Show Pigs For Sale

Bend two cattle panels, side by side, between six T-posts. I've found the small questions to be both frustrating for their sheer preponderance and the corner of farming where creativity is most welcome.

We Were Feeding Too Much And that's where my search for a problem started to change course. She gets cranky when hungry. Taking A Breeding Break Also, I think she needs a break. There are numerous studies filled with scientifically dense phrases claiming...

For starters, pastured-pig farmers raise far fewer pigs than conventional operations, which are specifically designed for maximum production, so manure output is also less. Over the years, I've pastured chickens and, of course, cows, but the animals I...

Large Black Amanda Slater/Flickr This breed has an intensely black pigment in the hair and skin to protect it from sunburn. They have long, deep bodies and long, straight faces and snouts.

I've since read that this dirt-delivery technique was commonplace for farmers of yore, which made me feel pretty good. Of course, then it's too late, as anemia—decreased hemoglobin in the blood—becomes a problem long before a piglet tries out food.

Keeping predators out of the woodlot is just as important as keeping pigs in. Turned out to roam a forested area with proper oversight, pigs can root up invasive plants, devour flora and fauna, and rejuvenate a woodlot ecosystem.

The breed was widely exported throughout the world and is a major contributor to modern hog operations throughout North America due to its fast maturity and ultra-efficient conversion of feed to meat.

I'll admit it's nerve-wracking to leave pigs in a trailer overnight—they can move it around a bit, and the noisier ones may prompt a middle-of-the-night hog check—but we've never had one escape the metal box—and it's not for lack of trying.

Hogs on pasture deposit waste outdoors across larger areas, where it nourishes the soil and doesn't contaminate water supplies. According to a study published in 2011 in the British Journal of Nutrition , people who ate moderate amounts of grassfed meat...

Heritage-breed pigs , such as Red Wattles or Tamworths , will not thrive in a contained situation as well as crossbreeds, such as Spots or Durocs. Pigs can thrive on almost any farm, so long as a few small things—and a few big ones—are taken into...

Infected adult pigs sometimes appear to be perfectly healthy, though infected sows often abort or give birth to weak piglets. It's not related to the virus that causes rabies. Symptoms in older pigs include coughing, nasal discharge, fever, abortions...

Take that primal pig scream and multiply it by hundreds inside a concrete building and there's no hope for a farmer's hearing to survive intact. I've listened all day long to happy pigs that grunt, bark and coo at each other, whining from time to time,...

Screening or concealing hog pens from neighbors will likely result in fewer outside complaints, too. Divert and/or collect runoff and rainwater to keep animal areas drier and help control smell.

Since stumbling into this mucky life, we've been told numerous times of farmers raising piglets by hand, and that's what the weeks following the litter loss held for us. I'll do my best with what I have.

Although the majority of mites and eggs remain on the host, some can contaminate the environment, particularly bedding. Injectable ivermectins and topical permethrins are effective against both parasites when used according to label directions.

“You have to provide a sufficient number of waterers to give all of the pigs access to fresh water.” Check the waterers often to ensure they're working. Pigs wallow in mud to cool themselves.

If you suspect PED in your herd, contact your Veterinarian or county extension agent immediately. The disease can only be definitively diagnosed through laboratory testing, and several other viruses, bacteria and parasites can cause similar signs.

From common terminology, to simple husbandry and selecting your stock to raise pigs for meat, there's a lot to understand before you venture into the hog-raising business. Some small-scale farmers raising pigs for meat like a cross between a heritage...

If you cannot access sow's milk, you may be able to contact a local goat dairy for goat colostrum. Generally, after a month or two, they're ready for weaning if you choose. Belanger, and Small-Scale Pig Raising (Storey Publishing, 1978), by Dirk Van Loon.

Wallows also provide a territorial function in the pig social structure, especially during breeding times. North America was not one of those areas; no wild pigs are native here. Claudine Lamothe /Flickr Observing the behavior of feral pigs in winter...

Why does the month matter? So how do you maintain piglet warmth in the colder months without fancy heated barns? That's early March from my current position on the calendar, a time of year I know to still be unpredictably cold on my central Kentucky farm.

It breaks the rules, but farming is hard, and, on days when the fox is stealing layers, piglets are breaking out and fragile broilers have succumbed to the elements, it's nice to know where to go for an easy smile: front pasture, along the fence line,...

To our minds, the extra effort was sure to pay off in some as-yet-unidentified manner. But if you're trying to manage costs and keep market profits in the black, bacon pigs are definitely the way to go, and you should stay away from lard pigs.

Head over to our Facebook page through the month of April, where we'll be talking about all things baby livestock. Courtesy Fair Haven Farm Courtesy @thurlow94/via Instagram Courtesy @goatladynikki/via Instagram Courtesy @goatladynikki/via Instagram Courtesy...

The first days of life are critical for keeping baby piglets healthy. A farrowing barn is a space designed for sows and piglets during farrowing. The sooner you can get your sow to eat after farrowing the better, as this will help her produce the milk...

“In this heat, infection will set in soon. The way you know what time it is when a shadow creeps up the live oak shade tree in the front yard or understand from the way a chicken crosses the yard that something's not right in the woods beyond.

History: Berkshire pigs are one of the oldest identifiable breeds. Ears are medium-sized and erect. In tests for sensory qualities (or eating characteristics) performed by the National Pork Producers Association (NPPA), Berkshires have been the hands-down...