How to Raise Swine

Pork is a worldwide commodity, and you can find people on every continent who eat it, even though some major religions restrict its consumption. Swine operations vary from very large producers to the small farmer who raises only enough for her own freezer. If you're interested in raising pigs for food, start out small and follow these steps.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Check that your land is zoned to allow pigs. Your neighbors, if they are close, may not appreciate the noise and inevitable odor, so zoning boards nationwide have placed strict regulations on where pigs can live.

2. Prepare the pigs' shelter. It is possible to keep pigs on pasture, but unlike cattle, they require protection from extreme weather. Some breeds of swine sunburn and must be kept out of the sun, while all breeds need a warm, dry enclosure for protection from the rain and cold. The enclosure should have a slanted, concrete floor so that waste can be hosed out regularly.

3. Build sturdy fencing around the pigs' outdoor pen. Swine will dig, chew or climb to escape, especially if they're hungry.

4. Provide separate feed and bedding areas, and include a feed trough. You'll need a watering system to provide pigs with a constant supply of fresh water, though all plumbing connections should be well outside of the pigs' reach. Water troughs tend to get tipped fairly easily.

5. Buy pigs from a breeder, find a pig veterinarian and devise a vaccination and deworming schedule. Call the veterinarian immediately if you notice that a pig isn't eating. Pigs don't diet, so if a pig won't eat, he's sick.

6. Feed adult pigs 4 to 5 pounds of commercial 14 to 15 percent protein feed daily. Remember that lactating or pregnant sows require more nutrition. Free-feed the weanlings until they're ready for the finisher.

7. Compost solid waste in covered bins outside the barn for fertilizer if you're a small hog farmer without a lagoon. Replace straw bedding in the barn regularly.

Tips & Warnings

• If you intend to breed, you must erect a farrowing house where sows can be separated from the rest and piglets kept very warm-–about 98 degrees.
• Beware of developing an attachment to your pigs. These intelligent animals often evade the freezer by charming would-be farmers into believing they're 250-pound house pets.