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Step-by-step guides for every animal, the garden, orchard, pasture and compost: getting started, housing, feeding, daily care, breeding, health and harvest.
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Two feeder pigs raised from spring to fall fill a family’s freezer with pork, ham and bacon. They till ground, eat garden waste and need strong fences.
- Pregnancy
- 114 days (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)
- Feeder pigs
- 8–10 weeks, 40–50 lb
- Finished
- 6–7 months, 250–280 lb
- Feed to finish
- about 700–900 lb per pig
1Getting started
- Buy two — pigs grow better with company.
- Heritage breeds (Berkshire, Large Black, Hereford, Kunekune) forage well; commercial crosses grow fastest.
- Book a processor before you buy; they fill up months ahead in fall.
2Housing and fencing
- A simple shelter with bedding, about 15 sq ft each, and dry ground to sleep on.
- Train piglets to electric fence in a small pen with a solid panel behind it first; then two strands at about 8 and 16 in hold them.
- In hot weather give shade and a wallow — pigs can’t sweat and sunburn easily.
3Feeding and water
- Use a balanced hog ration (about 16–18% protein for growers, less as they finish).
- Garden waste, extra milk and windfall fruit stretch feed, but don’t replace it.
- Many states ban feeding meat scraps to pigs because they spread disease — don’t feed meat.
- Pigs drink 2–5 gallons a day, more in heat; a nipple waterer keeps it clean.
4Breeding
- Gilts can breed at 7–8 months; the sow cycles every 21 days.
- Farrowing pens need a creep area or rails so the sow doesn’t lie on piglets.
- Piglets raised indoors need an iron shot at 2–3 days old.
5Health
- Healthy pigs are curious and eat eagerly — one that stays lying down needs checking.
- Watch for lice and mange (scratching, scabby skin); talk with a vet about deworming.
- Report pigs with blotchy skin, high fever or sudden deaths — African swine fever and other diseases must be reported.
6Processing
- Take feed away 12–18 hours before processing.
- Hanging weight is about 70–75% of live weight; take-home cuts about 70% of hanging weight.
- Tell the processor how you want hams, bacon, sausage and lard — or cure them yourself.
Space guide
For each animalFencing: Two strands of electric (about 8 in and 16 in) or 34–36 in hog panel
- Sow farrowing pen 6 × 8 ft or larger, with a creep area for piglets
- Give shade and a wallow in hot weather
Rules of thumb — more room is always better, and breed, climate and local rules can change what you need. Sketch it out in the Barn & Garden Planner.
Put it to work
These free tools keep the records for you once you’ve made an account:
These are rules of thumb from university extension guidance. Breed, climate and your state’s rules change the details — your county extension office is the best place to ask, and you can find it on the selling rules page by ZIP code.