rearing pigs

[jps]

not sure if this is the right place, or even the right website but as some of us keep chooks, there may be some that keep pigs also.

we have ruled out rearing any of our own due to lack of space and noise etc in a residential street.

i have come across a scheme whereby you buy a pig as a piglet, the farmer rears the pig for 6-7 months, then butchers it and delivers it to the customer.

cost of this is £295.

cant work out if thats good value or not, i assume i get all of the pig for that but is that worth while or a very expensive way of doing it?

i would clearly have to learn ham and bacon making and stuff but thats not impossible.

[mothhawk]

Well, the deadweight average pig price (DAPP) is about £1.42 per kilo at the moment, so unless your pig grows to be way over 200 kilos at 7 months old, I think that's probably not a good deal!

[mothhawk]

For a clearer comparison, if you have a local butcher, ask him how much he would charge for a whole carcass. And it might be worth asking around to see if there are any smallholders near you who would be willing to sell or swap you a pig, or half a pig.

[chris]

There was one for lambs near us in Exeter.. they were £199. You had the input of what it ate...

[mothhawk]

Lamb deadweight about £4.43 Per kilo - average lamb carcass about 19 kilos = £84.17. Seems to me you are paying for feeding and rearing it, and then you are buying the carcass as well.

You are paying twice and it costs the farmer nothing.

[jps]

ok not a good deal then.

also i dont think there are many smallholders in birmingham but its a nice idea.

[mudpies]

We buy our pork at £120 per half pig and that is all cut up and the sausages made. I think you can get it cheaper round here, but we buy from a neighbour as we know they are well reared ( the pigs, not the neighbour!)

[jps]

that sounds like a good deal tbh.

i shall have to ask at the farm nearest us, we have bought meat from there but never in massive quantities

[super trowel]

We have a farmers market I think monthly?
Anyway, you can buy half a pig or a whole pig in a box!
We used to get the half last year for £58?
It would last for months! All butchered.
You would have sausages ribs bacon legs and loads of other roasting stuff!!

[mudpies]

That is good a great price - shame Exmouth so far from me!! I love farmers markets.

[jps]

there are 2 markets i know of close to me, i see a day off coming so i can attend one

[winstonwobble]

i charge apound a pound plus slaughter and cutting up which is usually about 30 pounds so thats sounds awfully expensive to me piglets to buy at the market are only about 15 quid for bog standard or about 25 pounds for saddlebacks which is what i have