How To Raise Pigs

Pigs are by far my favorite homestead animal. They are curious, affectionate, and incredibly smart. Those are also the characteristics that make them uniquely challenging.

我第一次见到猪是在12岁的时候，当时我在东欧旅行。猪跑了出来，四五个年轻人在院子里追着它跑。我记得有一个人踢足球，抓住了这只动物，除了她的尾巴，她什么都没抓到，还有那只猪一直在大声尖叫。在某些方面，养猪并不适合胆小的人。

My partner was already raising pigs for sale when I met him in 2013, and he and I had been dating about two months when we decided to get five breeding sows and a boar. Since then, pigs and piglets have been a daily part of my life and it’s hard to imagine going back.

If you are considering adding pigs to your farm or homestead, here are some tips and things to think about and some helpful insight on how to raise pigs.

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猪住在哪里?

The biggest question you face when thinking about raising pigs is where you are going to put them. Here are some things to consider.

Is it legal to keep pigs in your area, and if so, how many? In most rural areas, and certainly any place zoned for agriculture, the answer isyesand the answer tohow manyislots.In semi-rural, suburban, or even urban areas, you might be surprised. The city I went to college in allowed 3potbellied pigs(a pet variety, not a meat variety) in a “dwelling unit.” Theoretically, that’s a lot of pigs per house!

As my partner and I discovered, landlords are not normally happy about pigs (even if they seem excited at first!) which was part of the decision to buy our own property. Assuming you are zoned for other varieties of swine, you still may have a hard time finding a landlord if you are renting and hoping to keep pigs.

Pigs have a reputation for being messy animals, which is only partly deserved. Landlords don’t like the mess or the smell, or sometimes the sound. Pigs are actually very fastidious about separating their waste from their eating and sleeping areas, as long as they have enough room. However, they are rooting and foraging animals. Instead of grazing at grass, they tear it up, which makes their living areas quickly messy and muddy.

Having room to rotate your pigs from paddock to paddock is a very important part of keeping pigs. Because the ground gets torn up so badly new ground helps protect your pasture, keep your pigs dry, and keeps your pest-pressure low, helping to keep your animals healthy.

As for the smell, well… pig poop smells. It smells sweet to me, although that could be an acquired taste. Still, you don’t want your pigpen under your bedroom window. Consider placement on your property, relative to your house—and make sure you’re not downwind.

What Sort Of Pen Should You Build?

我们来谈谈击剑。猪是谷仓院子里的逃跑艺术家。他们像小鸡一样从缝隙中挤过去。像公牛一样，他们能打破脆弱的壁垒。当你打开大门时，它们像狗一样从你身边冲过。它们的鼻子非常强壮，当地面潮湿时，它们可以把t型桩子从地里拔出来。

My experience has been that if you are careful to close up all the gaps they could squeeze through as little piglets, they usually don’t become escape risks again until they are almost to slaughter-weight.

On pasture, we fence growing hogs with T-posts andhog panels, reinforced with a low line of electric fencing. If the electric fencing gets grounded out, the pigs are likely to escape. Theoretically,electric fencing is all that hogs need, but my partner and I have found that if there is no actual fence behind it, they run right through it.

Keeping pigs in the summer is relatively easy. Within their paddock, pigs only need basic shelter from the elements. In hot weather, it will primarily be used as a shade-structure. Keep in mind that whatever you build them for a shelter is going to get used as a scratching post, and hogs are strong animals.

There arelots of different designsfor hog housing, using all kinds of materials from tarps and hog panels, to plywood, two-by-fours, corrugated iron and plastic sheeting. Hog houses range from temporary and portable to permanent.

Hogs don’t sweat, so they need a little support staying the correct temperature. Having shade and access to a water-hole or a mud wallow are essential.

对猪来说，泥巴是一件喜忧参半的事情，因为它在夏天非常重要。在泥坑里打滚是猪在炎热的天气里最喜欢的保持凉爽和潮湿的方式。因此，俗话说:“快乐如猪在淤泥中。”然而，在潮湿的季节，雨水会把猪满是灰尘、连根拔起的田地变成一个泥坑，让你的猪感到寒冷和痛苦。

在冬天，猪的需求取决于你所处的环境。如果地面结冰了，你就不用担心泥土了，而且猪对低温非常耐寒，尤其是当它们有其他猪一起挤在一起的时候。只要猪有避风的地方，有干燥的被褥让它们远离冰冷的地面，它们就可以一年四季生活在户外。大猪更耐寒，但对热更敏感。在冬天，小猪需要一个加热灯。然而，在多雨的气候中，我们发现牲口棚是冬天让猪远离泥巴的唯一方法。
如果你养猪是为了吃肉，而不是作为宠物或繁殖，你只会养它们大约六个月，所以如果你正确地选择了购买小猪的时间，你只会应对一个季节的天气挑战。

How To Buy Piglets

Pigs are pack animals, so consider getting two. If you get just one, it is going to want human attention constantly, and it will be lonely and depressed if you isolate it.

The ideal situation of course is to know someone you trust who breeds piglets. If you know of any local farms who sell pork, you can ask them where they get their piglets, but healthy piglets tend to be in high demand. To get consistently quality and healthy animals, we decided to start breeding our own sows.

Before we started breeding our own piglets, we bought pigs off craigslist. At almost any time of the year there are piglets for sale on craigslist, but the quality of the breeds and the health of the animals is really hit-or-miss.

There is nothing wrong with the craigslist rodeo, you just need to know what to ask and what to look for when you visit the pigs.

How To Care For And Feed Piglets

Piglets are ideally weaned between 6 and 8 weeks.有关断奶的行业标准各不相同。Weaning at 3 weeks is typical, some operations wean as early as 10 days. Ask when the litter was born to get an estimate of their health. A longer lactation means bigger, healthier (and happier) piglets. Bigger piglets are always going to be stronger, healthier and grow faster. Healthy piglets at 8 weeks should weigh between 40 and 60 pounds (still small enough to pick up, but barely!)

The piglets shouldn’t be living in mud, especially in the winter or cold season. Look for fresh bedding (straw or sawdust), clean water, and daylight. Piglets should be energetic. Check the animals for milky eyes, skin rashes, lethargy and other signs of general ill-health. Ask the farmer what they’ve been fed. Once weaned, piglets should be getting a higher-protein growing ration than their parents.

You don’t need a livestock trailer to pick up piglets. They can go in the back of a truck if you have a canopy, or high side-walls on a flatbed.

A note on holding and handling piglets

When you are getting new piglets, you will have to catch them, put them in your truck, get them back out on your property. Generally pigs aren’t very happy to be handled, and especially don’t want to be picked up. (They will quickly get too big anyway).

The safest way to pick up a pig is by both its back legs, one in each hand. It will thrash. It will scream (and I meanscream). It will get mud all over you. Don’t drop it. Get someone to help you. Pig wrangling is not a one-person job.

当猪还小的时候，人们很容易像小狗一样把它们从肚子底下抱起来，但当它们扭动时，要抱住它们就难多了。当你把一头猪从一个地方带到另一个地方时，通常这意味着这头猪现在在你的财产上，你将花接下来的2到4个小时追逐它。

知道什么时候猪太大了，无法与之搏斗。不要冒险伤害自己或猪，使用不同的策略(食物贿赂)让猪到你想要的地方。

Food And Water For Pigs

像所有的动物一样，2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国猪一直需要清洁的水。Some farmers usenipple-waterers, like large versions of the waterers made for hamsters and gerbils. Young pigs may need to be trained to use it. If you use an open water trough, it needs to be big enough that the pigs can’t knock it over. We use35 gallon to 50 gallon plastic troughs. A big benefit is that pigs can get in the water if they need extra cooling in the summer. However, the water gets dirty quickly. We tip it out and refill it once a day in winter and three to four times a day in the summer.

As for feed, pigs’ eat the same types of food as humans. In the wild, they areomnivorousscavengers. On a farm, they eat a ration of protein and carbohydrates. That can look like the classic corn-and-soy mix, or a wheat-peas-and-barley mix. The protein ratios need to be right for proper nutrition, so it is easiest to buy a mixed livestock feed. Feed mixes also need to include appropriate minerals. Young pigs, shortly after weaning, will benefit from a protein supplement. In the past we have used flax powder, bought from a feed store, or whey and skim milk from our dairy cow. If you are stumped by this step, go to a farmer’s market and ask meat vendors where they buy their feed.

Expect to feed a hog around700 pounds of feedover the course of six months to raise it to market weight. We feed our pigs twice a day, morning and night. Table scraps aren’t enough, although pigs enjoy some scraps as a treat, especially things like watermelon and cucumber in the summer.

Pig Health and Happiness

There is no creature as endearing as a happy, healthy pig. All a pig really wants is lots of food, clean water, and proper shelter. But they love some company, a scratching post, and room to run.

Pigs are social, and want other pigs for company. The more time you spend with them, the more they will want your attention, too! Some pigs love belly rubs and ear-scritches, others are more standoffish. Don’t be afraid to get into the pen with them. They will crowd you, and it can be a little intimidating, but they aren’t trying to hurt you, they are just investigating. Wear old clothes and tough boots, because hogs love to nibble at whatever is on your body. If you need to assert some dominance, don’t be afraid to put your foot in a pig’s face to push it away. Shoving and smacking with your hands will be totally ignored. It’s very hard to actually hurt a pig, but they can hurt you on accident (and occasionally on purpose—pigs bite).

TheHumane Certified guidelinesfor raising pigs recognize that they are bright, curious animals, and suggest the inclusion of toys as part of a humane hog operation. Of course, pig toys need to be sturdy. Some suggestions I have heard include a bowling ball, a plastic buoy, an old tire.Here are some more ideas. Pigs on pasture need less enrichment than pigs indoors, of course!

As for physical health, we have always found pigs to be fairly resilient, especially when given lots of room to move and be outside. Periodically you will see a pig limping, but leg problems almost always clear up on their own. Pigs get colds and sniffles, which will also clear up on their own. Quarantining a sick pig is always a good precaution if you have a space for it. Pigs and humans share some pathogens, so don’t cuddle a sick pig, or sneeze in a pig’s face if you are sick.Always爱抚、喂食或给猪除粪后要洗手。

The most stubborn problem we have had with pig health has been worms. Intensive rotation on pasture is the best pest control, but if you have a worm problem, there are chemical dewormers and anti-parasitics available over the counter at feed stores. Some homesteaders swear by garlic or diatomaceous earth, but those are better at prevention than treatment.

Watch your pigs, and get to know their normal appetites and behaviors. As with all illnesses and infections, the sooner you catch parasite problems the easier they are to deal with. For the most part, pigs are energetic, happy and easy to take care of.

Slaughtering Pigs

If you are raising pigs for meat, you will reach the challenging day of slaughter.

最重要的是找到一个你信任的屠宰服务或导师。像所有大型动物一样，猪通常会被2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国螺栓枪或子弹击中头部，然后被割断喉咙。螺栓枪的射击位置必须完美才能干净利落地致死，这需要练习。如果你想自己做，那就找一个知道自己在做什么的人来指导你。再一次，问问当地的养猪户他们是如何屠宰的。

There is an art to a peaceful slaughter. I have seen slaughter go well and badly. A gentle, calm slaughterman can kill the last pig in a herd as calmly as the first. As tempting as it is to go back to the land and kill a pig with a knife the way it has been done for thousands of years, the gun or bolt-gun is the most humane slaughter method.

Laws about butchery are different in every state. In Washington, you are free to butcher your own animals as long as you are not selling any of the meat. Some businesses offer exciting home-butchery workshops. Folks travel from all over the U.S. to attendclasses at Farmstead Meatsmith从西雅图的Insteading总部乘坐渡轮即可到达。你附近的手工屠夫也可以提供指导。你也可以住在与农场屠宰单位签订合同的定制肉店附近，这样你的动物就可以根据你的订单被切割和治疗。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国这些肉也不允许转售。

This video shows a Farmstead Meatsmith pig butchering class.WARNING:As you’d expect it’s pretty graphic.

So, Should You Really Do It?

猪是一个惊人的添加到一个农场或家园。他们带来了独特的挑战，但他们的好奇心、智慧和感情也带来了巨大的快乐。这使得它们很难被杀死，但却成为饲养的乐事，而且猪能为一个家庭提供大量的肉。

Raising any animal is a big endeavor, and when something goes wrong, it is usually the animals’ health and wellbeing that suffers. Consider finding a mentor who has raised pigs before that you can call if you have questions or if something goes wrong. As always, community is the most important part of farming.