The Cost of Raising Hogs for Meat

I finally took a few moments to sit down with my pen and paper, receipts, and a calculator to figure out the cost of our hogs this go 'round. I try to do the math every time we butcher because there are so many variables, how much we paid for the weaner (which by the way caused quite a ruckus in the feed store the other day when I asked the owner "how much he was selling his weaners for" and someone over heard me not knowing that I was talking about pigs), how big the hogs actually get before we butcher, how long we keep them, how much food they go through, etc.

So, for this time around our first hog weighed in at 250lbs, via the weight tape, a week or so before we butchered. Her hanging weight- which was her weight with no hide, no head, no guts, and no feet came out to 157lbs. I know that may seem like a huge difference but trust me, that huge head and the hide together weighs a ton!

-We paid $125.00 for the pig (we got it later than 8wks) normally, weaners are anywhere from $80-$100 in our area

-We spent $375.00 on organic hog feed ($750.00 really, since there are two hogs but I split the cost in half for one hog)

-We spent $4.00 in straw (again, halved for the one hog)

So, $125+$375+$4= $504.00 to raise a hog

Our meat then came out to $504/157 lbs = $3.21/lb

We are sending out one ham and the bellies to be smoked this time so our total cost will look more like this: $566/157lb= $3.60/lb

We saved the cost of butchering it by doing it ourselves. The last time we had a hog butchered off our property it was $50 for the kill and then $200.00 in cut/wrap/smoke fees. If we added those onto this hog it would have been $504+$200+$50= $754...then divided by 157lbs= $4.80/lb.

We're certainly saving money by doing it on our own. We can't buy organic pork, let alone bacon, for $3.60/lb. I know the bacon goes for something like $7.00/lb and I believe the chops are around $6.00/lb.

We'll be butchering our second hog in the next few weeks and then in October we'll be getting 2 more weaners. These should be a little less expensive, around $80.00 which will certainly make our bottom line lower. We'll be getting gilts again since we really enjoyed them this time. I actually enjoyed them so much that I was a little sad to see the first one gone but their purpose is food, not as pets. I'm thankful to have a freezer full right now!

The Look of Fall Around the Homestead

Hunting season is here, the huge Maple tree out front it turning colors and dropping leaves, the apple trees are almost ready to be harvested- it's fall!

Hot cider, warm apple pie, raking leaves, tree work and hog butchering. (Well, maybe the last two aren't a thought of fall for most!)

This past Saturday we butchered one of our hogs. I'm still working up the money vs. pound-age and final costs. I'll let you know how that turns out.

The kids watching Gavin gut the hog.

We're thankful for fall and all it brings.

the animals commeth

I was going to break this blog post up but then I realized that if I did that, you probably wouldn't see it all for weeks. Especially since we're forecasted to have sun this entire week.
Either spring is actually here or some nice person paid off the weather man to appease me.

My plan then this week is to spend as much time outside as humanly possible soaking up the rays and getting a thing or two done.
We added 4 sweet baby animals to the homestead in the last couple of days. First came the Runner ducks. We have never kept ducks before and I wasn't sure what to expect. You'll have to tell me, are all ducklings super friendly? These two little guys (or gals) are the sweetest little creatures. They seem to love being around people.

They are perfectly content to sit on Layton's legs. Maybe it's because on the way home from the feed store Layton told them, "Don't worry little guys, we're on our way!" and then proceeded to sing them, "You Are My Sunshine."

This is Freddy.

This is Ferdinand. (Names compliments of Layton)

Layton told them he would build them something out of his Legos.

Layton said that he is going to be in charge of taking care of them because he is a good "Farmer Boy." I think that Almanzo Wilder is one of Layton's hero's. (By the way, spell check did not recognize the name Almanzo....what is the world coming to?)

Next, piggies.

Two gilts to be exact. They came home yesterday and while I'm thinking that they're the cutest little things right now, all of that will change in about 4-5 months when they're 220lbs and stinky.

The piggies don't have names. As I've said before, it's better not to name things you're going to eat. Unless you're naming it Pork Chop or Bacon.

The little ones are happy in their new home. The post below has the tour of our little pig barn if you'd like to see it.

These pigs will be ready to butcher come August/September. It's amazing how fast they grow. They're an ideal animal to keep for meat. The time you keep them is relatively short and they grow to produce quite a bit of meat in that time. Two pigs keeps us in pork for about 8-12 months.

I'm keeping full records this time on these two so I'll be able to break down the cost for you after all is cut and wrapped!

Did you add any new animals to your homestead this Spring?

This post is linked to The Barn Hop.

pig barn tour

Here's a little video I did this morning, between the rain showers, of our pig barn. My husband built this about a year ago.


One thing that I forgot to add in the video was that we made the floor out of wood instead of cement. I believe that most folks use cement because it is much easier to clean. We have an abundance of lumber here though (hubby being in the tree business and all) so it was NOT cost effective for us to pour a cement slab.
Also, the window in the barn was recycled. A contractor friend of Gavin's had a bunch of windows that he had removed from homes that were just up for grabs!
We're hoping that by raising hogs now from May-September that we won't be dealing with the amount of mud that we had to by raising them last fall and into winter.

Hope that you enjoy the video!

Our Homestead Update

It's almost Spring!! Dare I say it? The rain may come back in full force if I actually said it aloud! The kids are begging to go outside each and every day and I've been weeding one of the gardens and pulling up raspberry starts to giveaway. I don't know where all the weeks go. They slip by way too fast. Fast enough for me to have a hard time keeping up with it all!

So here's what we've been up to.... We recently made a family trip down to Calaveras County to visit my grandparents. Or as all of you Mark Twain fans would call it, Jumping Frog Country. It was my grandfather's 85th birthday and we had somewhat of a family reunion for it. Creeks, baseball, shooting, family, food and great fun! Hubby and I have still been debating on when we should get our next hogs. Getting them in April is better, weather wise, but it probably means that we'd have to take them to a butcher in the end since fall is too busy with tree work and hunting season. Taking meat to a butcher and having it actually leave my sight always worries me slightly. Am I really getting all of MY meat back? Is it someone elses? Mixed with someone elses? *shudder*

Getting them in July would mean worse weather for butchering but we can do it ourselves. We'd then end up butchering 1 hog in November (along with the turkeys) and one in December.

Turkey's you say? Yep, they're back. Well, one is. We got one of our turkey chicks this week and the other will be coming early next week. We have them set up in the garage. We've been using this little brooder system for years and it works great. Plus, it's easy and inexpensive to make.

Requirements:

1 Rubbermaid tote

1 heat lamp

Feeder and waterer

bedding

a couple pieces of scrap wood

some type of small fencing (we used 1/4" fencing)

small U nails or smaller straight nails that can be bent

With the wood, make 1 box, sized to fit over the top of the Rubbermaid container, similar to if you were making a raised bed box. Cut a piece of fencing to fit over the top. Nail it down securely on all 4 sides using U nails or straight nails that you can pound 3/4 of the way down and then bend over to secure the fencing. Attach another piece of wood, anywhere on the box, to use as a "post" for attaching your heat lamp.

There you have it! We store the top when it's not in use and then wash out the tote and use it as well for other things.

This little brooder works well for maybe 6 chicks or 2 turkeys, since turkeys are larger, until they really feather out. The nice part about using the wood for the top frame is that it's heavy. Not too heavy for a person to lift but much too heavy for any little critter, wanting to make your poultry dinner, to budge.

I'm excited about doing turkeys again this year. It will be nice to compare last year to this one. I've also started a file to keep track of all of our livestock expenses so I'll be able to share just what our animals and the food they produce are costing us!

Wyatt is off to the Portland Swap Meet with his grandpa this morning. They'll be in their element- surrounded by car stuff until Sunday!

I've really been trying to carefully examine our gardens this year and what we are going to grow. With the economy like it is, I want to make our garden as productive as possible. Of things we actually eat. While it's nice to have a beautiful garden full of all kinds of different produce, if we're not eating all of one type of produce then it's a waste of space. I don't need two 10' rows of carrots...we just don't eat them all! If all my garden ends up being this year is full of green beans, then so be it! Trust me, we eat green beans. (That may be a slight exaggeration.) But I do need to realistically think of what are we going to actually consume besides what it is going to be the most aesthetically pleasing.

Guess what I didn't do yesterday? Build a fire. That really hints of spring! It was warm enough not to have any heat going in the house. This morning though I did break down and build one. Even if I let it die off later, it still was nice to have.

I guess that's about it here. Beyond the normal day to day that is.

What have you been up to?

Butchering the Homestead Hog

Last weekend we butchered our second hog. Having done the same thing only a month and a half before, the process was streamlined and went much smoother this time around. It didn't hurt either that we had some of our best friends here to help us with the process.
We started at about 9am and were finished by 4pm. Everything was cut, wrapped and cleaned up. We did take the bellies and one leg to Taylor's to have them smoke the meat into bacon and ham. Taylor's offers a celery salt cure which is chemically nitrate/nitrite free. There are naturally occurring nitrates in celery salt. While we would like to be able to smoke our own meat and some point (Gavin has a smoker that is out at his parents) we just don't know much about it to feel knowledgeable enough to start. *There's a whole nother homesteading skill I'd like to acquire!*
Here are some pictures of how our day went. Warning: these may be graphic to some, totally normal to others. If you don't like the sight of blood or gutting an animal then please do not proceed.

Getting started: Gavin had already shot the pig and Ida is getting it nice and clean. Timber is looking on.

Gavin digging the hole for the guts. You can just take your guts to the dump but if you have the room on your property to bury them it certainly saves money and time.
Gavin and Rob beginning to gut the hog.
This is what the kids did for the gutting part. They built a fire and played. Once in a while they'd come over to see how it was going. We feel that it's important not only for our children to know where their meat comes from, but to have an appreciation for the animal and to know the work that goes into getting that meat to your table. With grocery stores now a days, I think we are far too removed from how the food we are eating, especially when it comes to meat, got to our plates.
Gutting the hog.
Removing the heart and lungs.
Skinning the hog. Now, most people don't skin hogs, they scald them. We are very new to the process of processing hogs so Gavin has just went with what he knows how to do well from hunting, and that is skinning. We could get the large drum of boiling water and scald it but we haven't ventured there yet. If you have any good tips or experiences with scalding hogs that you can share, pleas do share!

After the guys had skinned it, Ida and I went over the carcass and trimmed as much fat off as we could to make lard.

Removing the forelegs. Ida and I then went into the house and started cutting up meat. The guys continued outside taking the hog apart piece by piece. At that point I got a little sidetracked with it all and forgot to take many more photos!

Our backwoods butcher shop.

Some ribs and one belly reading for wrapping.

We buy butcher's paper at our local hardware store to wrap our meat. We cut the shoulders and one leg into roasts, the bellies go for bacon, the tenderloin, ribs, and chops are cut and wrapped, the other leg goes for smoking, and the rest is ground for use in sausage patties, tacos, etc. I have read a bit about making head cheese but I think my husband is too grossed out about it for me to try. Have any of you ever eaten head cheese? Or made it yourself? What did you think of it?

The Foxfire Book is a fantastic backwoods homesteading book that we've used as reference quite often when it come to butchering hogs. If you don't already own it, I'd recommend investing in it at some point.

If you have any good hog butchering tips or stories, I'd love to hear about them.