Post by survivalistwoosterfa on Jul 23, 2018 13:45:22 GMT -5
So last week I was asked if potbellies can be eaten by one of my survivalist friends.......
A potbelly pig can certainly be eaten, just as any pig (or even dog LOL though personally yuk) can be eaten. However, potbelly pigs have been bred totally differently than the regular commercial pigs. Potbelly pigs originated in the Eastern countries, like China and Vietnam. The populace there is mostly interested in pigs that will require little or no care and feeding. They are also wanting a pig that has a large amount of fat, along with the muscle, so the potbellies they raise tend to be fatter, grow much slower, and are more docile.
The pigs that are raised commercially in the USA are much leaner, have tremendous amounts of muscle, and likely are more aggressive than the potbelly pigs. It all depends on what the person raising them wants. If you want a pig that will grow out on little or no commercial feed, and if you don't mind a lot of fat, then a potbelly will do just fine for you. If you want a pig that is lean and has lots of muscle, then you will need to manage it differently. You most likely will need to buy quite a bit of feed for either in order for them to grow sufficiently, although the potbelly will likely require less than the other.
When we raised quite a few pigs (around 20 years ago), we routinely had them to market (birth to slaughter weight) in around 5 months. We managed them well, controlled parasites, and fed them a well balanced diet. I really liked the Yorkshire sows for their mothering ability, and crossed them with either Duroc or Hampshire boars. They were allowed a small amount of pasture, but a couple acres of pasture quickly became a total mudhole with several hundred pigs rooting around in it. We also did not use crates of any kind. We did lose quite a few baby pigs to crushing by their mothers, although we had very large litters, and the loss of one or two was generally a good thing. Most of our sows had 14 nipples, and if they had 15 - 16 babies, some would starve out anyway. We did try to foster any excess ones to other sows that had fewer babies, but the sows often would reject the newcomers because of their smell.
I always enjoyed raising pigs, but when the big commercial farms came along, the margins became very tight, and I got tired of working for nothing. Today, it's either raise thousands, or do it for the love of it. Guess I didn't love it that much.
what do you think?
A potbelly pig can certainly be eaten, just as any pig (or even dog LOL though personally yuk) can be eaten. However, potbelly pigs have been bred totally differently than the regular commercial pigs. Potbelly pigs originated in the Eastern countries, like China and Vietnam. The populace there is mostly interested in pigs that will require little or no care and feeding. They are also wanting a pig that has a large amount of fat, along with the muscle, so the potbellies they raise tend to be fatter, grow much slower, and are more docile.
The pigs that are raised commercially in the USA are much leaner, have tremendous amounts of muscle, and likely are more aggressive than the potbelly pigs. It all depends on what the person raising them wants. If you want a pig that will grow out on little or no commercial feed, and if you don't mind a lot of fat, then a potbelly will do just fine for you. If you want a pig that is lean and has lots of muscle, then you will need to manage it differently. You most likely will need to buy quite a bit of feed for either in order for them to grow sufficiently, although the potbelly will likely require less than the other.
When we raised quite a few pigs (around 20 years ago), we routinely had them to market (birth to slaughter weight) in around 5 months. We managed them well, controlled parasites, and fed them a well balanced diet. I really liked the Yorkshire sows for their mothering ability, and crossed them with either Duroc or Hampshire boars. They were allowed a small amount of pasture, but a couple acres of pasture quickly became a total mudhole with several hundred pigs rooting around in it. We also did not use crates of any kind. We did lose quite a few baby pigs to crushing by their mothers, although we had very large litters, and the loss of one or two was generally a good thing. Most of our sows had 14 nipples, and if they had 15 - 16 babies, some would starve out anyway. We did try to foster any excess ones to other sows that had fewer babies, but the sows often would reject the newcomers because of their smell.
I always enjoyed raising pigs, but when the big commercial farms came along, the margins became very tight, and I got tired of working for nothing. Today, it's either raise thousands, or do it for the love of it. Guess I didn't love it that much.
what do you think?
