pig breeding adventure

As some may remember I asked questions about breeding pigs and got a sow from my dad. She had 16 lost 1 at birth I gave 1 runt away and she raised the remaining 14 just fine. I started weening at 3 weeks as they were dragging her down really bad. The local high school has a Agg. program and I got involved with the teacher on the breeding. He helped me sale 9 of the piglets and could have sold all of them but I wanted to keep a few for meat.I allowed him to take 2 of my males and use them as a demonstration on castration and I helped in front of the class. there are currently 6 of the pigs out of my sow up there with two being mine. I am sponsoring them for some of the students who couldn't buy or afford to feed them. They plan on showing them and their responsibility is to feed and care for them until the last show then I will pay for 1/2 the feed bill and "buy them back" as they have to own the pigs to show them but the price was low so they could afford to do it. I enjoy watching the students learn about this because we didn't have this program when I attended the same school system. I was at the school checking on the pigs and got to see the students (some who had never been on a tractor) try to run a obstacle course where they had to simulate backing into a shed with 6" clearance on each side to hook to a implement,pull through a curve,then back the implement back in, unhook, and pull out the gate in under 5 min to qualify for competition. Needless to say I never got so tickled from a tractor driver as those students made me.I plan on attending the shows with the students and maybe get my girls to tag along. I really have enjoyed this and will do it again if I can.

Sounds like loads of fun for all. Good for you on helping the kids with their ag projects.

Way to step up. To many adults want to bash the kids for getting in trouble or just staying home and the kids say they have nothing to do. If only more people like you would step up it would ease these problems. Power to the kids also because they are probably catching flak from their "friends"

I think most just pick this class so they can get out of the other classes but you can tell the ones that have been around a farm. on the castration demo. some of the "football player" tough guys said they was going to get sick and had to step out the door. many of the girls stayed but turned their heads from time to time. two of the students volunteered to assist and did good but was not able to hold the piglet the whole time.

Thanks for the memory of "cutting" hogs.

As a kid I had the honor of holding the back legs of the pig while my father performed the surgery.

Made a one inch cut on the sack and pulled the "jewel" out as far as it would stretch.

Used his pocket knife to "shave" the "jewel" off; was taught never to "slice" it off.

Little or no bleeding; apply the black "smear" inside the sack.

Save the "jewels" in a coffee can for the dogs and cats.

Same procedure for bull calves; just a little more difficult holding hind legs.

Nothing more rewarding than getting kicked and/or messed on.

Just glad that child protective services was not around back in the day to interfere with my education.

Easy way to do the job is stick the pig between your knees while standing. That leaves both hands free to do the deed and only takes about 30 seconds and one person for the job. A former hog raiser. Joe

As a teenager, I used another method only one time successfully.

Roped the top part of the pig's snout, drug him over to the edge of the pig pen, and him tied to a metal post.

Pig pulled backwards for all he was worth; never considered moving forward to escape.

Performed the outpatient surgery and untied the pig.

Other pigs must have watched and learned; was never able to use that method again.

would have done that but being bent over did not allow for a good presentation

boy you waited till he was a big one when they got that big and my dad "cut" them at over 100 lb. he would run them into a 55 gal. drum and stand it up pig was on his nose no way to turn and all you had to do was restrain hind legs.

I can remember when we were young, being recruited as the hold down help with the castration procedure. We put about 80-100 lb pigs on their back, upside down, in a vee shaped hog trough, and more or less sat on his ribcage, pulling his hind legs forward, being careful not to put too much weight on their bellies, so as not to cause a rupture, during the operation. Little ba$tards would pee all over us!

We used to stick the pig head first into an empty wooden nail keg. Then I would sit on the keg and hold the back legs while dad did the job.

You are doing a great thing. Them kids will remember you where ever they go and what ever they do as long as they walk this earth.

Dave

That is a good description of exactly how I was taught to castrate boar pigs. The only thing I would add is that it was very important to have the patients' mama corralled really well--the only times I was ever really scared of our hogs was a couple of times when brood sows thought I was the cause of their pigs squealing in pain. I discovered that I could clear a 4 foot board fence, no problem at all!

We cut bull calves for a while, but then got a special pliers that could put a heavy rubber band around their scrotums. Doing it that way seemed much easier on the bull calves and also it was usually much easier for us to do. I even castrated a couple of little bulls standing up and working alone. The only trick was you had to make sure you got both testicles, or there would be a problem later that could only be corrected with a knife. I still have that pliers somewhere.

We always held pigs over a wood fence by hind legs, did not hurt pig..We sold pigs ( the best litter) that at 8 weeks old averaged 96 lbs...We started feed at one week with a self feeder by propping lid up



MAY GOD BLESS THE USA