engray:



I've always known that Agriculture is the new oil with promising potentials yet fully unexplored.
I would love to learn from you further. How can we connect.

Oluwanieze:
Weldone chief
I want to go into farming,
I'd like to be your protégé

wizzie001:
One other vital thing that should be considered when venturing into pig business or any other business is your PRESENCE.

A farm manager would never carry out your task the way you would have done if it were you, most of these employees are just for eye service. You will need to be visiting un-announced to know the efficiency level of your farm hands, failure to do such could be fatal.
There was a day i decided to visit the farm in the morning, i got there around 9a.m. No one was around, the rooms were left uncleaned, the water troughs were empty and so on and forth. I didnt call any of them, i pulled off my top, i started the cleaning and disposing waste, i finished the whole process around past 12, and none was still available. Then i realized the reasons why businesses fail, lack of water could be fatal to pigs... and some employees wouldnt mind if you record loss as long as their wages is being paid.

I decided to wait a little more before i put a call through to the manager, and he came up with a weak line which was very lame.

PRESENCE is key to a successful business.

wizzie001:
This is just a new addition we had recently, its an exotic fully matured large white male, one of the mistakes i made when i started the business was purchasing both female and male piglets from same farm. Ofcourse one would need a male pig to mate at the longrun, but never make a mistake of buying them from same farm because there is high tendency of them being related or even siblings. When one make this mistake, there is also high tendency that the mother pig will lose all her babies. It is called inbreeding which is to be avoided

I know of a farmer whose pig gave birth to 20 piglets, all died as a result of this mistake. As it is incest with humans, its all shades of wrong in piggery too.

jikings:
Well done…how much is your set up cost so far? Pen cost, getting your initial piglets, and monthly running cost?

Also what is your projected profit after say 6-12 months?

smartoskie:
Nice and encouraging write diary. I have some questions Sir.
After leaving your former job, are you now into full-time piggery and from your experience can it be done as a full-time business?

xteve:
Following.
God bless the work of your hand sir.

4godsake:


How can I reach you please.

Where is d location of the farm.

wizzie001:
[ quote author=Tekkyno post=106652665]I'm so happy I come across this thread,I wanted to venture into this business and have bought a 2plot of land for it..
My questions are :
1) is it advisable to use wood instead of block?

2) some farmers here use just pkc,soya waste and maybe waste fruit and they are getting good kg when selling,what is ur advise on this?

3) can I build a living house and farm on that 2plot of land

4) some farmers feed pigs once daily while others twice,pls what's ur advise on this for a starter ?

5) I have 120k budget for pig buying,how/what shouild I buy?


Well, the usage of either wood or block depends on your pocket, however it is advisable for a new farmer to cut cost as much as you can when erecting a pen, save your money for the feeds, it will come handy.

Pkc and soya are both proteinous feeds, though soya is higher than pkc, those combination lacks energy, that is why its good to add barley to the mix as a source of energy. You can also use cassava too.

You can have your house within the premises, infact i have a friend who has poultry, piggery, fish pond and snail farm on a 2 plot, and he built his 3 bedroom flat there too for his family, and they are doing very fine. Its your decision anyway.

I feed my weaners very well, but my growers eat once a day. What is important is the quality of the feeds anyway. If your feeds is high in quality, and you feed them once in a day, it will work more on them than when you feed them thrice with a substandard feed.

I will advice you buy a pure large white male and the rest female, but ensure you are not buying from same farm to avoid in-breeding.

I hope that helps.

wizzie001:
A drum of milk we use in mixing their feeds, after taking the milk, you will see some of the pigs napping while eating, it induces sleep and it helps them grow faster and fresher!

pdf90:
How can I get this milk ...

wizzie001:

Thanks! Hope it goes well for you. Keep the thread alive with updates, challenges and successes.

I've expended close to 2million, securing the land, building materials and labour is quite on the high side now. For a starter, i will advise you use wood to construct your pen, you will still need to concrete the floor anyway.
I got my weaners at the range of 25-30k, i ensure a vet comes in once a month for check-up, i currently have more than 10pigs now and i spend roughly 30k on feeds monthly.

Your profit comes from either you are rearing for fattening or to keep reproducing so you can keep selling the weaners. Some farmers castrate their pigs so it can grow so big to sell for slaughters, a kilo of pork now is #1200, imagine if you have 10 pigs that weighs 200kg each?
And if it is for selling your piglets, the least price for a weaner now is 18k, the exotic breeds cost way more, so if your female pig gives birth to lets say atleast 8 piglets, multiply it by 18k. Good business huh?

Mide3367:
Nice Post op.
Mainwhile, 5000 bags of dried maize available for pick up at kaduna state. 160k per ton. Whatsapp 07015585967


I have Fresh undiluted palm oil available for pick up and delivery nationwide... 23k pick up price.

wizzie001:
I also ensured i had a deal with an aboki selling fruits at a location close to me, whenever i go there, he supplies me with loads of fruits waste just for a pittance, which is also serving a nutritional purpose.

I was paying the farm hand helping in the cleaning of the pens and feeding about 10k monthly and with some tips so as to give the pigs utmost care & presence. I could have been cleaning and feeding it myself to cut cost, but i knew there would be days when i wont be physically available to visit the farm, hence the farm hand. Nevertheless, it is advisable one visits the farm each day to keep your farm hand on their toes, and also to monitor your feeds, if not one would be running at loss as they can be using your feeds to feed other animal of interest to them., some can even be selling it.

Currently, i spend 20k every two weeks for 10 pigs which is on the high side, a kilo of pkc now goes for #85, i buy 100kg, a kilo of soya is #350, i buy atleast 10kg, also barley goes for #80/kg now, we buy atleast 25kg. Then we round it up by buying a bag of super starter at the rate of #6000 plus.
We are devising a method whereby we buy dry cassava peels, grind it and mixing it with pkc and some barley, that should get us more quantity at that sum to last them for a month atleast.

Feeding is just the most headache of a pig farmer, because they are voracious eaters, if one can manage that department right, then one will make good money.

wizzie001:
This is a landrace, they are fond of having drooping ears, they have high littered rate and they are also good mothers.

Pig feeds requires combination of different products, Pkc, soya, barley, starter among others.
Note: pigs can eat anything as long as its not injurious to their health, they like watermelon too and some food wastes that is no longer needed at home.

wizzie001:
A drum of milk we use in mixing their feeds, after taking the milk, you will see some of the pigs napping while eating, it induces sleep and it helps them grow faster and fresher!

benuejosh:
I feel the pain here. 20k weekly is too high for me. There's a great advantage of being in Benue and secondly an integrated farm will help you alot. Have you thought about farming maize, soya beans and sorghum for feeding your stock? Those grains are very cheap in Benue. And with large expanse of land for cultivation.

wizzie001:



I served in Benue many years ago and i can relate, moreover Benue is the food basket of the nation, so its expected. However, we have tried cultivating maize, it didnt turn out well as expected due to some environmental factors. We will keep at it anyway to cut cost.

femu:


Lovely. How much is the drum of milk?