Any Hog Guys Here?

[Takn4aFool]

Holdens from MN had built a large operation about 15 miles from me near Eleva WI, was set up handle 5600 sows, they had a fire there 4 years after the barns were built (3 years ago now) they lost an estimated 4000 hogs in the fire.

https://www.weau.com/content/news/Crews-respond-to-barn-fire-in-Mondovi-507085541.html

[bitty]

We plan to hopefully get a few dozen at most to try to direct market. Mainly only contract near us probably accounts for 99+% in the area 

[IHhogfarmer]

Here are all the pictures I have that I’ve found from when my great grandpa had pigs. I was told at one time he had about 60 sows which was probably in the later 60’s. He had pigs starting in the 1961-62 time up to the late 70’s. 

The upper left one is of a pig my great uncle had.

The upper right is a barn that is still out at the farm today the fence is still there too for the most part. 

The lower left is the front view of barn just mentioned above. Behind it is another barn and behind that is apparently another that is hard to see you can see a glimpse of right above the propane tank. 

The lower right is from the road going to the farm. You can see behind the first phone pole the farrowing barn which still stands and in front of that is another barn which I never knew. I believe it was one that just had a roof and wood posts then they would stack straw bales for walls. 

[ky966boy]

On 8/2/2022 at 12:57 PM, IH Forever said:

Dad's open front sat unused for many years....except as storage for some of your small old collectibles that we didn't want to "waste" space in the machine shed for.  A wind storm finally took the roof off so it was torn down and replaced by a large pole building.

I believe it was Pax hog feeders that Dad had in the open front finishing building, 60 bu. if I remember right.  I can still remember laying in bed on a summer night with the windows open and hearing those metal lids banging as the hogs opened them open to get something to eat.  Later the replacement lids were plastic....just wasn't the same when you didn't hear those lids banging.

When Dad would move them from the hog houses used for gestation buildings to the farrowing building my job as a young kid was to put the rings in the hog ringer and hand it to my Dad.  I hated the sound of those sows squealing as Dad would put a ring in their nose.

I had forgot about them lids banging thanks for reminding me .

[Steve C.]

22 hours ago, Sam_SWIN said:

 I don’t necessarily want to be that big as it takes a large land base but it seems like it’s go big or go home. 

Back when I was in the feed business in the early '80s I bought feeder pigs once in a while from one of my customers.  One batch (around 100 head) of hamp / duroc crosses I bought weighed four pounds when they were born and finished at four and a half months at 226.  Finished in brush lots during the summer.  Low overhead, but you better get 'em out of there by November.

When I put a pencil to it, even if I could clear $20 / head the number I'd have to finish to make decent money was way more than I had time or room for.

[ray54]

Do wild ones count? Had 2 sows and about 10 young ones broke 20 bales of hay open. Eat enough it was not worth trying to pick up the leaving a with fork.

The state claims them and I need a hunting license and a tag that cost 25 buck a hog to shot them. But ask the state about damages, then they offer "depredation tags" that are free.

 

They move around a lot, but keep your eyes open they come around  often.

[1256pickett]

6 hours ago, ky966boy said:

I had forgot about them lids banging thanks for reminding me .

X2 as soon as I read it I heard them in my head. 

[iowaboy1965]

8 hours ago, 1256pickett said:

X2 as soon as I read it I heard them in my head. 

Yup just part of the evening background noise growing up. 

[Steve C.]

And city people be like "why can't they just put rubber bumpers on those lids?".

[iowaboy1965]

Growing up around the banging lids from since before I was old enough to walk I never gave it a thought.

1 hour ago, Steve C. said:

And city people be like "why can't they just put rubber bumpers on those lids?".

Didn't even hear it a lot of times unless I was paying attention.

[Alan Dinan]

Hogs left before I was born, dad got walking pneumonia and he was down for several weeks. Doctor told him that the hogs caused it, so he called a friend to haul them off. His farrowing houses were built on skids, and they were used for storage until they blew away in a storm.

[Sam_SWIN]

Neat pictures IHHogFarmer

[IHhogfarmer]

6 minutes ago, Sam_SWIN said:

Neat pictures IHHogFarmer

Thanks. My grandpa probably took them. I wish I could have been out at the farm all those years ago. Those are from the late 60’s.