prissy or build a yard in the field for them which ever comes first. I was told the male was 8months old and the oldest is 1yr old i tend to think thats not right but what ever. Either way i got the breed i wanted no pedigree so could be mutts but who knows. He said the 1yr old might be bred but will see. Personally I be surprised if they are 5 months old but kunekune grow slower i know but they get about the same height as a potbelly i thought the anyways what do i know they are starters anyways. But I need to get facial pictures of them. Gonna go check on them here in a minute then i be in the rest of the night. Need to catch up oin laundry, dishes and pretty much everything. It's been a long week. I temporally fixed the chicken coop( some two side panels fell off due to weather and age) still needs more work but it keeps them dry and safe from hail so whatever there. Fixed miss priss (remain female pig of unknown breed) house and set up a temporay shelter for the kune kunes. Got hay in and new bedding in the goat and calf house. We have gosling hatching. Under mama goose. Life on a farm lol. Oh and the kune kunes have waffles or atleast some of them do lol.
 

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Jesusfreak101

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Guys i am in hog heaven lol
 

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Jesusfreak101

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Okay had to get as many things done in an hour as i could cause dh called and said that we could go see my parents today since he picking up a load near their house. Just another reason nothing gets done. Lol we heading down now.
 

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