Pig question!

[ksacres]

Has anyone ever tried to raise pigs the "natural" way? As in, non temperature controlled buildings with no farrowing crates? My aunt and cousin have raised pigs for years, but always with the heated farrowing house in individual crates.

I know the crates provide the little piggies with a place to escape if mom goes a little crazy, but has anyone had success without them?

Here's a pic of my (hopefully) future brood pig. Her name is Tina and she taught herself how to drink milk from my lambar.

 

[corancher]

We have been raising them for years and we do put them in the barn to farrow but they have pens with a little place to the side where babies can get out from under mom and not get smashed. Little ones have a heat lamp in their space so that draws them there. In the summer we have also had pigs born outside in their houses and they do okay also as long as they have a place to stay warm.

 

[greyfields]

I raise mine on pasture, under the sun, not on concrete. They root root root. I put them in areas where I have too many blackberries or horestail. They plow places where my tractor could never reach. Love the piggies!

 

[ksacres]

Do your pigs ever go crazy and try to kill their little ones?

And is your building heated other than the lamps in winter?

And, do you have any weaner sized pigs (female)? Tina needs a friend

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
I'm kind of looking for information about breeding them "naturally"

I'm not so worried about Tina smashing herself lol

Right now she's a free range pig that sleeps in my goat shed at night.

I swear she thinks she's a dog.

 

[greyfields]

Oh breeding! I read it as feeding.

I was thinking of getting a sow. My AI tech said she could do pigs, too. I think you need 5 sows to justify a boar.

 

[ksacres]

The owners of the feedstore I go to have a boar I can use, I would just hate for her to have little baby piggies and then go crazy and kill them all.

Though I think part of the problem with them doing that would be boredom from confinement, which Tina doesn't need to worry about-she's got the run of the place right now.

 

[ChickieWhickie]

My dad has raised them both ways. He has had better luck raising them in farrow crates. The mom can't lay down on top of them.
Tina is a nice looking pig. What kind is she? My dad had some red ones once. I think, they were Du'Rocks or something like that.
I have a white one. She was so little, when my husband bought her last year for me. He brought her home in a cat carrier. Now, she weighs about 400 lbs. She is so spoiled. I've thought about breeding her. My dad says she is so spoiled that she would be mean, if she had a litter.
She knows her name, loves honey buns and likes to be scratched between her ears & on the belly.

 

[greyfields]

The guy I get my weiners from has never used crates. I asked him about it and he said he's never had one roll onto one of the piglets. He has rougly 12 sows farrowing each year.

 

[ksacres]

Tina is a Duroc or a Duroc cross.