Raising Pigs on the Homestead

We raise our Berkshire Pigs in the woods in Seaford, Delaware. For now, we can handle six of them: four males we’re growing out for meat and two females we’re keeping as breeding stock. If demand grows, we’ll add more females. If it doesn’t, we won’t.

The Setup

The hard fence is 16-foot, 48-inch hog panels from Tractor Supply, held up with T-posts. Inside that, we run two strands of electric wire. Plenty of people run electric alone in the woods and save a pile of money doing it. I’m too much of a chicken that they escape. Maybe someday.

The pigs rotate through a 64 x 160-foot enclosure until butcher date. On top of what they root up and forage, they get Delmarva Hog Grower / Finisher, a 16% protein corn and soybean feed. Water comes from a 55-gallon drum fitted with hog nipples. Low-tech, cheap, and it works.

What Didn’t Go to Plan

Our first batch last year humbled us fast. One piglet bolted while we were unloading, and we spent way too long running through the woods trying to tackle the little joker. Right off the bat on day one and I was questioning the decision to get pigs.  We also lost a young female early that season. We just found her one morning and never learned why. I guess that’s part of raising animals, but it still doesn’t make it easy.

Where the Pork Goes

We try to put up two – three hogs for our own freezer. The goal is to sell whole or half hogs. Individual cuts may come later, once there’s enough demand to justify the infrastructure.

The Part Nobody Warned Me About

I really didn’t expect to like them this much as I do. I discovered pigs have real personalities. They get the zoomies and run around like lunatics, thankfully that calms down as they get bigger. Certain ones seem to like people better than others and it turns out pigs bark, who knew.

If You Are Local:  Click Here to Contact Us About a Whole or Half Hog

Our Pig Setup

• Hard fence: 16′ x 48″ hog panels (Tractor Supply) + T-posts
• Electric: Premier One PrimaShock 8 Battery Energizer Kit, FiberTuff posts (24″, 19mm), SupaReel Complete, IntelliBraid Twine PE 3.0 (2,000 ft), Step-In FiberRods (4 ft), Screw On Rope/Tape Insulators
• Waterer: 55-gallon plastic drum + Lifegard Aquatics 1/2″ double-threaded bulkhead (Amazon) + Hog Flow nipples (Hog Slat)
• Feed: Double-Tuf 3-gal rubber feeder pans (Tractor Supply), stored in a metal trash can with a metal lid