Nathan Sampson
Chillin' with the herd
Hello I am thinking about adding pigs to my little farm. They would be raised for food and such and also to till the garden area as well. Would anyone care to share some advise in this area.
Thinking about getting started in pigs.
- Thread starter Nathan Sampson
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Stubbornhillfarm
Ridin' The Range
My advice is; Do It! 
We had pigs for the first time this spring. They are in the freezer now. But in comparrison to cattle, chickens and turkeys, they are the easiest animal to keep. Ours were penned, but with plenty of room. The farmer made a nice grain feeder out of stainless steel. It held 100 pounds so we just kept it full and didn't have to fill every day. (His real job is a machinist) They got scrap veggies and fruit when we had it. We got a 55 gal drum and put a nipple on it for a waterer. They figured this out within minutes. We had wire cattle panels with one strand of electric fence around the bottom, about 4 inches up. They learned the electric within minutes. Never challenged it, never had a problem.
Recomendations, make sure they have plenty of shade, water for a wallow and proper wind placement on your property would be helpful.
Have fun!
Edited to say: And
We had pigs for the first time this spring. They are in the freezer now. But in comparrison to cattle, chickens and turkeys, they are the easiest animal to keep. Ours were penned, but with plenty of room. The farmer made a nice grain feeder out of stainless steel. It held 100 pounds so we just kept it full and didn't have to fill every day. (His real job is a machinist) They got scrap veggies and fruit when we had it. We got a 55 gal drum and put a nipple on it for a waterer. They figured this out within minutes. We had wire cattle panels with one strand of electric fence around the bottom, about 4 inches up. They learned the electric within minutes. Never challenged it, never had a problem. Recomendations, make sure they have plenty of shade, water for a wallow and proper wind placement on your property would be helpful.
Have fun!
Edited to say: And
EllieMay
Loving the herd life
I heard that the Hampshires are great for tilling up your garden and they're good for eating.
Cornish Heritage
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Hampshires are rototillers! We had them here once & will never have them again. They tore up our pastures REALLY bad! If you are looking for a good hardy feeder pig then go with a cross breed. I would recommend Large Black/Red Wattle crosses. These pigs have great temperaments - do not root that much & will do well out on pasture, saving you some money on grain. Yes you will need to grain them a little but not as much as a commercial, penned up hog.
Where are you located? We know many many breeders around the USA so may be able to point you to a good one.
Heritage grass fed cross breeds can be raised with all your other critters. Hampshires are known chicken killers. A heritage breed will not normally do that.
Liz
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Should add that once you have tasted your own grown pork you will never buy from the grocery store again!
