Price of Pigs

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I found a guy near me who was selling baby pigs and I asked him if he does any raising of pigs for people and he said he doesn't normally but he would do it if I wanted him to. Or, he had a full grown pig which he would kill for me and I could get it to the slaughter house myself. So here are my questions. He says the adult sow is two years old and weighs about 350. She looks fine to me but what do I know about pigs. I could buy the adult pig for $150 now or I could give him $75 for one of the baby pigs and $75 when it was time for butchering. Is this a good price for a pig and is the adult too old to make good eating and is there a way to tell the age of a pig?

This pig was raised primarily on bread which he gets by the pickup truck load at the local bakery. Is this feed okay for raising pigs on? They have a nice large pen area to roam in which has weeds they eat as well as having a nice mudhole to lay in and they look healthy.

I'm looking for advice anyone can give me. Does this sound like a good deal or not? My husband is leaning towards having him raise a piglet instead of buying the adult because then we will know for sure how old it is. I'd like to hear your opinions.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), August 21, 2000

Answers

Find out where he takes his pigs when he sells them. It is likely to a livestock market. Then attend the next sale to see what similar pigs are bringing. His prices sound high.

If you were to buy one ready to go to the processing plant at the livestock market, chances are excellent it came off a family farm, rather than out of a hog plant. Those go directly to the slaughterhouse.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 21, 2000.


The bread is not the best feed for your meat supply. Even commercial pig feed would be healthier than chemically enhanced white bread -- if it isn't good for us, it isn't good for livestock, either. See if you can find someone who is pasturing their pigs -- you will have a much better quality meat for your family.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 21, 2000.

I raise my pigs on bakery castaways and cast off produce . The meat was great and all said I think much heathier than store bought .To pasture a pig would take an awful lot of land , mine our pastured but in no way could it be there sole food source .If it were I would have to charge a fortune .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), August 21, 2000.

Hi Colleen, $150 is not a bad price for an adult pig but the meat will be very fatty. If the piglet is a "baby" then $75 is way too high. Weaners are around $25-45, is the pig is just young, like a feeder, the $75 wouldn't be so bad. I wouldn't want to eat a pig raised on bread.

I'm wondering why the sow is only 350 pounds. They reach 250 in 6 months on good feed and thats the best time to butcher, otherwise the fat/meat gain ratio starts going up. She must not be really meaty or would weigh much more. Either way, I think whatever you buy from this guy would probably be healthier than store-bought.

-- Julie (julieamc@excite.com), August 21, 2000.


I called the Dickson (TN) Livestock Center. While they cautioned prices vary slightly around the country, if the sow came through the ring she would bring about $100. A nice 230 pound market hog is currently selling for between $80 & $85. Forgot to ask what weaned or feeder pigs were bringing, but the previous post sounds about right.

Personally, I would be concerned about their diet. If they are not getting vitamins and minerals in their feed, it ain't going to be in the meat. Also, with the sow you are likely to get a lot more fat. If you don't want it for lard or whatever, it is wasted money.

I guess I would recommend looking elsewhere. Go to the sale and ask around at the farmers there. Possibly one can give you a much better deal for a much better pig. For a bit extra, they may also deliver it to the processing plant for you.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 21, 2000.



We bought 1/2 a pig (neighbor bought other half) from the farmer down the road. The porker was raised on stale/moldy bread, rejects/day-olds from the local donut shop, and old chips/corn chips from a local distributor. The flavor of the meat was flat and weak and the fat was extensive for a yearling. We also bought a turkey from the same fellow, with the same results - the flavor was lacking.

After several years of raising chickens and turkeys on our own place, I have come to believe that what goes into the animal will ultimately reflect in the taste of the meat. Now, as far as pigs go, I can't say for certain, 'cause we have yet to raise any ourselves. But when the time comes, we'll be raising them on decent quality feed - just to be on the safe side.

Colleen, I know this didn't really answer your questions, but just figured I would toss in my 2 pennies. Judi

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), August 21, 2000.


What you feed your pigs most definatly affects the flavor. My parents raise their pigs on pasture and homegrown organic grain and milk from cows they milk just for the pigs and their own use. The quality and flavor is excepional! They raise about 25 or so every year for people who want them and charge alittle over market price. One year we got a sow from them (they market the sows after 1 litter) and it was much better than store bought. More tender and better flavor.

-- Jeanette Springer (jeni@dwave.net), August 21, 2000.

Do you know whats in the feed you buy at the feed store ? You'll be darned to find any not medicated .As for auction pigs what have they been fed ? I feel far safer with human food cast offs than med. pig feeds .I can tell you the bread , cakes , and fruits , and veggies make a good tasting pig .I would also give them room to roam and root .I have never had a problem with vitamen def. or even worms .Good luck and if you can consider raising one yourself.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), August 21, 2000.

Thank you all very much for your answers. This has helped me decide that this is not the smart thing to do with this particular farmer. But I think I will look around to see if I can find someone else that has a better deal and better feeding practices. I know when my brother raised a pig for us years ago he fed them good feed as well as scraps and they were very tasty. I also had someone here in Virginia raise me a quarter cow (shared the whole cow with coworkers) and the meat was very disappointing in flavor. I wondered why it wasn't very tasty and I think you all have explained why. They probably cut corners on what they fed it. Live and learn. But I guess if I don't learn and make the same mistake twice then I deserve what I get. So I appreciate the education you all gave me and the extra effort you went to to get me the info I was looking for. I was originally planning to take a trip out to Joel Salatin's farm in Swoope, Virginia in September to stock up on meat from him and I think that will be the smarter move for me. He is only a two or three hour drive for me and I think it will be worth the drive. I saw him speak at a three day conference in West Virginia on Biodynamics and I was very impressed with his operation.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), August 21, 2000.

The Market price in Central Florida for the hog you described would be $28 - $40 cwt. A 2 year old sow at 350lbs fed the diet you mentioned would be on the low end of the scale.

At the Markets in my area "Slaughter Hogs" are usally sold in groups of 4 - 6. The hogs that are sold signuly are usally poorer quality hogs (not always).

When I was a yougster my Dad had a Grocery Store and we fed many bakery products. I now mostly feed prepared grains with a few produce culls some bread but NO sweet bakery products such as donuts, sweet rolls, cookies...... No salty items such as chips or pretzels.

Once or twice a year I buy a pen of feeder hogs (10-18) at the local Market. I pick out a couple for myself and sell the rest at a profit through a newspaper ad. That usally pays for the ones I keep.

-- Mark (deadgoatman@webtv.net), August 21, 2000.



Colleen:

On your comment about being disappointed with the beef on the hoof you purchased. There is an on-going debate about the taste of feedlot beef versus pasture-raised. Beef coming out of a feedlot is going to have more marbling and many people say the higher the marbling the better the taste (and USDA agrees since how they grade beef is based on marbling - the most marbling, the higher the grade and the higher the cost to the consumer). Others will argue pasture- raised can taste just as good if you don't either overcook it or cook it too fast. It is lean meat and needs to be cooked accordingly.

Joel Salatin sells freezer beef. All he can raise to a repeat customer basis and I doubt they receive any grain, shots or anything else. As far as I know you have to order from Joel well in advance of your pickup.

On buying at a livestock market. Livestock from factory farms who push for minimum health problems and maximum production normally go directly to a slaughterhouse. What comes through a livestock auction is typically directly off of a small farm, probably as a sideline to other enterprise. The chances of it being 'chemically-enhanced' are slim.

Give it another try and treat it as lean beef. If you want to cookout, buy a couple of prime steaks from the supermarket. For hamburger, roasts or stew meat, what you buy should be fine.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 21, 2000.


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