Post by Shawn on May 18, 2015 22:52:28 GMT -5
Somehow my hard of hearing usual pig guy and I had a miscommunication. He told me 2-3 weeks ago he'd have pigs now. Then I called Sunday, he said September. 
So I started scouting CL. I had been watching, so pretty well was seeing prices from $60-100 each for weanlings. So this guy says he has 4 (we usually get 3) that he'll sell as a group for $250. I ask about a runt, he says one may be considered a runt. So we go down there tonight.
I was a bit surprised that really 2 may be considered runts. The larger ones probably weigh 40 pounds. They look pretty good, but anyway. I figured since I'm buying closer to the $60 end I should just take them and go home. So we did. I was pretty concerned DH would be irritated at the price for such small pigs. But his comment was, they'll be easier to hoist over the fence. (It's too muddy to get the truck in the corral, so the only alternative is carrying them through the barn and lifting them almost shoulder high over the barrier. Sucks, but it is what it is.)
So we get home, we have them in the topper on the truck. I load up the wormer and DH catches them one by one at the tailgate and we worm them and he takes them to the barn. The last one tried to jump over the tailgate, luckily DH caught him. They screamed like no other when we loaded and unloaded them. But I was actually glad they were really small, because any bigger and they would have been buggers to get over the barrier. We've done 2-people pigs before and that's hard to hang on to them and lift, etc.
anyway, we've got pigs. I have to give them credit, they went right outside (it was even dark) and started in eating the green stuff that's grown up in their outside pen. They didn't seem a bit affected once their feet hit the ground. Hopefully we can fatten them all nicely on yard clippings, household scraps and clabber milk along with their grain. we've done small/runts before, but I just don't like it.
Next year our friends should have some pigs for us. They bought 5 this spring, 3 to eat and 2 to keep as breeding pair. I told them we'd be their first customers next spring. I feel like we're about a month behind on our pigs. I need to call the butcher and push our date back about a month.
So I started scouting CL. I had been watching, so pretty well was seeing prices from $60-100 each for weanlings. So this guy says he has 4 (we usually get 3) that he'll sell as a group for $250. I ask about a runt, he says one may be considered a runt. So we go down there tonight.I was a bit surprised that really 2 may be considered runts. The larger ones probably weigh 40 pounds. They look pretty good, but anyway. I figured since I'm buying closer to the $60 end I should just take them and go home. So we did. I was pretty concerned DH would be irritated at the price for such small pigs. But his comment was, they'll be easier to hoist over the fence. (It's too muddy to get the truck in the corral, so the only alternative is carrying them through the barn and lifting them almost shoulder high over the barrier. Sucks, but it is what it is.)
So we get home, we have them in the topper on the truck. I load up the wormer and DH catches them one by one at the tailgate and we worm them and he takes them to the barn. The last one tried to jump over the tailgate, luckily DH caught him. They screamed like no other when we loaded and unloaded them. But I was actually glad they were really small, because any bigger and they would have been buggers to get over the barrier. We've done 2-people pigs before and that's hard to hang on to them and lift, etc.
anyway, we've got pigs. I have to give them credit, they went right outside (it was even dark) and started in eating the green stuff that's grown up in their outside pen. They didn't seem a bit affected once their feet hit the ground. Hopefully we can fatten them all nicely on yard clippings, household scraps and clabber milk along with their grain. we've done small/runts before, but I just don't like it.
Next year our friends should have some pigs for us. They bought 5 this spring, 3 to eat and 2 to keep as breeding pair. I told them we'd be their first customers next spring. I feel like we're about a month behind on our pigs. I need to call the butcher and push our date back about a month.
