Humanely raised and harvested is how I wish all meat was raised. Although I can't raise my own, I buy from a local respectable farmer. And yes Todd, pork chops and applesauce!
I applaud you for raising your own pigs for meat. Personally, I think I would get too attached and wouldn't be able to have them processed. But I would definitely buy a processed pig someone else raised.
I think I would get too attached to a cow, whilst I like pigs I am also reminded that should you fall into a pig pen inebriated (or a small child) they will 💯 eat you.
My family raised 2 lambs this year as our first meat due to being safety options for little kids to be around. Everyone was aware of their purpose . When the time came kids said goodbye and went to preschool. 2 weeks later picked up from butcher the kids were excited to pick up boxes of big boy and lamb lamb. They can't wait to do it again and the meat is great we are doing pigs next then beef and will rotate as needed. We already have chickens and rabbits that we do at home.
Knowing how your pig was raised that you'll be eating must make you feel good you know that you honored the animal well and now he will honor you feeding you
Sorry to hear about the other pig! We recently had a stray pot belly pig come onto our property and she has now adopted us. None of our neighbors know who she did belong to so we are adding her to our little farm, one neighbor was ready to shoot her for getting into his hay. At first we thought she was a regular pig but she is definitely a pot belly, straight tail, sway back and of course the pot belly. She was pretty skittish at first and would come for food and leave for the day. She is now comfortable here, sleeps in her little comfy bed, eats her pig feed and veggies, and even lays down to get her belly scratched. She is not penned up and it wouldn't matter if we tried that anyway, she does not like to be penned up. It's taken patience and kindness to bring her to where she is now. I've never been around pigs before this but I love them now! She is a joy to us. I don't know if I could separate my emotions from pigs as food vs a pet. I suppose that's something I will have to learn someday, if we decide to venture into that territory. I don't really have a problem with the chickens but pigs? Nope I can't do it.
Thanks for sharing the sad truth of raising livestock. Yes, they do get sick and we don't always realize it until too late. Now more new homesteaders will be aware the signs that a pig may be ill. You two are such a joy to learn from.
Sorry about the loss of the gilt, sometimes the lessons are definitely the hard. I hope to raise a couple of pigs next year; barring any more major catastrophic events. (We have had 2 losses this year my Brother in law passed in April; and Aug 5th my 94 yr old Mother passed away). Love gaining inspiration from watching you two work together. His Bless
Sorry to hear you lost one of your pigs to pneumonia. That almost happened to us with both of ours early this year. Thankfully we caught it and they recovered. It is a big loss for sure. Glad you still had one pig to harvest. ❤🙏
The school FFA did a project where the kids raised $1,000 to purchase calves. They had to take care of them & keep track of all the cost associated with raising them. When it was time to sell, if they were profitable they got to keep all the money. Unfortunately they got sick during the winter & died. It was a good but hard lesson for the kids.
@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan cool thanks for the tip. I have 2 baby's and a mama so I don't know how to keep them warm. Not that our winters get that cold in Washington state. God bless
Pigs are so smart and easy to train as you know. You guys understand this and by training the pigs, they can help you work with them. Plus, it's enjoyable -- pigs are fun critters! It's a shame that they can't tell you if they're sick, and that's why I believe it's vital to watch the critters you raise so you can spot unusual behavior. Please don't beat yourselves up by not associating a cough with pneumonia because you simply didn't know this. As we work through our homesteads, we are all learning as we go. Raising livestock is the most difficult to do, imo. Time and experience become the best teachers and starting out, few of us have that. You guys gave your pig a great life and you will never forget your times with that pig. I lost a registered Nubian dairy goat one year -- she came from top lineage with excellent production records. One day, I walked out to spend time with my herd and she was lying on the ground, already dead. She had no symptoms prior to her death, was milking beautifully, and there were no prey-markings on her. After talking with several goat breeders, we all came to the conclusion that she suffered a heart attack. I had milked her only a few hours before her untimely death. I will never forget this doe -- she was the sweetest one I ever owned...and she died too early in her life. Such as it is, our lives on a homestead -- mostly we live in harmony with what surrounds us, and mostly we are very content with the blessings we get. But we are sometimes reminded and humbled with frailties and plans that get interrupted. We have raised Tamworth, Durocs, and Hampshires. Tamworths are the most fun, but have little fat so no bacon. Durocs are our favorite breed -- they know how to 'do pig' and they grow very large with loads of fat. With our pigs, when we butcher at home, we only need to shake a small feed container and they will follow us into the dispatch area. When we trailer them to the butchers, we do as you have done, and we begin feeding on the trailer bed about 2 weeks ahead of the slaughter date. We also use a mat on the ramp and put a goat enclosure on our open-bed trailer. Once we used our horse trailer -- seemed like we overdid it, hauling pigs in a horse trailer, but it worked.
Hey, thanks for sharing - all the details. It’s good to show the lifecycle of farm animals. Also liked your chicken harvest. They are not pets. People need to understand where food comes from. You have any livestock left you have to care for over the winter? You need to harvest a deer, do a video on processing it and butchering it yourselves. Thanks for keeping it real!
Hey Rachel ...I've been watching your channel for a while now off and on, mostly I catch your episodes on FB videos and I really enjoy them. I've learned some neat little tricks from you guys about cooking, like I use to only boil cook my green beans the old southern way, but I saw how you would sorta fry cook them in a cast iron skillet so I tried it and it's so much better and easier since I'll cook my meat first then it's so neat to just add a bit of butter and throw the green beans in the skillet and add the seasonings we love and it's amazing. You and Todd are a wonderful example to folks. Thank you for the great videos.
We had pneumonia run through our barn to include the pigs, penicillin has been awesome to have on hand. If you keep livestock get some soon before they take OTC antibiotics away from livestock producers next year.
Sorry you had to learn the hard way. Any signs running nose, watery eyes, any coughing need immediate attention with pigs. Always watching esp. with changing weather.
Sorry about ur other pig, but yes very good job on loading! Our biggest issues we have with our pigs is getting them off the trailer...for 2 years straight they refuse to get off and we do the park the trailer in the pig yard trick. But once we drive them to the butcher, they won't get off and it turns into a very stressing event for the pig which is supposed to be bad for the meat 😮💨So frustrating!!
Buy a 16ft wire cattle panel and in circle the animal. Then two people can carry the now round panel to anywhere you need the animal. When you get to the trailer open the circle and surround the trailer slowly walk forward and you can ease the animal into the trailer.
I've raised pigs twice now and I I have had health issues both times. Thankfully they all lived and were healthy at butcher time, but it has been difficult! I don't love raising them, but the pork is amazing.
Sorry you lost one of your piggies! I believe you have raised different breeds each time. It would be interesting to compare/contrast your experiences as to total weight to hang weight, any flavor, fat content differences/preferences if notable. TFS as always!
I am sorry you lost a pig. Learning from it. The weather this year has been crazy for sure. Unfortunately if you want more next year you have to start over with two more. Good luck with everything. Fantastic channel!
Excuse my ignorance, but why would the 1st pig be wasted? Would having had pneumonia make it inedible? Was it lying there too long? Just trying to learn. Love your channel guys!
I would hope they check their lovestock daily, unless they are super deep in a silvopasture forest. Doubtful it was laying too long, but maybe. Many folks just don't like eating sick animals
Having it lying out with all the organs still intact... would allow for toxic/gaseous buildup. Think liver and intestines ... which would be releasing deadly toxins into the blood and muscle tissue within a couple of hours. It’s just not worth the risk. That’s why hunters field-dress their kills immediately. Just FYI... if it helps.
Hi Rachel. OMyGod! I am so sorry for the lose of one of the pigs. Michigan weather is no jock. The temperature 🌡️ goes up and down and can make an animal sick. Did any of them have names? Hope next year I can see what animals you get. God Bless and prayers. Mari'a. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🐗🐗🐗
Always more things to learn about homesteading! Thanks for sharing, sorry about the loss of your investment though. Guess you'll just have to go fishing again, Todd! 😁
We used to raise 3 pigs at a time, now we buy one or 2 to butcher ourselves. We've had one pass that I can remember from pneumonia. It was a hard loss. Nothing beats that fresh pork though!
ah yah, isn't that just homesteading though so tough. When I was learning in my goat class (so lucky to have one offered by me) they said " in this experience, there will be an animal that will die, it will be your fault, and it's best to just accept it now" and that has STUCK with me. It's SO hard, it's happened, but there is just so much to learn, all we can do is our best :)
Sometimes I think about things like this loss and wonder if God prompted you, or us, to purchase the two because you would loose one. Then instead of having nothing, you still have one beautiful hog to harvest. So grateful for his provision and how he prompts and prepares us ahead of time. Hard loss! I love y'alls perspective on life.
Pig butts are some of the cutest in the animal world. I just have a hard time eating their meat partly cause of the deep rooted religious beliefs but more so because of the general taste of pork.
We have raised pigs for years and the easy way to move pigs is to put a bucket over their head and they will back up and you can steer them where ever you want them to go and it doesn’t hurt them.
Aww, I’m sorry you lost a pig, that’s a bummer. We had pigs given to us once and had the vet come out to castrate them. It turns out the pig was too big already and it ended up dying in the process. We were too dumb to know the vet should have been responsible for it, but oh well. It is a loss, but it was also a learning opportunity.
Hello from BC, Canada! Just curious, now that you guys having gone through this, are there any natural remedies that someone could try to fight pneumonia for a pig? Im kinda anti- antibiotics except as maybe a last resort.
As far a loading the pigs looks like you have that under control. So sad about the loss of the other one. I want to raise my own pigs too. But we are not zoned for livestock. I believe there are changes coming in the near future where that will change. Everyone should be able to raise their own food if they choose to.
I am so afraid of this happening. We raised our first 2 Berkshire pigs last year...lost both to a defective refrigerator! These last 2, I hovered over and checked obsessively. Any scrape, I treated. Listening, looking, every day...for fear of something happening again. It's hard to lose the food and money it took to raise them, for sure.
I am so sorry for the loss of the second pig. If you find you go through the meat faster than expected, would you consider getting another pig or two next year or are you also trying to rest the pig pasture land next year?
Should have called the butcher. He might know of a rendering place to sell the pig to. Ask them tomorrow when you see them. Maybe you could have gotten something for him. They grind up and use whatever protein they can off bones and remains. They heat it to sterilize it. It then is used for other species animal food. Meat processors use every part of the animal they can.
Sad about the girlie pig, Honestly I don't know if could raise pigs myself, I find them a little too smart, or personable, or something. But kudos with the trailer, that's a brilliant idea!!
I’m curious and I’m not sure if you know the answer to this or not. If an animal dies from an illness, can you still harvest the meat from it or would the meat be contaminated because of the illness?
Hi Rachel and Todd, love your channel btw, I noticed that you raised three different breeds of pigs the three years you have raised them, my questions are which breed is the best?? Which of them gave you more lard? In nature (non aggressive ) and the best meat. Thanks and God bless.
Raised pigs in Oklahoma and then in Alaska and never had a problem with the pigs. That’s a shame that you lost that much meat. That hurts the pocket book. 😢 Had a pig that was a little runt one time that stayed in the house for about two months. The kids would give him a bath and he house broke really fast and easy. When it was time to put him out with the other pigs he didn’t like it. He didn’t smell like a pig so the pigs didn’t like him at first and they smelled bad to him I’m sure. But they worked it out. I had a goat in Alaska that was fine one day and the next wasn’t. She had just given birth two days before and I didn’t bread her. She was pregnant when we got her and was a big surprise to us. She was gonna be due the end of February. I would never have let her have kids in February. It was irresponsible of the person I got her from to allow her to get pregnant the time is year she did. But when we noticed her getting bigger it was a while after we had bought her. We were very disappointed. But two days after kidding she was not well that morning when I went to the barn. I ran up the hill called the vet and told him she was sick and down. He told me that when a goat gets sick like that they just give up and she would be gone before her could get there. But he came in out to check in the kids. The mom was gone before he got there she didn’t last but about 2 hours. She must have gotten bad during the night after I fed the animals and went in. I had not noticed anything wrong with her the night before. I raised those two kids inside the house with us till late April. That was interesting lol and not fun. But they survived and were spoiled little brats. My big old pit didn’t like them being in the house they would jump on him like goats do their moms. He tolerated it but I know he was happy when it was warm enough for them to join the barn again. Some animals once they get sick it takes them really fast. Don’t know there was much you could have done. But it hurts even if they are intended for food to loose one that way.
So sorry about your piggy, maybe cut up an Apple for them as a way to get them in the trailer. It's so nice that he didn't stressed out going in there.
Sorry about your piggy. Also did you get goat meat back ? Will you be getting any animals next yr to butcher ? Wondering as you are not doing the garden?? 🥰🥰
Rachel, Please help. I have been watching your channel for awhile. Just got my first All American pressure canner. I was canning on a propane camp stove when the flame was blown out for about a minute. Is my canning ok from botulism? Also what is considered a juggle of the weight. Any shaking at all or does it need to jiggle for a couple of seconds? thank you.
Ok, if you didn't drop below 10 on you gauge (don't know where you live if you can at 10 or 15) then you should be good. If you're canning for say 60 minutes, and it drops below 10, you're supposed to bring back to 10 and restart your 60 minute timer. Read this, is explains the different between gauges, and weighted gauges. nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html#gsc.tab=0
Well it's heartbreaking to hear about your other hog but I guess it's better than both of them being gone hard lesson to learn another great video glad you gave the details of what people should look for
Loving this. Loving watching the way you work through ‘the unexpecteds and the unreadies’. So often on my place when those situations occur, I blame myself for not having been prepared. I learned a long time ago that ‘what happens, happens’ on a farm/ranch and it’s not about self-blaming. Unfortunately, I still have to remind myself on occasion. So thanks for the support... even if you didn’t realize you were doing that. For me and for, I would imaging, plenty of others. And, thanks for all your videos. Are you, by the way, reading the book “Prairie”, yet? When you do, I hope you enjoy it....
Oh, one more question out of curiosity, what did you do with deceased pig? Just asking due to my lack of knowledge if people take it somewhere to get processed for the garden such as "blood and bone" or if you buried it.
That stinks! We raise chickens and my parents always did pigs. Next year I’m doing pigs too. Can I ask why you couldn’t still process that one too? Because it was sick the meat is affected? Just curious and wanting to learn!
Possibly. If you suspect pneumonia, you can give them anti-biotics which can clear it up. The breeders actually gave us some when they visited, in the male started to get sick. He never really showed any symptoms though, so we didn't need it.
Just keeping it real guys. Everyday is a school day and sometimes even with our best efforts we don’t always get things right. A steep learning curve, sadly, but one which will make you appreciate every piece of meat you eat going forward.
My friend lost a pig last year to coughing. They chose to do an autopsy. It turned out to be lung worms that killed their pig. Whatever the cause I'm sorry you lost your pig.
Sorry for your loss😥 So... The pigs don't cough statement. I'm gonna have to disagree... Maybe not an on going continual but I have a pig(had him for about 3 years or more) that always coughs after scarfing down certain meals. Never otherwise but at first I was seriously concerned. Then we came to realize it was only sometimes after eating and usually when we put in lots of garden yummies mixed in his mush and he would get excited. Not saying to think nothing of it cause we get concerned anytime we hear any animal do something out of the ordinary. But even though, I could not say that they "don't" cough for benign issues cause one of mine does sometimes. We do try to feed lots of natural dewormers and basil, garlic, thyme oregano and such since they are susceptible to respiratory issues.
Oh we know the coughing from food / cracked corn stuck in their throat, and what this was. It wasn't even near the food, and still coughing. Lessons ♥ Thank you for sharing
![[SFM] Risky Recital](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RzNkY1_Nk3o/mqdefault.jpg)
I was holding my breath as you were pushing that feed bowl farther in. Thanks for sharing your story, it's a good reminder for a lot of reasons.
That is the most hands off, gentle pig loading I’ve ever seen.
We try to make sure out animals only ever have 1 bad day for their entire life.
Humanely raised and harvested is how I wish all meat was raised. Although I can't raise my own, I buy from a local respectable farmer. And yes Todd, pork chops and applesauce!
I applaud you for raising your own pigs for meat. Personally, I think I would get too attached and wouldn't be able to have them processed. But I would definitely buy a processed pig someone else raised.
Either choice you go down, I totally honor people that choose the holistic route when it comes to buying/raising meat like you have mentioned.
I think I would get too attached to a cow, whilst I like pigs I am also reminded that should you fall into a pig pen inebriated (or a small child) they will 💯 eat you.
When they're little, you feel that way but when they're 350 lb, you're over it-send 'em to Market, Piggy Piggy!!
My family raised 2 lambs this year as our first meat due to being safety options for little kids to be around. Everyone was aware of their purpose . When the time came kids said goodbye and went to preschool. 2 weeks later picked up from butcher the kids were excited to pick up boxes of big boy and lamb lamb. They can't wait to do it again and the meat is great we are doing pigs next then beef and will rotate as needed. We already have chickens and rabbits that we do at home.
Just name them a politician you don't like, then you won't have a problem.
Knowing how your pig was raised that you'll be eating must make you feel good you know that you honored the animal well and now he will honor you feeding you
Todd is so calm that piggy didn’t feel nervous. I’m so sorry about the loss of the female.
Todd's 3rd job is:... Animal Whisperer! 1st job: Wife Whisperer.
Sorry to hear about the other pig! We recently had a stray pot belly pig come onto our property and she has now adopted us. None of our neighbors know who she did belong to so we are adding her to our little farm, one neighbor was ready to shoot her for getting into his hay. At first we thought she was a regular pig but she is definitely a pot belly, straight tail, sway back and of course the pot belly. She was pretty skittish at first and would come for food and leave for the day. She is now comfortable here, sleeps in her little comfy bed, eats her pig feed and veggies, and even lays down to get her belly scratched. She is not penned up and it wouldn't matter if we tried that anyway, she does not like to be penned up. It's taken patience and kindness to bring her to where she is now. I've never been around pigs before this but I love them now! She is a joy to us. I don't know if I could separate my emotions from pigs as food vs a pet. I suppose that's something I will have to learn someday, if we decide to venture into that territory. I don't really have a problem with the chickens but pigs? Nope I can't do it.
Thanks for sharing the sad truth of raising livestock. Yes, they do get sick and we don't always realize it until too late. Now more new homesteaders will be aware the signs that a pig may be ill. You two are such a joy to learn from.
I love your honesty about your learning curve with raising animals. We all learn from experience.
I’m sorry for the loss. Definitely a learning curve when just getting into anything. Thank you for sharing this experience.
We led ours at shows with marshmallows……AND before hauling we’d give them a beer to drink …relaxed them for the ride….😊
Sorry about the loss of the gilt, sometimes the lessons are definitely the hard. I hope to raise a couple of pigs next year; barring any more major catastrophic events.
(We have had 2 losses this year my Brother in law passed in April; and Aug 5th my 94 yr old Mother passed away).
Love gaining inspiration from watching you two work together.
His Bless
Sorry to hear you lost one of your pigs to pneumonia. That almost happened to us with both of ours early this year. Thankfully we caught it and they recovered. It is a big loss for sure. Glad you still had one pig to harvest. ❤🙏
The school FFA did a project where the kids raised $1,000 to purchase calves. They had to take care of them & keep track of all the cost associated with raising them. When it was time to sell, if they were profitable they got to keep all the money. Unfortunately they got sick during the winter & died. It was a good but hard lesson for the kids.
That is good to know about the cough. We just got pigs about a month ago. God bless keep teaching me please
Get LA200 from tractor supply and have it on hand. We had one get sick last winter gave it a shot and was within 48 hours it was better.
@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan cool thanks for the tip. I have 2 baby's and a mama so I don't know how to keep them warm. Not that our winters get that cold in Washington state. God bless
Pigs are so smart and easy to train as you know. You guys understand this and by training the pigs, they can help you work with them. Plus, it's enjoyable -- pigs are fun critters!
It's a shame that they can't tell you if they're sick, and that's why I believe it's vital to watch the critters you raise so you can spot unusual behavior. Please don't beat yourselves up by not associating a cough with pneumonia because you simply didn't know this.
As we work through our homesteads, we are all learning as we go. Raising livestock is the most difficult to do, imo. Time and experience become the best teachers and starting out, few of us have that. You guys gave your pig a great life and you will never forget your times with that pig.
I lost a registered Nubian dairy goat one year -- she came from top lineage with excellent production records. One day, I walked out to spend time with my herd and she was lying on the ground, already dead. She had no symptoms prior to her death, was milking beautifully, and there were no prey-markings on her. After talking with several goat breeders, we all came to the conclusion that she suffered a heart attack. I had milked her only a few hours before her untimely death. I will never forget this doe -- she was the sweetest one I ever owned...and she died too early in her life.
Such as it is, our lives on a homestead -- mostly we live in harmony with what surrounds us, and mostly we are very content with the blessings we get. But we are sometimes reminded and humbled with frailties and plans that get interrupted.
We have raised Tamworth, Durocs, and Hampshires. Tamworths are the most fun, but have little fat so no bacon. Durocs are our favorite breed -- they know how to 'do pig' and they grow very large with loads of fat. With our pigs, when we butcher at home, we only need to shake a small feed container and they will follow us into the dispatch area. When we trailer them to the butchers, we do as you have done, and we begin feeding on the trailer bed about 2 weeks ahead of the slaughter date. We also use a mat on the ramp and put a goat enclosure on our open-bed trailer. Once we used our horse trailer -- seemed like we overdid it, hauling pigs in a horse trailer, but it worked.
What gorgeous pigs 🐷❤️! Sorry one died 😢.
I'm sorry for the loss of your female! Happy to see your male loaded without drama, though!
Yes, peaceful always best.
Hey, thanks for sharing - all the details. It’s good to show the lifecycle of farm animals. Also liked your chicken harvest. They are not pets. People need to understand where food comes from.
You have any livestock left you have to care for over the winter?
You need to harvest a deer, do a video on processing it and butchering it yourselves. Thanks for keeping it real!
So sorry, it is such a loss. God Bless and stay safe.
Aww, so sorry to hear about your pig, huge loss.
Hey Rachel ...I've been watching your channel for a while now off and on, mostly I catch your episodes on FB videos and I really enjoy them. I've learned some neat little tricks from you guys about cooking, like I use to only boil cook my green beans the old southern way, but I saw how you would sorta fry cook them in a cast iron skillet so I tried it and it's so much better and easier since I'll cook my meat first then it's so neat to just add a bit of butter and throw the green beans in the skillet and add the seasonings we love and it's amazing. You and Todd are a wonderful example to folks. Thank you for the great videos.
good job, so sad you lost the other lady. RIP
Sorry that happened to you guys but thanks for the lesson. I am praying for a homestead and animals like pigs. Who knew they don’t cough😳
We had pneumonia run through our barn to include the pigs, penicillin has been awesome to have on hand. If you keep livestock get some soon before they take OTC antibiotics away from livestock producers next year.
It hard to keep a animal, pet a animal, feed & care for it then have it butchered. I know it’s part of homesteading but I still have a hard time w/it
Finally made it to Jerome market due to you all sharing your experience. Hugs.
Sorry you had to learn the hard way. Any signs running nose, watery eyes, any coughing need immediate attention with pigs. Always watching esp. with changing weather.
Sorry about ur other pig, but yes very good job on loading!
Our biggest issues we have with our pigs is getting them off the trailer...for 2 years straight they refuse to get off and we do the park the trailer in the pig yard trick. But once we drive them to the butcher, they won't get off and it turns into a very stressing event for the pig which is supposed to be bad for the meat 😮💨So frustrating!!
Life lessons. Farm life is a great teacher.
Sorry of the loss of your piggy. I can't wait to see what you get out of the big in products.
Buy a 16ft wire cattle panel and in circle the animal. Then two people can carry the now round panel to anywhere you need the animal. When you get to the trailer open the circle and surround the trailer slowly walk forward and you can ease the animal into the trailer.
I love your set up for bringing piggy to market. Very smart! We rented a tiny uhaul. It worked but wasn’t easy to get him in there for sure!
I've raised pigs twice now and I I have had health issues both times. Thankfully they all lived and were healthy at butcher time, but it has been difficult! I don't love raising them, but the pork is amazing.
Sorry you lost one of your piggies! I believe you have raised different breeds each time. It would be interesting to compare/contrast your experiences as to total weight to hang weight, any flavor, fat content differences/preferences if notable. TFS as always!
Red Wattles were very dry, but it could have been the processor. IPP very fatty, but it melts in your mouth. Tamworth, haven't eaten any yet ♥
I am sorry you lost a pig. Learning from it. The weather this year has been crazy for sure. Unfortunately if you want more next year you have to start over with two more. Good luck with everything. Fantastic channel!
Excuse my ignorance, but why would the 1st pig be wasted? Would having had pneumonia make it inedible? Was it lying there too long? Just trying to learn. Love your channel guys!
Yes, laying too long.
Not knowing how long it was dead could have been spoiled.
Not only not knowing how long it was dead, but not being entirely sure why it died would make me not eat it. Such a huge loss.
I would hope they check their lovestock daily, unless they are super deep in a silvopasture forest. Doubtful it was laying too long, but maybe. Many folks just don't like eating sick animals
Having it lying out with all the organs still intact... would allow for toxic/gaseous buildup. Think liver and intestines ... which would be releasing deadly toxins into the blood and muscle tissue within a couple of hours. It’s just not worth the risk. That’s why hunters field-dress their kills immediately. Just FYI... if it helps.
thank you for sharing your experience. Valuable lesson learned and shared! Blessings Abound
I'm sorry for your loss!!! You guys have a Great aditude!!! God Bless!!!
Thanks for sharing., I do not own livestock @ all or have a garden I just enjoy watching 10-16-2022👍🏽♥️
I use cheap Cheerios put a little on the ramp the rest in the front of the trailer. My wife says it's cheating. LOL. But it has worked every time.
Just got another pig. Love pigs ❤
Sorry that happened to you guys. That was really unfortunate.
Hi Rachel. OMyGod! I am so sorry for the lose of one of the pigs. Michigan weather is no jock. The temperature 🌡️ goes up and down and can make an animal sick. Did any of them have names? Hope next year I can see what animals you get. God Bless and prayers. Mari'a. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🐗🐗🐗
That is sad. Like you said, live and learn.
Always more things to learn about homesteading! Thanks for sharing, sorry about the loss of your investment though. Guess you'll just have to go fishing again, Todd! 😁
I'm done for this year, my back can't do it again. My goal now, is to get back to healthy before next season ♥
We used to raise 3 pigs at a time, now we buy one or 2 to butcher ourselves. We've had one pass that I can remember from pneumonia. It was a hard loss. Nothing beats that fresh pork though!
ah yah, isn't that just homesteading though so tough. When I was learning in my goat class (so lucky to have one offered by me) they said " in this experience, there will be an animal that will die, it will be your fault, and it's best to just accept it now" and that has STUCK with me. It's SO hard, it's happened, but there is just so much to learn, all we can do is our best :)
That's a good lesson. We are their keepers, and when we fail its on us.
Sometimes I think about things like this loss and wonder if God prompted you, or us, to purchase the two because you would loose one. Then instead of having nothing, you still have one beautiful hog to harvest. So grateful for his provision and how he prompts and prepares us ahead of time. Hard loss! I love y'alls perspective on life.
They always get two. Pigs kind of need a friend to compete for the food with, so they get big and ready for harvest sooner.
Pig butts are some of the cutest in the animal world. I just have a hard time eating their meat partly cause of the deep rooted religious beliefs but more so because of the general taste of pork.
Hi Rachel 👋
We have raised pigs for years and the easy way to move pigs is to put a bucket over their head and they will back up and you can steer them where ever you want them to go and it doesn’t hurt them.
Aww, I’m sorry you lost a pig, that’s a bummer. We had pigs given to us once and had the vet come out to castrate them. It turns out the pig was too big already and it ended up dying in the process. We were too dumb to know the vet should have been responsible for it, but oh well. It is a loss, but it was also a learning opportunity.
It was sooo cold this spring and summer!! Summer didn't hit Northern Wisconsin until July. :(
Hello from BC, Canada! Just curious, now that you guys having gone through this, are there any natural remedies that someone could try to fight pneumonia for a pig? Im kinda anti- antibiotics except as maybe a last resort.
I’m so sorry.
As far a loading the pigs looks like you have that under control. So sad about the loss of the other one. I want to raise my own pigs too. But we are not zoned for livestock. I believe there are changes coming in the near future where that will change. Everyone should be able to raise their own food if they choose to.
aawwwww that is very sad. Who knew :(
I am so afraid of this happening. We raised our first 2 Berkshire pigs last year...lost both to a defective refrigerator! These last 2, I hovered over and checked obsessively. Any scrape, I treated. Listening, looking, every day...for fear of something happening again. It's hard to lose the food and money it took to raise them, for sure.
Sad one pig died. But, live and learn.
Good job
Hello Todd
That's how we learn.
I am so sorry for the loss of the second pig. If you find you go through the meat faster than expected, would you consider getting another pig or two next year or are you also trying to rest the pig pasture land next year?
So sad.
Should have called the butcher. He might know of a rendering place to sell the pig to. Ask them tomorrow when you see them. Maybe you could have gotten something for him. They grind up and use whatever protein they can off bones and remains. They heat it to sterilize it. It then is used for other species animal food. Meat processors use every part of the animal they can.
Sad about the girlie pig, Honestly I don't know if could raise pigs myself, I find them a little too smart, or personable, or something. But kudos with the trailer, that's a brilliant idea!!
We used a 5 gallon bucket over its head, they try to back out so just steer them where you want them
Those ham steaks look amazing!😋
How did you fix your ham steaks they look delicious!
I’m curious and I’m not sure if you know the answer to this or not. If an animal dies from an illness, can you still harvest the meat from it or would the meat be contaminated because of the illness?
If it was fresh it would have been fine but not knowing I wouldn’t risk the spoilage.
It's common practice, that if you don't know 100% what killed an animal - you do not eat it.
@@1870s that makes sense. I was thinking that same thing too but just wasn’t sure if that would be right or not. Thank you.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm pork chops coming home!!
Sorry about your 🐖 🐷 🐽. 😔
Oh how I wish I could wear fall clothing...its 93 degrees F here!
Ouch, 42F here today on Oct 17th
Hi Rachel and Todd, love your channel btw, I noticed that you raised three different breeds of pigs the three years you have raised them, my questions are which breed is the best?? Which of them gave you more lard? In nature (non aggressive ) and the best meat. Thanks and God bless.
WC Fields...Pork Chops and applesauce...LOL
Raised pigs in Oklahoma and then in Alaska and never had a problem with the pigs. That’s a shame that you lost that much meat. That hurts the pocket book. 😢 Had a pig that was a little runt one time that stayed in the house for about two months. The kids would give him a bath and he house broke really fast and easy. When it was time to put him out with the other pigs he didn’t like it. He didn’t smell like a pig so the pigs didn’t like him at first and they smelled bad to him I’m sure. But they worked it out. I had a goat in Alaska that was fine one day and the next wasn’t. She had just given birth two days before and I didn’t bread her. She was pregnant when we got her and was a big surprise to us. She was gonna be due the end of February. I would never have let her have kids in February. It was irresponsible of the person I got her from to allow her to get pregnant the time is year she did. But when we noticed her getting bigger it was a while after we had bought her. We were very disappointed. But two days after kidding she was not well that morning when I went to the barn. I ran up the hill called the vet and told him she was sick and down. He told me that when a goat gets sick like that they just give up and she would be gone before her could get there. But he came in out to check in the kids. The mom was gone before he got there she didn’t last but about 2 hours. She must have gotten bad during the night after I fed the animals and went in. I had not noticed anything wrong with her the night before. I raised those two kids inside the house with us till late April. That was interesting lol and not fun. But they survived and were spoiled little brats. My big old pit didn’t like them being in the house they would jump on him like goats do their moms. He tolerated it but I know he was happy when it was warm enough for them to join the barn again. Some animals once they get sick it takes them really fast. Don’t know there was much you could have done. But it hurts even if they are intended for food to loose one that way.
So sorry about your piggy, maybe cut up an Apple for them as a way to get them in the trailer. It's so nice that he didn't stressed out going in there.
Sorry about your piggy. Also did you get goat meat back ? Will you be getting any animals next yr to butcher ? Wondering as you are not doing the garden?? 🥰🥰
Yeah, we got the meat back. Haven't done anything with it yet, it's still just chilling in the freezer
Was wondering how you liked the personalities of this breed compared to the IPP's thank you
We liked IPP personality better.
@@1870s Thank you I have been researching pigs for about 3 years now and that was the breed I was leaning too so thank you for confirming my choice
Rachel, Please help. I have been watching your channel for awhile. Just got my first All American pressure canner. I was canning on a propane camp stove when the flame was blown out for about a minute. Is my canning ok from botulism? Also what is considered a juggle of the weight. Any shaking at all or does it need to jiggle for a couple of seconds? thank you.
With AA canner, you should have a gauge. Did it drop below your required pressure?
@@1870s
Not 100% but gauge barely moved. I thought not to use gauge except for knowing when to remove weight when cooling.
Ok, if you didn't drop below 10 on you gauge (don't know where you live if you can at 10 or 15) then you should be good. If you're canning for say 60 minutes, and it drops below 10, you're supposed to bring back to 10 and restart your 60 minute timer. Read this, is explains the different between gauges, and weighted gauges. nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html#gsc.tab=0
I can at 15. Don’t think I dropped below 14. Thoughts? Thank you for your help. Love your channel. Todd’s beard is amazing. I’m jealous.
Well it's heartbreaking to hear about your other hog but I guess it's better than both of them being gone hard lesson to learn another great video glad you gave the details of what people should look for
Loving this. Loving watching the way you work through ‘the unexpecteds and the unreadies’. So often on my place when those situations occur, I blame myself for not having been prepared. I learned a long time ago that ‘what happens, happens’ on a farm/ranch and it’s not about self-blaming. Unfortunately, I still have to remind myself on occasion. So thanks for the support... even if you didn’t realize you were doing that. For me and for, I would imaging, plenty of others. And, thanks for all your videos.
Are you, by the way, reading the book “Prairie”, yet? When you do, I hope you enjoy it....
Will you be getting any livestock next year since you are putting the garden to bed for a year?
Probably not
What if any harm would there be to harvest the meat of the pig that passed away?
It's common practice, that if you don't know 100% what killed an animal - you do not eat it.
Fresh pork is great.
Oh, one more question out of curiosity, what did you do with deceased pig? Just asking due to my lack of knowledge if people take it somewhere to get processed for the garden such as "blood and bone" or if you buried it.
Just burried
That stinks! We raise chickens and my parents always did pigs. Next year I’m doing pigs too. Can I ask why you couldn’t still process that one too? Because it was sick the meat is affected? Just curious and wanting to learn!
We are in verge of getting pigs ourselves and doing research too. Do you know if you could have prevented the death knowing what you do now?
Possibly. If you suspect pneumonia, you can give them anti-biotics which can clear it up. The breeders actually gave us some when they visited, in the male started to get sick. He never really showed any symptoms though, so we didn't need it.
@@1870s thank you I will pass this along to my husband
Do more research on the care of swine for the future. Horrible loss.😭🐷
I kept telling the piggy...don't go in there!!!! If I raised my animals, I would be a vegetarian...I get too attached.
same as a cow , if he is coughing
theg are sick snd have to be put down
not good to eat either
The food is getting cold. 😆
did you end up sending the goats to freezer camp too or did you sell them?
Freezer camp.
@@1870s nice. I hope that helps offset the pig. do you have good recipes for such a thing? If you likes I have a few good ones
Just keeping it real guys. Everyday is a school day and sometimes even with our best efforts we don’t always get things right. A steep learning curve, sadly, but one which will make you appreciate every piece of meat you eat going forward.
Try apples for training
What kind of pigs were these red ones?
This current batch? Tamworth.
My friend lost a pig last year to coughing. They chose to do an autopsy. It turned out to be lung worms that killed their pig. Whatever the cause I'm sorry you lost your pig.
I did guess 190 hanging weight on him. Let me know how close I was.
We'll do a pig / freezer video and let you know what it was ♥
👌🏻👌🏻
Sorry for your loss😥
So... The pigs don't cough statement. I'm gonna have to disagree... Maybe not an on going continual but I have a pig(had him for about 3 years or more) that always coughs after scarfing down certain meals. Never otherwise but at first I was seriously concerned. Then we came to realize it was only sometimes after eating and usually when we put in lots of garden yummies mixed in his mush and he would get excited.
Not saying to think nothing of it cause we get concerned anytime we hear any animal do something out of the ordinary. But even though, I could not say that they "don't" cough for benign issues cause one of mine does sometimes. We do try to feed lots of natural dewormers and basil, garlic, thyme oregano and such since they are susceptible to respiratory issues.
Oh we know the coughing from food / cracked corn stuck in their throat, and what this was. It wasn't even near the food, and still coughing. Lessons ♥ Thank you for sharing