Is this the right book for me? Everything an amateur pigkeeper needs for success Get Started in Pig Keeping offers amateur pigkeepers everything they need to make a success of this increasingly popular pursuit. Whether you are interested in breeding pigs, in meat production, or just want the pleasure of their company, this book covers legalities, basic equipment, picking breeds, understanding behaviour and how to raise and slaughter pigs. You'll get all of the advice you need on daily maintenance of your animal, from feeding to cleaning, and find ample resources if you wish to produce your own meat - or even market and sell it at a local level. Get Started in Pig Keeping includes: Chapter 1: The starting point Chapter 2: Preparation and knowing the rules Chapter 3: Before your pig arrives Chapter 4: Can keeping pigs be cost effective? Chapter 5: Getting your first pig Chapter 6: Feeding your pig Chapter 7: The health of your pig Chapter 8: Breeding from your own stock Chapter 9: Meat for the freezer Chapter 10: Sales and Marketing Chapter 11: Who's who in the pig world Learn effortlessly with a new easy-to-read page design and interactive features: Not got much time? One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started. Author insights Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience. Test yourself Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress. Extend your knowledge Extra online articles to give you a richer understanding of the subject. Five things to remember Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts. Try this Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

The idea of keeping a few pigs has undergone something of a renaissance and never before has it been so popular. The Pig Manual is a straightforward, no-nonsense guide to getting started - whether your interest is filling your freezer, starting a new business, managing land the traditional way, or simply taking on some charismatic new pets. Packed with color photos and clear step-by-step text, this manual is ideal for beginners who need advice on buying and rearing their first pigs. It's also a handy resource for the more experienced pig-keeper who occasionally needs to dip into a quick-reference manual for help and reassurance.

Raising a pig for meat is easy to do, even in a small space like a suburban backyard. In just five months, a 30-pound shoat will become a 250-pound hog and provide you with more than 100 pounds of pork, including tenderloin, ham, ribs, bacon, sausage, and more. Homegrown Pork covers everything you need to know to raise your own pig, from selecting a breed to feeding, housing, fencing, health care, and humane processing. Invite all your friends over for a healthy and succulent pork dinner!

Small-scale Outdoor Pig Breeding is a comprehensive guide to breeding and rearing pigs in natural conditions without compromising their well-being. The book provides support for novice pig-keepers hoping to breed their own pigs. Moreover, it also acts as a valuable reference for more experienced breeders and offers information about different breeds of pigs and their respective needs. Topics covered include: choosing a breed; selecting a boar; hogging and mating; gestation care; farrowing; and hand rearing. This invaluable reference guide to breeding and rearing pigs is aimed at all pig-keepers, whether novice or more experienced, and also smallholders, farmers and rare breed enthusiasts. Fully illustrated with 77 colour photographs and diagrams.

What does it take to raise a happy pig? Armed with experience from running the largest organic hog operation in Maine, author Alice Percy is well equipped to answer this question. Pigs are much closer to their cousin, the wild boar, than other domesticated animals. Ethically managing pigs requires an understanding of their natural mannerisms, including factors such as social grouping, mating, territory, housing, and, of course, their love of wallowing in the mud. In Happy Pigs Taste Better Percy offers a comprehensive look at raising organic, pasture-fed, gourmet meat. She advises readers on pasturing and feeding hogs organically, as well as managing the breeding herd and administering effective natural healthcare. In addition, she provides an overview of marketing and distribution for those looking to turn their hog farming operation into a lucrative business. This book is the first of its kind to offer an in-depth approach to organic, high-welfare commercial production, including information on: - Designing a hog business from the ground up - Housing pigs, including benefits and drawbacks of various housing systems - Evaluating the nutritional content of common organic feedstuffs - Butchering humanely and economically - Recordkeeping, with templates for financial tracking Whether you’re looking to convert a conventional operation to organic, grow your backyard hog operation into a viable business, or start from scratch, this comprehensive book has got you covered, nose to tail.

Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.

From Christian libertarian farmer Joel Salatin, a clarion call to readers to honor the animals and the land, and produce food based on spiritual principles. What on earth is The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs? It's an inspiring call to action for people of faith . . . a heartfelt plea to heed the Bible's guidance . . . . It's an important and thought-provoking explanation of how by simply appreciating the marvelous pigness of pigs, we are celebrating the Glory of God. As a man of deep faith and student of the Bible, and as a respected and successful ecological family farmer, Joel Salatin knows that God created heaven and earth and meant for all living organisms to be true to their nature and their endowed holy purpose. He intended for us to respect and care for His gift of creation, not to ravage and mistreat it for our own pleasure or wealth. The example that inspires the book's title explains what Salatin means: when huge corporate farms confine pigs in cramped and dark pens, inject them with antibiotics and feed them herbicide-saturated food simply to increase profits, they are not respecting them as a creation of God or allowing them to express even their most rudimentary uniqueness - that special role that is part of His design. Every living organism has a God-given uniqueness to its life that must be honored and respected, and too often that is not happening today. Salatin shows us the long overlooked ethics and instructions in the Bible for how to eat, how to shop, how to think about how we farm and feed the world. Through scripture and Biblical stories, he shows us why it's more vital than ever to look to the good book rather than corporate America when feeding the country and your family. Salatin makes a compelling case for Christian stewardship of the earth and how it relates to every action we take regarding our food. He also opens our eyes to a common misconception many Christians may have about environmentalism: it's not a bad thing, and definitely not just the province of secular liberals; it's really a very good thing, part of heeding God's Word. With warmth and with humor, but with no less piercing criticism of the industrial food complex, Salatin brings readers on a fascinating journey of farming, food and faith. Readers will not say grace over their plates the same way ever again.

An introduction to raising pigs for food or as pets, covering selecting a breed, shelter, feeding, breeding, and more.

Keeping pigs is a task that requires knowledge, but not necessarily time. Aimed at people with busy schedules this instructive book gives practical information about how to manage a small herd and keep pigs happy and healthy under the time constraints of modern life. The Commuter Pig Keeper is all-inclusive covering various breeds both as breeding herds and food sources. Topics addressed include all aspects of pig rearing, including an in depth look at breeding, housing, and handling techniques. This essential guide also discusses the administrative and business issues of pig keeping, as well as giving advice on contingency planning for when problems occur. Written by a member of the Animal and Plant Health Agency's Pig Expert Group, this book offers useful information for both novice and expert pig keepers.

Learn How To Start a Successful Farm Business That Gives you the Financial Wealth and allows you to Create Job and Employment for Youths and Women in your Rural communities in Africa Are you an African diaspora, professional or you are planning to retire soon from your job to be your boss and run your commercial farm?Or you wish to alleviate poverty for those living in the rural community in Africa through youth and rural empowerment. Or to improve the productivity and livelihood of farmers from subsistence to commercial farming in Africa, this is the right book for you. This book was written by an experienced farmer and trainer to help bridge the knowledge gap required to establish and operate a successful commercial farm in Africa. It is a practical and easy to understand guide that will help you take their ideas from conception through to implementing, operating and profitably marketing of your product. It's also a handy resource for the more experienced pig-keeper who occasionally needs to dip into a quick-reference manual for help and reassurance.This book is divided into three sections: Business sectionFarm operations sectionThe marketing section In the business section of the book, we consider each of these topics in details1. Why this is a good time to invest in farming in Africa2. Reasons why people are venturing into commercial pig farming3. The correct attitudes of a successful commercial farmer4. How much capital do you need to start a commercial farm?5. How to raise fund your farmFarm Operations section, we look at:1. Where to locate your farm, important factors to consider such as the size and the location of your farm, e.g. proximity to market and feed suppliers, good neighbourliness, accessibility 2. Factors and things to consider when building your farm 3. How to choose the best pigs and transport them to the farm4. How to manage your different categories of pigs boar, gilt, sow, weaners and piglets throughout their different stages of life, e.g. detecting heat, mating, pregnancy, farrowing and weaning.The uniqueness of this book is that it did not only tell the farmer what to do alone but also exposed the physiology and anatomy of pigs that are relevant for farmers. It uses this to explain what the pig is going through during the stressful and critical situations like mating, pregnancy etc. and how a farmer can better assist the pig.In the final section, we look at the various stakeholders who are involved in moving our pigs from the farmgate to the consumer in sub-Sahara Africa. And how this relationship affects the market price of your product from the farm gate to the consumer. We also look at different methods of adding value to your farm products and how best to position and market your product profitably. As a diaspora farmer, I tried to strike a balance between the attractive features of living on the farm and being your boss, but I also emphasised the unpleasant and tough ones. It is my sincere hope that this book will help you to avoid failure, delay, disappointment, and mistakes that are typical of people who are new to farming. It should also help you to attain the satisfaction that characterises personal and well-directed efforts in agriculture.