For someone getting into pigs for the first time, is there a particular breed that should be considered ? Is there a breed that has a better feed to meat conversion, or even age to meat conversion. Kinda like in chickens where the cornish can be butchered at 8 weeks but heritage breeds are 26 weeks.
That is like asking a horse breeder, the best horse to buy ... (Why, his of course.) We have always been drawn to the Durco... It is known for quick growth and maturity. The sweet meat and marbling are a plus. The last few years we have had to go with a durco cross. It is getting harder and harder to find someone selling piglets in our area. The Hampshire we had was also a nice pig ... Have you checked your area to see what the local farmers raise? (I fear we will be going out of our local area this spring ...)
I have not yet, but I can. Is there a particular site that would be good to check ? Is craigslist ok ?
Craigslist, your local papers and the good ol sell board at the feed store. The fall fairs are also a great to check out and find folks. Let me know what you find out.
Do different breeds need more space to grow than others? It seems you are all saying to go with what the locals grow for best results.
Don't worry too much about breed the first summer. Just get some pigs in the spring, raise them up, learn about pigs and get infrastructure (fencing, water, housing, etc) in place. Enjoy the process and figure out how to do it better the next year. Right now find a source of spring feeder weaner pigs and put down a deposit. In the spring everyone and their brother is looking for piglets. We already have reserves on our pigs out through April of 2014. Reserve early. Go with a local source who is ideally raising pigs the way you want to do it. Their pigs will be more likely to be adapted to how you want to raise pigs (e.g., pasture, etc). Beware of buying culls off the back of the truck or at feed stores that have been shipped in from the factory farms.
I'm new to the forum, and have entered this conversation considerably late, but why would the Mulefoot hog be better on pasture? We haven't added pigs to our homestead yet, but are doing our research now to make sure the animals chosen will live well here and provide us with good food as cost effectively as possible. I guess that's the nuts & bolts of homesteading.
D This is just my opinion, remember everyone has an opinion. But in my opinion, Mulefoot hogs work the best for us on pasture. They are natural foragers and ours hold their weight very well with a very small amount of supplementation. If you are looking for a fast growing hog however I would say that this is not the pig for you. But if you are looking the best quality hams and delicious meat on pasture and don't mind waiting for it then they might an option for you A lot depends on where you live also If you have any other questions don't be afraid to ask
The black hog heritage breed does best on pasture in my opinion. They are warm and cold hardy pigs that are also super docile and easy to handle
