Visit With Famous Pig Author

We suggest visiting farms around where you live and asking lots of questions. One of the people we visited with this past weekend was Chuck Wooster, author of the famous book, Living With Pigs.

At the farm we asked Chuck about building a pig shed, if the pigs need bedding, (which we learned they don't), and what to feed the pigs. Chuck was very helpful.  We learned that we could get 3 or 4 more pigs in the space we are keeping the pigs, if we wanted to.

We also recommend that if you are raising pigs to do it for more than one year.  The purchases the first year are expensive.  So far we have purchased electric netting/fencing and bins to collect whey and food scraps that we will feed to the pigs along with grain.

The shoats, (recently weaned piglets), or hogs need a shelter, so they can get out of the rain and so they can have some shade. As we said before, they don't need bedding in the shelter but it is not against the pig law. Chuck said that the hut should have a floor.  If it doesn’t, the pigs will dig a hole to sleep in, when it rains the water will collect in the hole and then you have an indoor swimming pool, not a hut!

We learned from Living With Pigs that you should probably have two or more pigs, if you don't you probably won't have as much bacon, because the pigs won't be as happy (they get bored). Also if you have two they will compete for food and that will fatten them up faster. 

Chuck said that if you move the pig’s fence in the middle of the season, to plant a cover crop (like buckwheat) on the place the pigs were.  Then the following year when you put them back there, they can eat the buckwheat.  Remember, they will eat every thing! Even you!

Oink to ya later,

Caleb and Anika
The Bloggin' Hog Farmers
Blackberry Hill (Hog) Farm