If you plan to go ahead in livestock raising, you can’t predict the cost you need to spend on them before starting the poultry. Even if you want to raise some at your homestead, you can’t exactly know how much will spend on those little creatures.
Pigs are very social. Thus, never consider raising a single pig alone. At least breed two of them at a time, as they might into severe depression if left unattended for an extended period.
It can be a quiet troubling situation when you are willing to raise a pig breed, but not sure whether you will be able to breed one or not.
So, you want to know…
- How much does a pig cost?
- How much do you need to spend while raising a pig?
- Or, what all specifications are needed to be taken care of while raising a goat?
- How much are they going to cost you?
We have tracked all the costs you might need to levy while raising a pig. Although bringing a pig and growing it is not going to burn a hole in your pocket, it is crucial to watch all the expenses you are doing.
Expenses You Need to Levy While Raising A Pig
There are a few factors that you might need to consider while raising a pig breed.
It is better to group things up for an understanding of even a beginner.
So, we have grouped all the factors that you might think upon and bring while raising a pig breed.
The first category includes all the necessary things that are a prerequisite for raising a pig breed, which includes:
- Feeders
- Shelter
- Fencing
- Coolers
- Freezers
- Waterers
- Transportation
The above are the standard requirements that are needed for all the pigs you are raising. Another category includes all those things which you might need to levy per pig, which are:
- Beds
- Health care
- Price of piglet
- Food requirement
- Processing
Also Read: What is the Average Pig Lifespan
Cost Requirements: Standard For All
These necessary facilities will become a long-lasting investment that you can use for years. Thus, they are a one-time investment that is going to serve you for an extended period. We will be giving an idea about how much you will spend a year on a particular requirement, depending on how much it will last.
For example, if you spend $500 on a fence one year, and that fence lasts for the coming five years, then the cost per year you will levy will come out to be $100 only.
1. Feeders
You can only place the food of your pigs on the ground. Proper plates will be needed to feed them. If you are going to get high-quality rubber bowls, each of them will cost you around $25 per year.
If you plan to start poultry, they must consider purchasing a permanent feeder instead of individual bowls, as individual bowls will cost you much more than the permanent feeders.
2. Shelter
If you have a barn, then great enough. You can raise your pigs there. But if it is not the case, then you might find it hard to breed your pigs in the garden or your home. Well, the solution in such a situation can be building their shelter.
The material of the shelter will come within $300. With the material costing $300, you can create a pig sturdy enough pig shelter with the specifications you want in that house. The cost of material for building a house also depends on the lumber around your home.
If you are lucky, you can even find an excellent lumber piece at a very affordable price.
3. Fencing
Pigs being foragers finds it very easy to pass through any hole quickly. Thus, it becomes very crucial to provide all-round fencing to your pigs and piglets.
Also, because of their fat-full, delicious meat, pigs are even more prone to predator’s attack, so to ensure the complete safety of the pigs you are raising, proper fencing is crucial.
Even the best quality of fencing comes under $150 for 165 ft. Thus, depending on the area you want to fence, the fence’s cost can be determined. You can usually find the price of the fencing per foot. Thus, it is prominent to measure the area you want to fence before going to purchase one.
The fence is also a good investment, as they are long-lasting, you will not need to worry about changing fencing every year.
4. Coolers
If you are raising pigs for meat production, it is crucial to have a big cooler store their meat there. As pigs are pretty large, even butchering a single pig can produce a high quantity of meat. You might need to bring that meat either to the shop or to your home.
In such a case, it is crucial to have a more relaxed with a large storage space to bring the tasty pork to your home or a shop in one go.
As per our research, 1 120 quartz coolers are appropriate to bring a single pig’s meat home in one go. One quartz can be expressed as one quartz numerically equal to one pound. That means a 120 quarts freezer can store up to 120 pounds of pork.
5. Freezers
After bringing the pork to your home, you might need to unload the cooler and store the meat somewhere else. You can only keep the meat at room temperature, as everyone wants to buy fresh meat, which will only be possible to store it at a temperature close to zero.
Thus, at home, a pig meat breeder needs to have a gigantic freezer with a high capacity to store the maximum amount of meat there.
6. Waterers
Watering them is another crucial part that you will perform daily. It will be better to prefer a waterer depending on the number of pigs you raising.
On average 55-gallon waterer costs around $40 per year. If you are breeding pigs on your homestead, then you can prefer a waterer with a smaller capacity.
Also Read: 10 Reasons Why Pigs are Great Pets for Homesteaders
7. Transportation
After purchasing the piglets or the pigs, how are you going to get them to your home? You can either use a truck with cattle crates in it.
They can even occupy in a truck that has dog crates. But if you have just planned to start raising pigs, you might not be having such a truck with boxes in it. Thus, you might need to spend a little on the transportation of these little pigs as well.
The second type of expense you can levy is the recurring cost of individual pigs.
Each pig has its requirement that can’t be fulfilled within the basic needs of a pig. You might need to spend some extra money on the health care and food of individual pigs.
So, how much does a pig cost?
The price that we will be mentioned in the below points is concerning a single pig.
8. Price of Piglet
If you are going to start poultry or try to raise pigs at your homestead, keep in mind not bringing a single pig at a time. Either get twin of them or more than two pigs at a time.
So, how much does a pig cost? If you plan to buy a piglet, you might need to spend at least $200. With $200, you can buy a cheaper breed of pig, thus keep your budget a little loose while looking for a perfect pig breed.
9. Beds
Beds are another crucial thing you might need to arrange for your pigs. Although making a bed using a straw bale is not expensive at all. You might spend around $5 per square foot of the bale.
For each pig, you might need at least 5 to 6 straw bales, which means each pig bed will cost you around $25 to $30. But again, it is a long-term investment, as their beds will last for at least five years.
10. Health Care
As pigs have a great immune system, you might not need to spend much on their health care. Yet, anyone can fall ill, and it is crucial to keep a margin of health care expense you might need to levy on your pigs while raising them.
11. Food Requirement
One of the highest costs pig breeders levies is on the food of pigs and piglets. Their feed conversion ratio lies between 2.5 to 3 pounds. That means to gain one pound of meat. You need to feed them at least 2.5 to 3 pounds of food. Thus, their food requirement is pretty high, which is why calling it one of the largest expenses.
If you have a free source of food, then, well and right. You will be able to save some money you were going to spend on the pig’s food. Otherwise, it will cost you around $25 for a sack of 50 pounds of food. That means, for a month, you might spend $250 to $300 on the food of the pigs.
If you are thinking of feeding them with the kitchen scrap, do keep in mind that, although it will be sufficient to fill their empty stomach, because of pretty less calorie content in them, they won’t be able to fulfill the requirement of calories pigs have.
12. Processing
For butchering the pig, you might need someone. And even after butchering the meat requires proper processing. Processing is one of the largest expenses you might need to levy on a single pig. On average, a processor takes a $35 kill bill and $0.5 per pound as a hanging weight of the processed weight.
The total amount of processing will come out to be around $125. Thus, you should start looking for a processor to do your work at a minimum cost.
Also Read: The Complete Pig Feeding Guide: How to Feed Your Pig the Perfect Diet
How Much Does A Pig Cost Then?
Although the total cost of raising a pig depends on a lot of factors, yet, there are few which dominates the overall price point. It is impossible to include all the possible elements, yet, we have tried to cover all those expenditures you need to know about raising a pig breed.
On average, to raise 275 pounds on a pig, it will cost you around $600. That is the cost of approximately 130 pounds of pig meat. That means you are going to earn double the money you are spending on the pig breed. Thus, raising a pig is all a business with a lot of profit and the slightest chance of loss.
Final Thoughts
Raising a pig can be quite exhaustive. There are a lot of things you need to take care of pigs, including their feeding time, drinking time, safety, etc.
If you are new to the field of livestock raising, various questions will be there in your mind like, will you be able to make a profit out of them or not? Will you handle the livestock or not?
The most straightforward answer to your questions can be, there is not even a single business with no chances of loss. That means you can sometimes recur a loss while raising a pig. And because of their docile nature, pigs are pretty easy to breed. After getting experience from the first lot of pigs you nurse, you will start to entertain your work.