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Barnyard Buddies:  Someone Slap Me Quick...  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 09:28:51 AM
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I'm starting to think about getting a pig. I don't know why but I am. I am getting lots of milk now and need more ways to use it. I am dreaming of good natural bacon and porkchops and ham. I am almost out of all that. And good nitrate free bacon is hard to find and very expensive.
If I do get ONE I will put a ring in its nose so I can put it in the pasture with the cows. But really, I am just thinking. I know my hubby will slap me. I said something this morning and he just looked at me. Didn't say a word.
But it would be nice.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
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LakeOntarioFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
933 Posts
Brenda
North Rose
NY
USA
933 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 10:34:44 AM
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Lol Kris, I won't slap you, I'll egg you on, lol!!! :)
My cousin and her husband used to raise pigs, and would give us pork and fresh bacon all the time, nothing tastes as good!!!
I think it's a great idea, and some day I plan on having 1 or 2 too!!
Brenda
FarmGirl # 711
Nothing we achieve in this world is achieved alone. It is always achieved with others teaching us along the way. Lee J. Colan
http://theviewfromhere-brenda.blogspot.com/ |
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gypsy goat
True Blue Farmgirl
673 Posts
mary jo
michigan
673 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 1:54:55 PM
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i'm all in on the pig idea too-think my hubby would slap me!!
whatever you are be a good one-abe lincoln |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 2:00:45 PM
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LOL Kristen, I'm sorry--I had to laugh at the title of the post.
Hmmm....weren't you having problems with pigs the last time you got them? They definitely have their own ideas about things 
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View My Work:
art/dolls: www.vagabondcreations.blogspot.com
The Horse Drawn Project and Farming!
www.beyondvagabond.blogspot.com
View the blog and radio show!
Renegade Farming!: www.therenegadefarmer.com
NEXT RADIO SHOW: April 11th ~ Interview with Katherine Dunn, artist and farmer of Apifera Farm! |
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southerncrossgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
631 Posts
Gena
Harmony
NC
USA
631 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 2:37:54 PM
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Okay Kris, Stop, Breathe,alright, now, I just raised 4 pigs last year. While I am enjoying the meat that is now in the freezer, I must say that unless you have a place like Fort Knox to keep them in, they can be alot of trouble. Ours were great until they got really huge and then they started uprooting all the fencing. They are sooo strong. They really made havoc of our fencing. I can't tell you how many time they almost got out, and of course Hubby wasn't here at the time.
But, if you have those metal panels, you may be alright.
Okay, there is my 2 cents.
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 3:02:24 PM
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Zan, that's why I said someone slap me. Because I did have 4 a little over a year ago. Like Gena says, ya gotta have Fort Knox. They did tear the front pasture to peices quick. But that was 4 of them. I just want one and will put in the nose ring so it won't tear up the other pasture. I think it would be ok with the 2 cows. But really, I ak going to seriously think long and hard about this before I jump.
Gena, my 4 were like eating machines. Wanted feed all the time. It was scary when they got really big and saw me coming. They were like sharks.Too scary.
Why do pigs have to be so hard to raise? They do grow fast but that last few months is a nightmare. Brenda and Annika, have ya'll raised them before? I do hope ya'll can get some. There is just no comparing the taste of the meat though. That's what makes me want more.
Mary Jo, maybe we can find someone else to raise them for us! That would keep us from getting slapped by the hubbys. Mine drives a truck so is hardly ever home. I have to do it all myself. So that's why I will think more about it.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 7:17:07 PM
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hey kris just a thought. we raise our pigs till they get pushy and start to root. we butcher then. small tender milk raised pork. smoked bacon ham. we always come out ahead. they love eggs but must cook first. forgot why. anyway hes your pig butcher when he is a pushy dude. i bucher before they can hurt me by accident. the more exercise the more meat on your bacon. we always have brown sugar smoked jerky made out of some scraps. oh man so good. just a thought. i love pigs. sherrye we raise about 10 a year
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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barefootmama
True Blue Farmgirl
133 Posts
Jennifer
BLOOMSBURG
Pennsylvania
USA
133 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 12:39:31 AM
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Ha ha ha hubby n I were just talking the other night about getting a single pig for the same reason..he wants to add a cow to the mix next year lol this should be an interesting challenge..but lifes a dance:)
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves,for they shall never cease to be amused:) |
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southerncrossgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
631 Posts
Gena
Harmony
NC
USA
631 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 03:04:30 AM
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Sherrye, What exactly do you feed your pigs? My hubby says that we spent way to much on feed for ours. We don't have enough "slop"
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 03:29:53 AM
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Best of luck!
We are having a time with the wild ones! Both destroying a field and enjoying fresh meat from the ones we can trap.
If you do decide to get a pig, make sure the enclosure is extra strong and escape proof.
They are smart creatures.
I'm with you, I can't eat the nitrate laced processed stuff, so when we can get it fresh by someone raising it for us, we'll gladly pay the processing fees! |
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vintage saver
True Blue Farmgirl
323 Posts
oleta
wheelersburg
ohio
USA
323 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 03:38:13 AM
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| We raised 3 pigs years ago and when they got huge, they would just lay on the fence and get out. We would lure them back withcabbage leaves. They would get to the fence and bolt again. I laugh to myself whenever I think of it, of us trying to catch them. I have several funny stories. The next year, the kids said THEY would run away if we had another pig! We fed ours feed, a weed called pig weed,and they loved acrons from the woods. The kids had to do all this.lol |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 05:12:48 AM
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It seems like when mine got big all I did was haul feed out there to them. I could not walk out the door without food for them. I'm talking 5 gallon buckets, 2 at a time, several times a day. And they were on pasture. They would go crazy with the noise they make. Scared me to death. I was a hostage to pigs! And if I didn't get out there soon enough they would get out and come to me. I was feeding them way too much pig pellets and goat milk and slop from where ever I could get it. At that point I was literally catering to them only. All my time was devoted to feeding them. Again, that was 4. So I am thinking maybe just 1 wouldn't be so bad? And maybe I am just delusional, too.
Anna, I don't think I have ever had wild hog. I bet it's really good. Do ya'll do all the butchering and processing? I would love to have a smokehouse. Me and my granddaughter are reading Little House on the Prairie and I love their little setup with the hollow log.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4483 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4483 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 05:29:50 AM
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I raised 2 pigs last year, never had a problem. We have a woven wire fence, with electric around the bottom. They respected that. I thought they were very simple and quick to raise. They say haveing two is much better then raiseing one. Gives them the company and competition to keep them eating.
michele |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 08:30:27 AM
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gena, i am always looking for things to feed the animals that i can recognize. so i go to produce stands first. when they are setting up. i go introduce myself. tell them what i do. i share meat with them for scraps. oh just a pack of sausage or so.usually eggs are good too to give them. usually i do not give them more than a few apckages a season. they like seeing the older produce getting used. i buy sun dried rolled non gmo alfalfa pellet.i also save all beef and chicken scraps from butchering. i cook it.i buy buffalo and other animal parts to cook. i get them for 25 cents a pound. we feed grass hay. i do give them a non gmo pig pellet in an auto feeder. they really prefer other foods to it. now i also feed milk,whey ,old cheese. i am very creative. on one of the other sites i read you can pasture raise. he stated that the pasture was 80 percent or more of the animals feed. yes either you need a lotta land or supplement. i use electric wire. if it is working a pig will not push through it. we can hear our pigs when they bump it and squeal. when loading in the beginning we did not realize we were asking them to cross where the wire was. did not work. i like the self loading pig idea from mother earth mag. you feed them on a dock up a ramp. when ready to load you just back the truck up to the ramp and they walk in. i also gather any real food i can. some folks feed the grain from beer with good results. high food value. we feed some safflower on purpose for the good fats. we also feed sunflowers that we grow. black sunflowers. i save my feed bags and put the sunflower seeds in them and sew them up. chickens love them too and cows.sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 09:31:26 AM
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Well, Kristin, maybe one's not too bad. Seems like the ladies here have some ideas so maybe it won't be too crazy?
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View My Work:
art/dolls: www.vagabondcreations.blogspot.com
The Horse Drawn Project and Farming!
www.beyondvagabond.blogspot.com
View the blog and radio show!
Renegade Farming!: www.therenegadefarmer.com
NEXT RADIO SHOW: April 11th ~ Interview with Katherine Dunn, artist and farmer of Apifera Farm! |
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Sheep Mom 2
True Blue Farmgirl
1534 Posts
Sheri
Elk
WA
USA
1534 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 2:54:22 PM
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I'd love to do pigs again but the feed it way too steep. Almost $20/bag...I about fainted. It's no wonder everyone I knew that was raising them quit. I've never had any problems with the pigs even when they were huge. We use self-feeders and truck from the garden like zuchini. I never raise one of anything. A lonely animal will definately go looking for trouble.
Blessings, Sheri
"Work is Love made visible" -Kahlil Gibran |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 4:36:32 PM
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Sheri, all the feed is going up again. When gas goes up so does the feed prices. I was thinking about getting meat chicks but I don't know now. But if I did get a pig wouldn't it be ok out with the 2 cows when it got big enough? Or I could pen it up out in the goat barn and move the goats up front or with the cows. That way it could mulch up all that good stuff in there for me.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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southerncrossgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
631 Posts
Gena
Harmony
NC
USA
631 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 03:16:18 AM
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Sherrye, thanks for all the info.
Kris, I am just going to have to come over when your pig gets big. I want to laugh my buns off when you have to start chasing it when it gets out. I know your hubby is gone alot, and you know you will be there with no help when it gets out.
I am just picking with you. If you are like me, it doesn't matter what anyone else says, if you want to do something.
Good luck!
Hugs
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 05:58:55 AM
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Ha ha, Gena. I think you know me too well now. You are so right. Once I get an idea in my head it's hard to stop it. I will probably have to chase it some. But back there in the goat yard is electric fence so I hope that will hold a pig. But the front part is chain link. And we had 2 pigs back there before. We had to use the rebar to keep them from going under. It'e pretty much all still there. But I have not gotten one yet.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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mellaisbella
True Blue Farmgirl
1862 Posts
melanie
living on Anne of Green
Gables land
Canada
1862 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 06:14:13 AM
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what about an electric fence to keep them where you want them? we have some in our woods, some in a back field and some in another field. Just put them where you don't mind if/what they root up.
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
farmgal #150 |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 07:05:41 AM
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i would have to say that electric as long as it is working will keep them in.i have been known to have pigs running down the road.lol the grandkids were here from miss. katrina had destroyed their home so the kids were here. they chased those pigs and ran them back home. i was totally freaked out. they thought it was grand.if you train them to a food bucket like cows and goats at least they will follow the bucket.i need to clean my pig pen out soon. we have 3 coming. one is going to be a breed sow PET. i am going to train her to a halter and lead. since we may be on the big rock out off the grid i thought i need my own sow. we will see if i change my mind sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 07:07:30 AM
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Has anyone ever put rings in their noses to keep them from tearing up the ground?
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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southerncrossgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
631 Posts
Gena
Harmony
NC
USA
631 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2010 : 02:59:33 AM
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I didn't. Our pigs were mostly in a wooded area, so I didn't mind them rooting.
I have changed my mind. I think you should get one. I want to read about your adventures! LOL!
Hugs
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2010 : 06:48:35 AM
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Gena, after last night watching Food, Inc. I will be getting a pig! And meat chicks too. I will not eat another thing unless it is raised or grown here or at a place where I know they are good clean organic grass fed creatures or produce. That is my pledge.
I do have a good place to put it when I get it. In the goat barn to mulch up all the good stuff out there for me. I have been thinking about it now and think I will do it. And nows a good time because I will have lots of goat milk and starting to get produce. And I won't keep them too long either. Just maybe to about 200 pounds. That's all we need.
I'll be sure and post about all the fun I'll be having! Yee haw!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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vintage saver
True Blue Farmgirl
323 Posts
oleta
wheelersburg
ohio
USA
323 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2010 : 06:55:21 AM
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| Oh boy! What fun you're going to have!lol. I want to see your posts, too. Just tell us the truth,lol We trust you to do that. |
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Barnyard Buddies: Someone Slap Me Quick... |
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Someone Slap Me Quick...
