How to Rear Pigs

Rearing pigs is a way to ensure your meat is free from hormones and antibiotics often used in factory farms. Raising pigs also can be an inexpensive way to produce protein for your family. Many small farmers choose to raise pork because pigs can live on a diet consisting of little more than garden byproducts and table scraps. With an initial investment of about $35 for a piglet, a mature 200- to 220-pound porker will produce approximately 135 pounds of meat.

Things You'll Need

  • Fencing material
  • Shelter material
  • Garden and table scraps
  • Commercial pig grain
  • Worming medicine
  • External parasite control product
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Instructions

    • 1

      Build your enclosure. Pigs are great escape artists and can go through or under loosely or poorly constructed barriers. "Mother Earth News" recommends constructing a welded-wire, 32-inch-tall fence. For extra protection, install a two-stranded electric fence consisting of a bottom cable 6 to 8 inches above the ground and a second line 8 inches above that. Dig a trench under the fence line and fill it with logs or rocks to prevent the pigs from digging out.

    • 2

      Construct a shed for protection from the elements. This can be any three-sided roofed structure or a lean-to made of scrap wood and a tarp. Stacked straw bales also can be used to protect your livestock from storms and winter winds. Roofs should be at least 4 feet tall. You will need to provide each pig with at least 15 square feet of shade because pigs can't sweat or pant to ward off hot weather and are susceptible to heat stroke.

    • 3

      Provide a mud hole or water sprayer. Keep water and mud available where your pigs can cool off, especially in hot-weather months.

    • 4

      Purchase one or two weaned piglets. If it's your first foray into raising pigs, just one is best. Don't attempt to raise more than two piglets on your first attempt. Visit country fairs or livestock shows to get instruction about what to look for in a good piglet. Don't buy the runt of the litter because it is generally the least healthy.

    • 5

      Provide your pigs with abundant water. Each pig will consume at least 3 gallons of water each day.

    • 6

      Feed your pigs a variety of food. Pigs will eat almost anything including garden clippings, weeds, table scraps, meat scraps, fruits and vegetables. By the time it reaches 160 pounds, each pig will consume up to 60 pounds of solid foodstuffs daily, so as it grows you will need to supplement its diet with commercial pig grain consisting of 20- to 25-percent protein. Adding grain to the pig's diet will produce leaner meat.

    • 7

      Worm your pigs every four to six weeks. Because pigs root in the mud and manure, they are prone to internal parasites. Your veterinarian will provide you with worming products and a schedule for worming in your locale.

    • 8

      Dust or spray pigs for external parasites. Rotenone is an organic external parasite treatment. Your vet also can prescribe parasite control methods.

    • 9

      Slaughter and butcher your pigs. Locate a USDA-certified slaughterhouse in your area. Take the hogs to market when the animals reach the optimal weight of 200 to 250 pounds.