We set up an electric fence, which is hands down the best type of fencing for pigs. She, like yours, had them in the wild and all was well. We had a predator problem with our chickens and got nervous so moved her and the piglets to the … Read more ». Lots of experiences on here! I too had 5 acres and wanted pigs to overcome a fear I had of pigs when I was a child. My goal was to raise pigs n sell them locally. So I went looking for what I call breeder pets and would keep them n sell all the piglets, so I found a sow and a boar.
And I found them. IT was a long time ago but I think I found … Read more ». I have a mini house pig. Love her to pieces but will not eat her. They are strong, she moves my furniture around to find food under it.
I will walk in the living room and the furniture will be all over the place. She refuses to play outside, I tell her to go dig up the yard or something. They are like two years getting into trouble.
And now my Christmas tree is up, she like to pull off the Christmas balls. Plant different areas and move them around. Water was a trial and error and I found an outdoor spicket hooked up to a battery powered timer set 2 times a day works well. Heavy concrete trough type to have the hose fill up with water.
Treat the mud pit from time to time with a little bleach… think water purification after … Read more ». Check out the new Million Gardens Movement website and get gardening! Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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Explore Modern Farmer. The easiest one here is the portable livestock scale. If you can borrow one, go for it! The next option is you can load them up in a truck or trailer and take them across a scale.
This is how the grain or hay sellers get a weight on their load. They take the truck across the scale empty then the feed mill or local grain buyer keeps that weight on file. Now anytime they need to know the weight of their hay load, they just drive over the scale and get weighed again. The weight of the hay is the difference between the empty weight of the truck and the weight of the truck with the hay on it.
You can do the same with your pigs, if you have a trailer or truck racks to hold the pigs. To calculate the pigs weight , first square the Heart Girth to get the Girth Result.
You now have the weight of your pig in Pounds. You can buy a tape measure specifically made for estimating the weight of pigs or you can use a long piece of string or twine and mark the lengths then measure them against a tape measure. The measurements you need are: 1. Once you have those two numbers you just do the math and you get an estimated weight for your pig. If your pig is measuring out with the same numbers as mine even though I just made up these numbers for the example then you need to consider setting a butchering date pretty soon.
If your pig is measuring more like this one in the second example, you have plenty of time to go. Unless, you are planning to roast a whole hog, then pounds could be perfect! We just measured one of our breeding gilts to see how she would react. It was, unexpectedly, quick and easy. You should be warned: the pigs are unlikely to stand around patiently while you get their measurements.
If your pigs are feeling feisty, I would try feeding them in a pan and hoping that they will be more interested in eating than wiggling around. If we did not already have a scale, this is the method I would choose. I have to admit, I feel the measuring tape method weighed our pigs a little light. We have wide bodied pigs and using this method seems to come up pounds short.
With a lb. We just put a gilt in the freezer this week. She weighed or so live and we got pounds of boneless meat, packaged and in the freezer. We wanted the most meat in the smallest space, we have more pigs to put in that freezer, so we went with boneless only for this pig. If at any point scraping becomes difficult, pour more hot water onto the carcass or dip it back into the vat.
If necessary, a torch attached to a propane tank can be used to singe off any remaining hair. Do not put the torch too close to the carcass or leave it in one place too long to avoid burning the carcass.
Once you are done scraping the carcass, rinse it down and if you have brushes, use them to ensure all the hair has been removed. If you chose to skin the carcass, it is similar to skinning a deer. It is important to avoid as much contamination as possible when skinning.
When making cuts to the skin, stab through the skin with the sharp side of the knife blade pointed up and away from the carcass. This will prevent pushing any contaminants from the skin into the meat.
Your clean hand is the hand you hold your knife with, and your dirty hand will be used to pull the hide out of the way. Do not switch or confuse which hand is which. Wash your clean hand if it ever gets dirty and do not touch the carcass with your dirty hand. Make cuts around each leg just above the knee or hock joints.
You can begin from the front or back legs depending on how the carcass is positioned hanging or laying down on a clean surface such as a tarp. Follow the leg to the center of the carcass. Open the skin down the middle of the carcass. Note: If the pig was male, you will need to remove the pizzle penis at this step. Consult step 10 for instructions on this. Once the skin has been opened, work from the legs to the center of the body by cutting between the skin and the fat until all the skin is removed.
Some people prefer to loosen the skin around the hind legs and from the belly and then pull the skin off. This method can be faster, but it increases your chance of pulling the fat off the carcass, which can negatively impact the quality of the meat. If you do not want to keep the head, you do not need to skin it. Once you have the skin removed down to the head, move on to Step 9.
Locate the base of the skull and make a cut slightly above the skull that exposes the vertebrae. You can use a saw to sever the backbone or insert your knife between the skull and the first vertebrae to separate the skull from the backbone.
Using your knife takes a little bit of skill and patience. Once the backbone is severed, slowly continue to cut around the head until only the trachea windpipe and esophagus are attached. The trachea feels like a rigid structure with cartilage rings. This is a large, hard structure where the esophagus and trachea fuse together.
This will make the removal of the internal organs much easier. Lower the carcass so you can reach the point where the back legs meet. Place your knife where the back legs meet slightly off center, and using light pressure, cut the skin open moving towards the navel. If you cut exactly down the center, you chance cutting into the pizzle and contaminating the carcass with urine. That is the pizzle.
Once you get close to the navel, carefully pull the pizzle towards you and use your knife to cut behind it to separate it from the body wall. Continue this cut down to the navel using caution to not cut into the body wall or the pizzle and separate the end of the pizzle from the carcass. Then, using the same technique, move towards the tail separating the pizzle as you go. Once you reach the point between the back legs near the anus, cut the pizzle off the carcass.
The first step in evisceration is called bunging. Stand behind the carcass so the tail is close to you. Use your knife to carefully cut around the anus. You should not be cutting into the muscles of the ham, but right next to them. Once you have loosened the anus, you can grab it to move it side to side to continue cutting the connective tissues holding the bung in place.
Next, move to the belly side of the carcass. Starting where the back legs meet and hold your knife parallel to the length of the carcass, using light pressure, score the skin from between the back legs to the sternum. Then, holding your knife in the same starting position, slowly open the body cavity.
Do not stab into the carcass to prevent puncturing the intestines and bladder. Once you have opened a large enough hole to insert your hand, place your hand that is holding the knife inside the carcass so the blade of the knife is outside the carcass at a 90 degree angle and the handle is inside the carcass and pressed against the inside of the body wall. In one swift motion, open the carcass down to the sternum.
It is critical to not remove your hand until you have made the full cut. Opening the carcass with your knife handle inside will prevent you from puncturing any organs and contaminating the carcass. Stopping before you have reached the sternum and trying to start again drastically increases your changes of contamination. Once you have opened the carcass, use your hands to pull the bung downwards and out of the carcass.
You can use string or a zip tie to close off the anus to prevent fecal contamination. Then working slowly, continue to pull the organs forward and out of the body. You may need to use a knife to cut the ureters or heavy connective tissue. Be careful not to cut the intestines or stomach. When most of the organs are removed, you will see the diaphragm muscle with associated white-colored connective tissue separating the digestive organs from the heart and lungs. Once you pull the esophagus free, the digestive organs should be easily separated from the carcass.
Place the organs into a tote or other container. Next, cut the connective tissue of the diaphragm. Use your knife to cut the large vein that runs along the backbone. Place your finger into the vein as a handle and cut between the vein and the backbone towards head of the carcass.
Then, loosen the connective tissue around the heart to remove the heart, lungs, and trachea together. The abdominal cavity is lined with a large amount of fat known as leaf fat. Use your hand to separate the fat from the muscle using caution to not put your hand under the thin layer of muscle along the belly. Leaf fat can be used to make lard if desired, otherwise it can be disposed of with the other organs.
Take a moment to inspect the organs for any signs of illness or infection. Palpate the lungs for any hard lumps, inspect the liver for signs of parasitic infection small white lines or abscesses, and cut open the heart. In general, look for anything that looks suspicious. If you want to save the liver, heart, or kidneys, separate them from the rest of the organs. Remove the gallbladder from the liver and pop the kidneys by lightly scoring them and peeling back the thin membrane.
Using a knife, cut through the pelvic girdle between the back legs.
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