# Help! How to Transporting Hogs to Processor?



## JHuff8181 (Nov 13, 2008)

I have a date set with the processor for my two hogs, December 4th. Now how do I get them there? The processor is about 20 miles away. Can they travel in a U-Haul trailer? I am open to ideas.


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

A truck & livestock trailer would work better, Start talking to your friends that have one and get one reserved. If you used a uhaul trailer you would be paying a hefty cleaning fee


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## rancher1913 (Dec 5, 2008)

an enclosed trailer is not the best bet, no airflow and if its hot the pigs will suffer on the trip, cool weather and nothing else available it might work. put an ad on craigslist for someone to haul them for you.


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## Faith Farm (Dec 13, 2004)

A two horse trailer works good for 4 hogs. Put up a post @ your local feed store
or on Craigslist asking for someone to haul for you or ask the processor if he 
comes out to your place to kill or get the hog.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Most equipment rental yards rent horse trailers.


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

I've used a u-haul trailer to go about 10 miles. It worked. It was cool out. When I opened the door, the pig was lying down and actually looked quite comfortable. Don't tell the u-haul people what you're using it for and they hose out pretty easily. By far, the easiest way on everybody involved is to find a way to kill them on-site and transport carcasses instead of pigs. Check with the processor first to see if they take them dead and if they do, they will have names you can call to do it. Craigslist would be the next bet. If you go with a uhaul, unless you rent it for a few days, put it in the pen and feed them in it, the pigs will not walk into it for you. We had to put a rope around the pig's chest and two guys basically lifted/dragged it into the trailer while it was kicking and screaming. Tough work. Unless you have two people strong enough to do it, it's something to reconsider. My last 3 batches have been slaughtered at home and I'll never go back to hauling them alive.


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## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

borrow or rent a small trailer.....about two weeks before you want to transport....then start feeding the pigs on the trailer...make a secure ramp and though it might take a day or so to get them used to the idea....they will go up the ramp and into the trailer to eat...

BELIEVE ME, if they are frightened or wary of that trailer it will almost not be worth it to wrangle them into/on it....

we had one the last time that spooked on the ramp on loading day....ran for her life....so we took the ones that had loaded....called the processor and made arrangement for later in the week for the other two...repeated the process, and they loaded right up....

it is easy if you do it this way....we borrowed a friend's older horse trailer the first time and used our bigger livestock trailer the second time....a horse trailer is much better...smaller and easier to pull, remember it is better for them to not be totally stressed out as they head off for their big day....

even better would be to find a person to come out to your place and at least kill them there....even if the sides then go in to be cut up and wrapped....


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

An "old pig expert" told me that tying a piece of baling twine around their upper jaw (around the snout, not the lower the jaw) is a good way to lead them around. Never tried it, but he's one of those old guys who's moved a million pigs and swears by that method.


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## Farmerga (May 6, 2010)

I have never had a problem getting a pig on a trailer. A bucket of feed just before feeding time works well. If your pigs are on full feed, hold back the feed overnight.


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## swollen tongue (Mar 9, 2006)

you need to buy an older two horse trailer or something like it and thats low to the ground. back into a small gate at the pig pen a few days before the day to haul them so they get use to it. they will be curious. Put some feed in the trailer and a little leading up to it and they will go right up into the trailer with no problem..............quickly close the trailer door and thats it!!! this method has worked for me for thirty-five years.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

We have a heavy wood box that we have used to transport wild hogs in. It's made of 2x10's with spaces between them for ventilation. It slides in the back of a pick-up truck. The door on the end slides down from the top. We have hauled VERY large wild hogs in this box with no problems. It's a much cheaper option than buying a trailer.


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## Mare Owner (Feb 20, 2008)

Lots of good ideas here already! We haul in a 16 foot livestock trailer when we have to haul hogs somewhere. To butcher, we have the butcher come out to the farm.

Talk to everyone you know, find out who's got a trailer and would be willing to trade use of their trailer for part of a hog.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We built a box that goes in the back of our van. For years we used a mini-van. That was great for up to six pigs (tight fit - acts like a seat belt). See:

http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/2007/04/loading-pigs.html

http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/2007/08/new-econoline-van.html

Later as our farm grew we upgraded to an extended body cargo van which we built a custom animal transport area in the back two thirds.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## willielisa (Aug 15, 2011)

Rehashing an old post - we are taking our 1 year old sow and boar soon to slaughter, thinking the van might be easier than trying to build a wooden box to hold them on our landscaping trailer esp since it is a long trip and I can just see a loose pig on the interstate...

How do you unload once you get to the processors? Do you take a ramp to bring them down off of? Ours are tams and have really long legs, so they do okay on some slope.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We've been using vans for a decade. We are hauling pigs to the butcher each week. Works great. We built a cage in the back of the van since we do it all the time. Over the decade this has evolved from a mini-van to an extended body van with a welded sealed box. In addition to hauling the pigs the space is designed to take two crates or two pallets.

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2008/11/08/apple-pomace/

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2011/10/11/archimedes-farewell/

It also carries a freezer:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2008/02/10/commercial-freezer-scored/

We like this rather than a truck because it is enclosed, the animals are safe in with us and there is no trailer which is very dangerous in some seasons on our icy and muddy mountain roads. The van alone is much easier to drive in those conditions.

Of course, with better roads and other needs a trailer is going to be a better solution for some people. For example, the 4'+ headroom is too low for most cattle and we're limited to six pigs in the back each week. Trade-offs. My wife who does the driving doesn't want to do a trailer so that is a factor for us.


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## HerseyMI (Jul 22, 2012)

Walter, what weight are those six pigs each?


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

willielisa said:


> How do you unload once you get to the processors? Do you take a ramp to bring them down off of? Ours are tams and have really long legs, so they do okay on some slope.


Processors I've used have a low loading dock that's about 12-18" high, built for stock trailers to back up to. You can probably just walk them out of the back of a van. Might be a drop of 12" or so. You could call the processor and see what setup they have.


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## northeastcallin (Mar 11, 2013)

We used the trunk of our explorer. Worked great


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## clothAnnie (May 6, 2011)

what a thread of helpful info! thanks, all. Was thinking we'd have to pay someone but now I'm hoping we can rig up our minivan somehow. that is, afterall, how piggy came to our place... just gotta figure how it'll work when she's quite a bit bigger and doesn't fit in the dog crate


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## cshire (Feb 1, 2011)

cooper101 said:


> ... My last 3 batches have been slaughtered at home and I'll never go back to hauling them alive.


What part of MI are you in? Care to share any names of guys who do on farm slaughter?

In the past i have hauled to both USDA inspected facilities and state exempt facilities, but would like to consider on farm slaughter.


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

cshire said:


> What part of MI are you in? Care to share any names of guys who do on farm slaughter?
> 
> In the past i have hauled to both USDA inspected facilities and state exempt facilities, but would like to consider on farm slaughter.


Sent you a private message with contact info. If you can find someone to do it and a processor that will take them, I highly recommend it. It's just so much easier.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

The last 11 I had processed, I popped them, hung them, skinned them and processed them. Easier than hauling them to a processor, Got ALL my meat, knew it was my meat, even made my own link sausage. No processor will ever get another dollar of mine!

I do have a box I made out of a hog/cattle panels. It can be mounted on a short trailer, back the trailer up to the door of the hog stall, then pull forward, take a shovel and dig a trench where the wheel tracks are, back the trailer back up to the stall, now the back end will be almost on the dirt, coach the hog into it with feed, haul the hog to the hanging spot(tree or what ever) or if you prefer----to a processor.


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## Copperhead (Sep 12, 2011)

Gotta admit, I agree with Fire-Man. After butchering my own deer for years, it was natural to hang a 250lb York Barrow in my garage and get to work. I skinned it since I am more familiar with skinning. The shoulders went to sausage (I have my own grinder for deer burger). The loins went to pork chops. The Hams went to ham  duh! The only change was the belly meat and side meat went to bacon instead of dogfood. 

Bought some large food grade tubs and Morton Curing Salt from Walmart. Made my own brine. Cured the bacon for 3-4 days, cured the ham for about 6 weeks in the spare fridge. Made a smokehouse (see the pic!). Smoked the bacon for too long (first time, be nice!) but it was still good. 2 hours would have been better. Smoked the ham for about 6 hours: just right  

P.S. Stainless Steel wire leader and very large Stainless Steel fishhooks are great for holding meat in a smokehouse!


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Copperhead said:


> Bought some large food grade tubs and Morton Curing Salt from Walmart. Made my own brine. Cured the bacon for 3-4 days, cured the ham for about 6 weeks in the spare fridge. Made a smokehouse (see the pic!). Smoked the bacon for too long (first time, be nice!) but it was still good. 2 hours would have been better. Smoked the ham for about 6 hours: just right


Copperhead, I hit "LIKE" because there was not a LOVE button. I seen one of the metal cabinets like that at a auction a few weeks back. It sold for $3--LOL.

What do you do with the old grill-----get the fire going----close the lid----then stick the flue pipe in the top??

I have never cured/smoked any of my meat but have been a little interested in learning to do it. When you soak the meat in the brine do you poke the meat with a knife/or inject the brine or just soak? Do you cure the bacon before slicing it? Thanks


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## Copperhead (Sep 12, 2011)

Fire-Man

Your Welcome! Yes, getting the fire going in that "charcoal" grill can be challenging, but as you described, start a hot fire, add fresh wood (apple, hickory, oak, maple), close the lid, and use my welders gloves to move the flue pipe over the 5.5" hole in the grill. Air flow control is important. Moist (green?) wood helps. Too hot and you cook the meat. Too cool and the fire goes out. As you see in the pic, I like to see the smoke coming out of the top. I was originally worried about heat (you see the wood background), but at its hottest, the cabinet was barely too hot to touch for more than a couple seconds.

I did inject the meat as much as possible with a syringe, but I must admit most of it squirted back out. We did two "slabs" of bacon. Each was about 2 sq.ft. The fishhooks were absolutely necessary to hold it so the smoke could coat it evenly. I sliced it about 3/8" thick once it was cured. I admit I overcured and oversmoked the bacon. It was good, but it had more of a ham flavor. The ham, however, was AWESOME! There is no way liquid smoke can ever compare with real smoke!!!

After I took it out of the smokehouse, and after it had cooled, I sliced and cut it into meal sized portions and vacuum sealed them before sending them to the freezer.

P.S. I am now drying my venison jerky in the smokehouse. First, because my wife was complaining about the mess in her nice clean oven. Second, because it takes about an hour, maybe 2 and the meat is done. Third, it taste like heaven!


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

Copperhead said:


> Fire-Man
> 
> Your Welcome! Yes, getting the fire going in that "charcoal" grill can be challenging, but as you described, start a hot fire, add fresh wood (apple, hickory, oak, maple), close the lid, and use my welders gloves to move the flue pipe over the 5.5" hole in the grill. Air flow control is important. Moist (green?) wood helps. Too hot and you cook the meat. Too cool and the fire goes out. As you see in the pic, I like to see the smoke coming out of the top. I was originally worried about heat (you see the wood background), but at its hottest, the cabinet was barely too hot to touch for more than a couple seconds.
> 
> ...



The first hog i cured about a year ago i also cured it to long and had to wash the salt out a few times. Important not to over cure it.

I use an old wood stove i had to do the smoking. Piped smoke in to the smoke house. Filled the stove up with dry oak and let it burn down so there was no more live fire. Then i added green hickory sticks of wood. Important to watch the fire if the hickory starts to flame up spray it with water to keep the fire down. Keep the inside of the smoke house cool down and don't let it get to hot.


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## tnroadkill (Jul 29, 2009)

hog panel cage on a two wheel trailer dig trenches for trailer to drop wheels in, feed a couple days in trailer


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