# Are pot bellied pigs good for eating?



## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

I had a neighbor who used to buy PBP's at the auction for $5 each. He butchered them and his family ate them. He said that they tasted good, but had a lot of fat compared to a hog.

Someone locally was offering four PBP's on freecycle- I was trying to figure out if it was even worth the gas $$$ to go pick them up. We just put one sow and two 50 pound piglets in the freezer, so we don't need the meat. We also do not feed pork to our dogs, on our vet's advice, so I decided to pass on this particular opportunity. But, for the next time, thought I'd ask.


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## IAmSusan (Oct 22, 2008)

PB piggos came over from Vietnam, and like Americans do with everything that is tiny and cute at birth, we made them a "pet", and so they are recognized as such in our culture. Guess what they were/are used for in Vietnam? :1pig:

In seriousness, if the ones your neighbor butchered were fatty, it likely had a lot to do with the way they'd been fed, most likely as "pets" prior to his aquisition. A bit further down the forum, there's a post about "griller pigs" that I think will give you lots of info--she's raising and eating PBs.

Susan


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Pork poses no harm to dogs more so than any other meat, freeze any non commercial meat for three weeks before feeding, any store bought meat is frozen that long from point a to point b. If you would like the research please PM me and I will see if I can dig it all up. I had the same fear as you did based on what I had heard but I stand corrected.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

I think the conscern the vet has is that pork can case pancreatitis from the high greasy fat.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

There is a guy that used to be on here that raised pastured pot bellied pigs.
www.windridgefarm.us/potbellypigs.htm
He uses them for food.
If you don't let your pigs get all fat and lazy, the meat should be lean and good.
We got two PBP in October for this purpose.
We are fortunate that we got "farm" pigs and what appear to be good stock. They are long and lean with no jowls hanging and nice long backs. They look tasty, though very small and really darn cute. We will be eating the babies I do believe.
The sow is tilling up next year's garden plot expansion adn the boar is in a double stall in the barn.
He was never trained to electric and we have to build a small pen and train him. When we do we will put him out with 'Dainty' pig and they can till together.
All in all we are pleased with the pigs so far and the job she is doing in the field.
They are staying lean and very muscular. We have great hopes for a tasty meat.


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

Thanks for the offer Cannon Farms, but I am going with my vet's advice on this one. She has told us from the beginning not to feed pork. When we were selling meat to raw feeders in the city I had customers who wanted pork and I kept telling them not to feed it. Of course they ignored me, until one day I drove down to make a delivery and one of my clients did not show up. The next time I saw her she told me that she had fed pork to her pack and one of the dogs got pancreatitis and wound up in the emergency room in the middle of the night. She was lucky- they were able to save the dog, just, but at a cost of $1800. She said that she wished she had taken my advice.

I am guessing that the pigs my neighbor used to buy were former pets who had gotten too big- maybe that is why they were so fat.

I did check out the website, thanks for the link Chickenista. I think that the next time I see PBP's offered for free I will take a chance just to see how they turn out.


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## animalfarmer (Feb 14, 2006)

Hi Elizabeth,I have sent you a P.M. It may be of interest. Best of luck.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

My experiment is just starting, but many millions of homesteader Laotians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodians, etc. can't be wrong... 

We eat too heavy on protein anyway. Think of Asian foods: 70-90% vegetables and then light on the meat. We Americans (apologies to South American and Canadian folk) like to eat 70-90% meat and *vegetables*? Garnish. Pure garnish. _vbg_


If you feed pigs heavy, they will be, imho.


Also, fat can be traded for soap or make soap yourself!

...a little fat poured over your dogs food can help them get through a cold winter as well, imho.


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## Judith (Jan 10, 2003)

I was positive vegetables were for garnish purposes only. I can't believe people actually eat em  you learn something new everyday  LOL


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

I know for a FACT that vegetables are garnish ONLY.


If it's green? I shy away from it. Could MAKE me green or something... Ugh.

*grin*


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Check out these threads:

http://www.google.com/search?q=site:homesteadingtoday.com+are+pot+bellied+pigs+good+for+eating

This question seems to come up a lot and perhaps deserves a sticky or being in a sticky or something. Since PB pigs were developed for eating in the orient for keeping in small places (like apartments, etc) the answer seems to be yes.

Are they as good as 'real' farm pigs like Yorkshires? The opinions vary greatly on that. From what I have heard the PBs have more fat and gristle than farm pigs. PBs also grow a lot slower and it takes more food to produce the same amount of pork.

If your issue is that you simply want to eat a smaller pig then just raise a regular farm pig up to a smaller size. They are good eating at 50 lbs, 100 lbs, 200 lbs, 400 lbs, etc. Just pick your size.

If your issue is that you don't want to have a huge farm pig sow around (some of ours are 800 lbs) then just slaughter the sow after her first or second litter while she is still small and breed one of her daughters.

If your issue is you like PB pigs then go for it! 

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

Thanks for the links-back-to, Walter! I'm a firm believer in the fact that ANYTHING is edible if it's made of meat (and your need for food is measurably intense). Squirrel, raccoon, groundhog (I've cooked it and it's good), etc. 

But Americans (again with the nods to South and Canada) like MEAT. 

One of the old posts you grepped for us (thanks again!) was from WindRidge Farms and he indicated 25# of meat from a 9 month old. That REALLY isn't bad if you are pasturing and pretty much letting the pig develop on it's own. I hope for a little more as my PBpigs are a little meatier but I will be happy with 25# of meat and whatever lbs. of lard. Lard to buy for soap (I've been making for 30 years now) is $1.04 a lb at the CHEAPEST. Dog treats are WAAAAY expensive too. So an all-around usage pig, whether PB or other is what I'm all about. Yes, it's some work? But I know what was FED to that hog and HOW it died. 

Commercial hog folks want and need to have that pig be "done" in 6 months. I have 25 acres of pignuts, hickory nuts, acorns, pawpaws, grasses, berries, etc. My experiment is a cross between Highlands and WindRidge. I want the little-care of the PBPigs with the smaller size to butcher. But I do feed a little feed as well. 

Yes, I agree that I could get regular piglets and raise them just to 100# and get better meat to feed ratio than the PBPigs. But. These are throwaway animals that essentially are costing me nothing to raise. And I'm game to try anything once! Or twice!


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Gailann Schrader said:


> One of the old posts you grepped for us (thanks again!) was from WindRidge Farms and he indicated 25# (lbs) of meat from a 9 month old.


On pure pasture we get about 120 lbs of meat (not including bones & fat, etc) off of our farm pigs (mostly Yorkshire & Berkshire) at 9 months of age. We've done three experimental batches of our pigs purely on pasture. It takes longer to get to market weight that way and they are leaner.

Normally our herd's diet consists of about 97% pasture/hay and whey with they pasture/hay being the vast majority (>90%). The other 3% or so is apple pumace, boiled barley, dated bread, pumpkins, etc. With this diet they reach market weight in about six months which is about the same as commercial feed formulations based on grains (corn/soy typically).

The key of course is to find what fits your style of management and resources. If pot bellied pigs are what you like then more power to you!

Cheers,

-Walter


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

fed in moderatin pork wont hurt a dog anymore than it hurts us, over feeding pork or makeing pork too large a portion of a dogs diet will cause problems, 

kinda like feeding candy to children in large amounts causes them to turn dieabetic


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Oh? Really? We raise pigs. We have about 200 on our farm at any time. We have a pack of livestock guardian herding dogs that care for the pigs. The vast majority of the dogs' diet is pork. They eat it raw. They eat it cooked. They eat the meat. They eat the fat. They eat the bones. They eat the skin. They thrive. Our dogs are healthy.

Our vet, and two others I've talked with, disagrees says that it is a myth that pork is bad for dogs. They do say that inactivity on the part of the dogs and over feeding is a problem for some dogs. It is well known that low levels of activity combined with over eating cause diabetes and other diseases. But that is not pork. That is couch potato-ism. Be active. Have your dog be active.

If you have real scientific data to backup anything you said I would be interested. Otherwise, be careful about spreading misinformation.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org


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