Feeder Pigs

[Nyboy]

Bay smart 8 year old

 

[Ridgerunner]

@Nyboy you do realize the kid has been around @baymule . She has obviously been brainwashed. But in a good way.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

@baymule i love you're comparison on how you raised your pigs vs. the confined pigs. when i was taking animal science in high school we took a trip over to the land grant university's pig barn to see how they were 'raised in confinement'. i was not impressed with that sight.

there are 2 animals i've said i don't want to raise if ever had the land & time-pigs & dairy cows because of the experiences with seeing what the local land grant university was doing at that time. it was mostly due to the confined areas that turned me off because of the stench. i can see the advantages of keeping 2-3 smaller breed pigs on your own land, but the 100's they kept at those pig barns was so jam packed into a small spaces that it just seemed depressing. & the description is right about them clipping teeth-though usually they pull the tusks so they don't grow outward. they would shuffle the group from one pen to another this was the only exercise they got on a daily basis. it's been about 20 years since i had been to that part of the college so i am hoping that this setup has drastically changed.

 

[seedcorn]

Some facts. Baby pigs have their needle teeth clipped so they don't tear up the sow while nursing. Any competent breeder should do this.

Only breeding boars have their tusks cut. Again to protect the sows as boars will beat on sows sides to see if they will stand to be bred. Again, any competent breeder will do this.

Hogs stink-whether inside building or outside. Inside a hog building smells much better than the outside of one.

No doubt some hogs raised by individuals have a much better life before being butchered. For everyone that does, I'll show you one that doesn't.

 

[thistlebloom]

Some facts. Baby pigs have their needle teeth clipped so they don't tear up the sow while nursing. Any competent breeder should do this.

Only breeding boars have their tusks cut. Again to protect the sows as boars will beat on sows sides to see if they will stand to be bred. Again, any competent breeder will do this.

Hogs stink-whether inside building or outside. Inside a hog building smells much better than the outside of one.

No doubt some hogs raised by individuals have a much better life before being butchered. For everyone that does, I'll show you one that doesn't.

I agree. Our neighbors bought their piglets from a breeder where the sow and babies were in appalling filth. All of the animals on this "farm" (goats, cows, pigs) were in ramshackle pens and may have been fed right, but that's about all you could say. That's according to our neighbors, who had met this breeder at the fair and prearranged two piglets on reserve. They were flat shocked when they went to pick their piglets up.

 

[bobm]

Some facts. Baby pigs have their needle teeth clipped so they don't tear up the sow while nursing. Any competent breeder should do this.

Only breeding boars have their tusks cut. Again to protect the sows as boars will beat on sows sides to see if they will stand to be bred. Again, any competent breeder will do this.

Hogs stink-whether inside building or outside. Inside a hog building smells much better than the outside of one.

No doubt some hogs raised by individuals have a much better life before being butchered. For everyone that does, I'll show you one that doesn't.

X2... X3... etc. When most folks go see a commercial operation / University setting , they do not understand the reasons WHY things are as they see them but associate what they see and persieve as what they provide to their pets as the norm and since it is on a large scale, they don't understand.

I agree. Our neighbors bought their piglets from a breeder where the sow and babies were in appalling filth. All of the animals on this "farm" (goats, cows, pigs) were in ramshackle pens and may have been fed right, but that's about all you could say. That's according to our neighbors, who had met this breeder at the fair and prearranged two piglets on reserve. They were flat shocked when they went to pick their piglets up.

SAD BUT VERY TRUE of the majority of the wanna be farmers. You see, when I worked at the Vet. Med Teaching Hospital Pathology Dept. I had to visit the properties that the dead or diseased animals came from to see why the death / illness happened and offer remedies . Most of the time ignored since they were too busy with
their own life adventures/ work or they knew better since they heard from a friend or neighbor or movies as to how to raise their animals than what was recommended by the Veterinary staff. Yea , I was even told by an animal rights advocate that the horrible living conditions of their own animals was much better than the commercial operations. On the flip side, the commercial operations were always quick to change / fix their mode of operations if need be for the better good of their animals. You see, if they didn't their and their families livelyhood depended on their animals' welfare.
.

 

[baymule]

I've seen some horrible conditions too. Any animals can be raised in filth, whether farm animals, dogs, cats or exotics. I do my best to assure that my animals have the best life I can possible provide for them. I like raising my own pigs and chickens, knowing how they were fed and cared for. This fall, I'll have several lambs going to slaughter, and I know they were well cared for.

 

[thistlebloom]

This is just my opinion and a general observation, but I wouldn't say that a lot or even most people raising their own meat keep their animals poorly.
The ideas and reasons behind rising your own are in sync with good management.
It's just that the ignorant or careless ones make a big impression.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some commercial operations are pretty bad. Some private owners do a horrible job. But people that understand animals and keep them as livestock should know that an unhealthy animal is not productive. You need to take care of your animals for them to be productive. In my opinion, most responsible people do.

There are many things in animal husbandry that appear cruel and barbaric if you don't understand what is going on. There are some I don't like, but practically all of them make the animal's life better. People doing these things are not doing them just to be cruel, they are helping their animals. But you don't do them unless you need to.

On the face of it, what could be more barbaric and cruel that spaying or neutering a cat or dog? But if you understand why it is done, most people are going to be OK with it.