2006-Jan-7 - PIG Q
OK--we are full of Q's today......
We have read it both ways on raisin' piggies.........which is right OR is there a RIGHT-? Is it just preference ?
Do you get your piglets in the Spring--raise em all summer--and butcher at first frost ?
OR
Do you get them later in Spring or even Summer and raise them thru winter til the next Spring and butcher ?
We keep hearing/reading both.........and we're 'confuzzled' .........
Any helps ?
Lisa
Comments
2006-Jan-7 - raising piggies!
Posted by Tammy
I am no expert, but we just recently took two pigs to butcher. We had wanted to have that done between Thanksgiving and Christmas but didn't schedule with the butcher soon enough. I think it depends alot on your facilities. Do you have a pen that has a place where they can be warm and out of drafts when it gets nasty? How about keeping the pens clean when its cold and wet? Our pen was best for warmer weather, but we are planning to cement next spring. Also, we had an interesting time getting the water situation ready when it started to freeze. I think it is about preference too..... Hope this helped a bit! Enjoyed your blog! Tammy
2006-Jan-7 - Pigs
Posted by spinninggrandma
My personal preference would be early spring, butcher late fall ... that is the "traditonal" way - butcher after the weather freezes ... then have ham at Easter - when the hams were finally cured.
I like that time line because I am lazy and warm-loving and want to do as little chores as possible in the winter.
Of course, this is all speaking from the past .... no animals to do chores with THIS winter ... wait until next year, though!
2006-Jan-7 - I don't know!
Posted by kayinpa
As Farmer Hoggett says "Don't Keep Pigs" That is one thing very clear in our ordinances "Pigs Prohibited" but I will try and tuck this little bit of info away for when we have a "real" homestead! I like the idea of buying in the spring and butchering them in the fall!
2006-Jan-8 - The way we did it
Posted by candy
We always got our pigs in the early spring, raised them threw the summer and butchered them in the fall. I dont know of any reason why we did it that way, maybe because that is the way my X's father did it.
2006-Jan-9 - Untitled Comment
Posted by OurLittleHomestead
Thanks for all the posts....we've been doing some reading on this over the weekend--and it appears it's a personal preference thing, or by geographical area.......hmmmmm..........intellesting.....
Thanks again!!
Lis
2006-Jan-9 - Pig butchering
Posted by BeAnxious4nothing
We live fairly near you and for us it is really important to do it after it is cold enough for the meat to keep. We don't take our pigs to the butcher, we do it ourselves and we don't have a walk-in freezer. If you are taking them to the butcher, it may not matter as much but if you are doing it yourself you really don't want to take a chance that the meat will spoil before you have time to cut it all up.
Jenn
2006-Jan-11 - Pigs...
Posted by quiverfull
Lisa, we have done both. Either would work. Both have their good points and bad points.
The last ones we did, we raised them through the witner. I liked that, it kept the smell down, and I put them in my garden so by spring I had a weed free garden that had been fertilized and rototilled.. LOL.. The down side was dealing with freezing water. We ended up letting a hose trickle in all the time to an old wash tub that just emptied out in the garden.
This year we are going to raise them in the spring. I am going to be feeding them all my surplus milk from my goats. Pigs grown great on milk. The downside to this is that unless my hubby sets up another area for them, I won't be able to have a garden. ANd the smell is more of an issue in the summer.
