# worming before butchering



## busybee870

I was planning on worming my pig today and buthering in a month. The feed store said that I cant butcher for 60 to 90 days after worming? Do you have to worm, Its my first pig, so i dont know all the details, and the information we had said to worm 30 days before butchering and then 2 weeks before and now we are told thats not right. Please clear this up


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## bill not in oh

Generally the reason you worm livestock is to reduce the parasite load so it doesn't interfere with digestion or respiration and ultimately the health of the animals. The time to worm is when they are growing, not when they are grown. Most pigs gain weight most efficiently from about 210 - 240 lbs (thus the 'standard' target market weight of 240), so if your pig is in this range now, worming might be appropriate if they don't seem to be gaining weight well. Worming again in two weeks probably won't be necessary if it's done right and is effective the first time. I only worm when I see symptoms that make me think they need it- never just for the sake of worming. If you are unsure, take a fecal sample to a vet to find out what type of worm and how much of a load there actually is. Different wormers are formulated to treat different parasites, and they will have different withdrawl times prior to slaughter.


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## Ronney

It concerns me that people give out information of this sort. Most wormers have at least a 28 day meat withholding period and some are as much as 90 days so you definately would not wanting to be worm 14 days before slaughter - on top of which, it's a useless excercise that close to slaughter.

As Bill has said, worming is done during the growing period, if necessary and it isn't always necessary. Personally I worm my pigs as weaning and that does them for the rest of their short lives. If your pig is looking healthy and happy, is eating normally and behaving normally, leave well alone. If you feel you do have to worm him, only do it the once and check the package for the meat withholding period and arrange your butchering accordingly.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## busybee870

well this pig was given to me and was already castrated when i got it, hes got to be over 200 lbs, he looks good, doesnt act strange, eats good, so being that he was already castrated he do you think he was also wormed? it was given by a neighbor that got it from somewhere else. So i dont know who orginally had it and my neighbor isnt around any more. Is there something i should see in the, feces like you do in dogs? Do you think it would be ok to go ahead and slaughter next month without worming? he looks healthy to me.


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## busybee870

you guys are great, im assuming that its safe to go ahead and slaughter he has no trouble eating or breathing, hes really a pretty happy pig, never seen one jump around from excitement when you walk by the pen.He always happy to see us, drinks water from the hose as im filling his bowl, he plays around with my oldest son, when he goes in, loves to be scratched behind the ears, that doesnt sound like a sick pig does it? Its gonna be hard having him butchered, and eating the first meal from him, because hes such a well behaved pig, but im trying to make myself and my kids realize we are raising them for food.


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## Misty

just worm while growing next time. Different wormers have different withdrawls. There is one with a 10 week withdrawl. We use at the beginning of the growing stage when we first move the pigs out of the barn. Then we just use ivomec after. We give the injectable orally. 1cc/.75#. There is a 28 day withdrawl. 
I would not worry about it at this stage.


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## busybee870

Thanks


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## John Schneider

There is no need to worm whatsoever. All that is required is proper animal husbandry. If your pig has enough space in his pen or you can rotate him amongst a few smaller pens and those pens are grass based, not concrete or mud...you should be fine. Depending on where you get your animals from and their husbandry practices you might find deworming an unecessary effort & expense. You said that your pig is happy and healthy and grown to a size large enough to butcher...what more could you have accomplished by deworming?! LOL It sounds to me like you did a wonderful job raising him and he has had a great life compared to the vast majority of other pigs. Too often we get caught up in doing things because it is what needs to be done according to the so called experts. There are many many successful smallholders who raise hogs in an old-fashioned way without tail-cropping, teeth-cutting, anti-biotics or deworming medication (some don't even castrate which is a common practice in Europe). I am sure that our pigs don't reach "market weight" as quickly as a production barn, but that is our goal anyways! Slow food, not fast food. I hope you enjoy your hard earned pork!


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## busybee870

thanks!!


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