1. Of course, the first thing you should consider is your capital.
Do you have enough saved to start a pig farm? How many pigs can you purchase? You can start with just a few pigs. Every time you sell a pig, use some of your earnings to buy more piglets.
2. Another thing you should take care of is where you’ll put your pigs.
You need ample space to keep your pigs. As a general rule, each pig is supposed to have at least 1/10 of an acre of pasture area. This is for grazing pigs. If you plan on building an enclosure, around 100 square feet for each pig is enough. Barns, pig pens, and other enclosures give you more control over the animals. Feeding them will be a lot easier as well as collecting their manure which can be used as fertilizers, another possible source of income. Additionally, pigs in enclosures have more tender meat as compared to grazers which tend to have tougher meat because of the muscles that often develop.
3. Another factor on how to raise pigs is food source.
If you’re keeping pigs for meat, you’ll need to feed them right for them to become bigger, meatier and more profitable. Pigs will eat anything edible. But this does not mean you can feed them anything you can get your hands on. The right pig diet should contain ample amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. If you can, avoid giving them supplements. Get their nutrients from actual food and other organic or natural sources. For grazing pigs, you need to have enough pasture grass around. Plant some if you need to.
4. You should also be aware of what not to feed your pigs.
Raw potatoes are not recommended since they can be poisonous. Raw meat should also be avoided as they may carry bacteria and diseases. Cook or boil them before you give them to your pigs. As a safety precaution, you need to boil everything that you intend to feed them.
5. Food consumption should also be controlled.
One way to know if you are putting too much food in their troughs is to time the feeding. If there is food left after 30 minutes, then that means you are giving them too much. This may lead to overeating which is not good for them. You’ll also lose money because of this. You can also weigh the food. Six pounds is the most you can put in their troughs.
6. One more important tip on how to raise pigs properly is to provide them access to water.
Give them fresh, clean water to drink always. Be prepared to clean their water troughs regularly as pigs like to clean themselves in the water. Troughs made from galvanized iron are usually sturdier and easier to clean so you may want to consider that.
7. Even if you originally planned on keeping pigs for meat, you can still profit from breeding.
You’ll need a farrowing house so you can separate the sows. You can earn more if you sell your piglets. This is also a good way to increase your farm’s pig population.
These tips on raising pigs is only a guide for you to kick off your business venture. Nothing beats experience. As you go along, you will harvest enough knowledge on how to raise pigs which you can use for your pig farm to thrive and provide you with more income.
