Swine help, Beginner needs help

[dn91]

This is a repost from the Swine Chat, I've noticed there isn't a lot of replies on the Swine Chat side so if any of you have any suggestions let me know.

I have convinced my little brother to show pigs at the country fair which is in the first week in july. I come from a cattle background and have no knowledge of pigs. When am I suppose to buy the pigs, what do I feed them, what daily care do they need? Any thing will help, Thanks

 

[obie105]

At our county fair all swine have to be weighed in and tagged or ear notched. It is usually sometime in the spring for a late summer county fair. We always bought our pigs in the 40-60 lb range. Talk to your 4-h or FFA advisor for you important dates. We always did self feeders for the pigs and didn't really do much for daily care until a couple weeks before the fair. I would talk to your feed guy to set up your rations. Similar to cattle they will require different protein percentages as they grow and finish. Whoever you get your pigs from see if they will help you after the sale so you have an experienced person checking up on how they are doing as they go.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

They like them fat, fat, fat.  Did I mention they need to be fat?  My son showed several years ago, when the big thing was paylean - they wanted them muscled up.  My daughter showed last year, and I thought hers looked good, till we got to the show and saw how fat the others were.  They still want some mucsle, but they really need the finish on em.  Belly them down!

 

[CAB]

They like them fat, fat, fat.  Did I mention they need to be fat?  My son showed several years ago, when the big thing was paylean - they wanted them muscled up.  My daughter showed last year, and I thought hers looked good, till we got to the show and saw how fat the others were.  They still want some mucsle, but they really need the finish on em.  Belly them down!

Don't want to start an argument, but I don't agree with the statement that they want them fat. The hogs that are winning are wider than ever before and deeper, but they are not fat. They reflect the cattle that are winning the market shows and they also mimick some of the issues that go with animals that are designed that way.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

I just know the ones at our local show all looked like pregnant sows to me.  But, I don't go to any major shows.  Guess I should have put a disclaimer on my comments ;D

 

[kanshow]

They need to weigh about 285 when finished.  Check your rule book for the minimum and maximum weights.  We've been to shows where the judge has used a 260# pig and other shows where they use a 320# pig.  They should not be overly fat, and should show plenty of muscle expression.  IMO the 320# pig was far too fat  If the show is in July, you should be looking at a January born pig.  You can get an early Feb pig there if he will grow.

Feed..  We feed Sunglo but there are plenty of other good feeds out there.  Basically we full feed our pigs until they get to about 100#, then we start hand feeding them according to what they need.  We start out around 20% protein, then to 18%, and 16% by the end, depending on what they are needing.

 

[Apple Ranch]

Our fair is in July and we show pigs as well.  Our pigs are born in January and purchased by others at the end of March.  Look for a feeding program weather it be through your local feed mill, purina or another "brand" of feed. 

We will use an auto feeder until they reach a 175 lb weight and then start to hand feed. 

There is a fine balance between muscle and cover.  At the state fair level they are wanting a "soggy" looking pig.