Dougherty Masterclass on Abundance Plus: bit.ly/3HcGFp0 10% Off Coupon: GRASSFED10 I had to unexpectedly harvest my lambs but then tragedy befell upon one of my pigs.
We always stuffed their bed with straw otherwise They spend to much time trying to stay warm. Several meals a day soaked in warm water might help small enough amounts that he can eat it all. Cold weather always takes more work in animal care. So sorry that happened losses never feel good.
Hi Dan!! Sorry about the pig loss. That 1870 homestead had the same thing happen a week out from going to the butcher. It is really hard to raise it out and be so close yet lose it. My thoughts are with you.
Dan, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your pig so close to harvest! I feel you on the harvest weight, I'd like to get to at least 300 lbs on our barrow but I wonder if both of them are burning more calories to stay warm in this North Idaho cold weather. He's about 230 lbs on the tape measure now.
Wow, I really dislike when animal loss happens right before harvesting them - whether from predation or misadventure. Due to the size of the pig that died and observations of its feeding behavior, I'm gonna lean on a twisted gut rather than an illness, especially with the smaller one still running around all hale and hearty. Either way, it's a bad deal and you took the right steps to isolate out the unknown.
Thanks for another video! Sorry about your pig. That is a bummer. Thanks for sharing. Someday I hope to have pigs and now I know to be wary of this. We normally hang out deer in a garage….we operate the doors to try to regulate the temperature. If it is too warm during the day, we close the door during the day and have fans pushing air in at night. I don’t think we have ever had it too cold where I’m at in eastern wa. We just close the door if it is going to freeze while the deer hangs. Since deer season is a set time, we don’t usually get to hang for more than a few days or a week at the most due to temperatures being too high normally.
I’m wondering if talking to Walker family farm would help. They have a seacan that they converted into a cold storage. I’m sure they would be happy to share their ideas with you!
I m sorry about the pig! As far as this one left - maybe divide his feed into smaller portions to be soaked and given to the pig throughout the day assuming will eat the smaller amount quickly since it ll be hungry every time. No worry about the food freezing. Also please give it something like hay to sleep on in its hut. The ground is so cold to sleep/lie on. That bigger pig was probably too cold to fight off whatever was ailing it.
Oh man how frustrating! Feel bad for all that hard work going to waste. Hopefully you can learn something from it, whatever it is. We just had a bad batch of meat chickens. So defeating sometimes.
Hey Dad, Nice to see you 😊. The Weather sure is unpredictable this Year 😝 It went from 40° last week to 70° this week,now Snow next week 😱. Oh Dang ,I'm so sorry for you 😫. You could feed the little squirt some Bread to keep Him warm. Hey Little Buddy Nice to see you Too. Sorry your Pig died 😠. JO JO IN VT 😆💕🍁💨
I buy my meat from an Amish "food club" so do not have any experience. Coming from a gardening perspective, I plant enough of any vegetable for me, the deer and the bugs. That way, I have enough for me to can. Perhaps, next year you should raise 3-4 pigs and pre-sell the meat to friends (I would love to help and harvest as an investor) or give some to dance partner or Grandma for all the Lil Buddy rides. I hope when Lil B gets older ya'll will consider moving east of the Rockies. BTW I've really enjoyed your work posted on A+. Keep up the great work!
Dan I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how upsetting it must be. I’m wondering if you could buy a couple more pigs from somewhere to keep him company? It seems a shame to harvest him at such a small weight. I can’t believe how old your little buddy is!! He’s so much like you in looks, he seems like a very sweet boy. I hope you both stay happy and healthy and persevere I can only imagine how difficult things are for you. Take care sending prayers and much love.🥰❤️🇨🇦
I know it’s not a pleasant experience but I have found a lot of valuable information can be gleaned by opening up the animal to possibly determine cause of death if I don’t have a necropsy done. So sorry for the loss but maybe you can keep from further loss by examining the dead pig. I know how disgusting it can be but seeing a tumor or damaged organs help you be a more successful animal husbandry person. Again sorry for the loss.
I have a few questions maybe some other commenters can answer: 1.Why not butcher the dead pig anyway? I have heard you shouldn’t eat animals that you don’t know how they died but maybe someone could elaborate a little more. 2. In another comment someone said the living pig will die without a companion, is that true? 3. How do you keep your pig water from freezing? Thanks for sharing your experience. Ps the meat cutting footage was pretty cool.
1.Why not butcher the dead pig anyway? I have heard you shouldn’t eat animals that you don’t know how they died but maybe someone could elaborate a little more. Technically, that's American health agency paranoia. In reality, it depends. if the animal died and you butcher it, VERY SHORTLY AFTER, as in "blood still flows out after hanging" and you plan to cook the meat say, in a pressure pot, aka, thorougly, you could be OK, but it's down to personal choice. the issue with "cadavers" is this: if it's fresh, bacteria, even those that might have killed the animal, die in cooking. if it's too long that it has been dead, bacteria growth spoil the meat, and no matter how much you cook it, it will taste off.
I am looking for the video with the couple who have been farming for 30 years. Not sure if you released it yet. Great video, BTW, lots of insightful information. Thank you and keep up the good work! God bless!
Why would the dead pig smell so bad in such a short amount of time after dying especially during the very cold weather you're in? I have interred a lot of different creatures within two days of death and never had bad odors but you were saying how bad the corpse smelled. Please explain that.
sensitive nose is the only explanation I can think of. The smell came from underneath the pig when I moved him. Decomp happens faster on the downside of the body away from the cold