Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs: Care/Facilities/Management/Breed Selection (Paperback)

~ (Author) "OF ALL OF THE MAJOR LIVESTOCK SPECIES, none is more misunderstood or less appreciated than the hog..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Willow Valley, Chester White (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Practical advice for buying, feeding, and caring for hogs, plus modern breeding and herd management.

From the Back Cover

A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Small-Scale Pig Raising

A Guide to Raising Pigs offers small-scale farmers and 4-H or FFA youngsters clear, illustrated information about every aspect of pig raising including:

-- Choosing the right breeds

-- Feeding and housing

-- Health maintenance and disease prevention

-- Breeding

-- Butchering and pork processing

-- Fitting and showing

-- Pig raising as a business

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; 2nd edition (January 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580173268
• ISBN-13: 978-1580173261
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #55,028 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #52 in	Books > Science > Agricultural Sciences > Animal Husbandry
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Raising Pigs...Tonasket, WA 2002, May 1, 2002

By	Jeanie Peck (Tonasket, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a must for pig raisers! I should know, I raise 5 breeding sows and write my own farm books, and I even mention this book in my resources section! It's that much of a needed book for pig farmers. Every subject you want to know about pigs is found in this book, from showing at the fair, breeding the pigs, to the business aspect of running a farm...

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, March 27, 2002

By	"[e-mail]" (Sanbornton, NH USA) - See all my reviews

My husband and I were thinking about raising pigs and bought this book. We read it cover to cover and found a lot of valuable information. We raised two pigs last summer and referenced this book constantly; it is always close at hand. If you are considering raising 1 pig or 50 this book will come in handy.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Geared toward farmer, not homesteader..., May 23, 2004

By	LiterateWalrus (Upstate SC, USA) - See all my reviews

Overall, I would consider this a good but not great book. I was left with a vague feeling of incompleteness after reading it.

For example, it had several pictures of pigs with 'good muscling' (or 'nice topline' or 'great frame' or whatever). Granted, I'm a novice at pigs but it would be nice if it had pictures (preferably side-by-side) of an example of 'poor muscling' (or whatever) so I can see the difference.

I also found the 'butchering' section to be lacking. For example, when 'scalding' a carcass, it only talks about dipping the entire carcass into the hot water. Nowhere does it even mention dipping out the hot water and pouring it over the carcass (which is more manageable for a large pig). And the actual butchering (cutting up) part is minimal ('separate the carcass into the larger primal cuts with a butcher's knife').

My impression is that this book is geared more toward a small farmer wanting to raise a small herd for profit as opposed to a homesteader wanting to raise 1-3 pigs as food. It's just a different mindset. So - if you're a farmer - I would rate this book a '5'. A homesteader would still find it useful but not complete.

(I can't believe that pot-bellied pigs aren't even mentioned anywhere.)