How Much Do Live Piglets Cost?

[coolhandjoe]

Hi,

I'd like some assistance in the field of pork.

I would like to purchase 2 female piglets and 1 male piglet(lucky pig ) next month for my wifes mum and dad as a present.

How much do they cost and what facts do i need to be aware off, as i'm a complete novice.

If you live around the Lomsok/Petchabun area maybe you know a repital seller.

Many thanks in advance

[gotlost]

The price verys with the cost of pork with out knowing that I have a friend that raises pigs and depending on the price he gets 800 baht to 1100 baht per pig in a liter when he sells to the dealer. He can have liters of 8 to 14 pigs.

Edited February 6, 2010 by gotlost

[Naam]

The price verys with the cost of pork with out knowing that I have a friend that raises pigs and depending on the price he gets 800 baht to 1100 baht per pig in a liter when he sells to the dealer. He can have liters of 8 to 14 pigs.

how much does he get in a gallon?

[gotlost]

The price verys with the cost of pork with out knowing that I have a friend that raises pigs and depending on the price he gets 800 baht to 1100 baht per pig in a liter when he sells to the dealer. He can have liters of 8 to 14 pigs.

how much does he get in a gallon?

OOPS

[Naam]

OOPS

i could not resist but no offence meant!

Edited February 6, 2010 by Naam

[Mosha]

I'm told by my missuses friends 1.900 Baht each

[WatersEdge]

I have paid B1,400 for Weaners in the 10 kg range in the past.

Would be happy to know breeders who have Weaners for sale,

as I'd buy from them directly than from the dealers.

Mae Jo University charges B1,700 for top line Weaners,

suitable for brood sows after you grow them.

but their supply is limited.

I happen to have 12-15 females ready to breed for the first time,

90-100 kg and have been cycling for a couple of months already

should anyone be interested in buying them quickly.

I'm told this is the week to sell slaughter hogs,

leading up to Chinese New Year on 12 FEB

It also works well to buy cull piglets from a big production farm,

who have their own brood operation as well.

I pay around 1/3 per animal buying the whole lot,

then kill small roasting pigs if they haven't grown in the first month.

On the average the reduced price you pay is still a bargain,

even considering that the runts must be eliminated early.

[RedBullHorn]

Up north Chiang Rai, farmgate price currently 62 Baht/kg...I just bought 5 weaners at 1200 each.(usual was 1000 each)

Superior breed from CPF line.

[IsaanAussie]

Currently I have three litters of Duroc piglets. The last sale was for a pair of weaned barrows at 2200 baht each. Seem expensive? Well not if you consider that those had reached 17 Kgs by the age of 5 weeks. The gilt I have kept is now over 50 Kgs at 13 weeks.

Point being check the growth rate carefully as a cheap pig may not prove that to remain cheap if the FCR is too high. Simple question is to ask how long to reach the 100 Kg weight.

[RedBullHorn]

Not expensive...i came across 2300 THB for the standard 15-16kg. Then i went for the 1900 THB...also 15-16kg range. Triple cross of Duroc, best part is the feed supplier gave me credit on feed till my pigs are sold. Wholesaler pay cash at farm then minus the cost of feed to feed company sales-rep. Down side is i need to commit at lease 80 piglets. 1900 THB x 80 = 152'000 THB.

Farmgate live pig price: 63 THB/kg (that's what i'm getting for now, price going up again soon)

[IsaanAussie]

Not expensive...i came across 2300 THB for the standard 15-16kg. Then i went for the 1900 THB...also 15-16kg range. Triple cross of Duroc, best part is the feed supplier gave me credit on feed till my pigs are sold. Wholesaler pay cash at farm then minus the cost of feed to feed company sales-rep. Down side is i need to commit at lease 80 piglets. 1900 THB x 80 = 152'000 THB.

Farmgate live pig price: 63 THB/kg (that's what i'm getting for now, price going up again soon)

OK, kindred spirit.

If the 80 piglets are all of good constitution/build and you have the eight to ten growing rooms, no problems.

FCR of better than 2.9 and you win if there are enough hatch, match and/or dispatch events locally to buy the grown product. Elsewise, bacon slicer and farang buyers. Whats the story?

How does the feed supplier feature in the deal?

I am not a bank, just an aussie battler. Heard it all before, risked most of it before, now need some convincing......

Isaanaussie

[RedBullHorn]

A middle man hook me up with this sale-rep whos family is doing piggeries...big farm, i estimate about 5-600 pigs then. He buy up his company's feed stock, then sell to me based on credit...interest free. I've checked his feed price, reasonable and within range, what he sold to me is what his family sell at shop front. I buy his piglets and get the feed stock....so called contract farming i think? He arrange for health check every week and wholesalers to buy my pigs and make sure they pay in cash at farm gate.

[IsaanAussie]

A middle man hook me up with this sale-rep whos family is doing piggeries...big farm, i estimate about 5-600 pigs then. He buy up his company's feed stock, then sell to me based on credit...interest free. I've checked his feed price, reasonable and within range, what he sold to me is what his family sell at shop front. I buy his piglets and get the feed stock....so called contract farming i think? He arrange for health check every week and wholesalers to buy my pigs and make sure they pay in cash at farm gate.

ok, now I have the picture. I haven't seriously looked into contract growing here but have been told that you must really be careful in controlling costs so there is something left at the end. Good luck.

[RedBullHorn]

yeah...i did the sum back then too. They work out how many sacks of post wean, beginer and finisher feed are needed and base on average 100kg/pig at a support line of 60 THB/kg, i'll still get 1'170 THB/pig at lease. As the prices are going up ( i pray ), i'm very optimistic now.

[IsaanAussie]

yeah...i did the sum back then too. They work out how many sacks of post wean, beginer and finisher feed are needed and base on average 100kg/pig at a support line of 60 THB/kg, i'll still get 1'170 THB/pig at lease. As the prices are going up ( i pray ), i'm very optimistic now.

My numbers are done a little differently. FCR of around 2.2 means 200-220 Kgs to get to 100Kg liveweight. Starter feed at 62 Baht per Kg down to 28 Baht for adult feed. I include the cost of depreciation on equipment and ROI over 10 years as well as the breeding herd overhead costs. As an indication each piglet bears about 500 baht of overhead cost at birth. Currently total per head production cost was about 4500 for the last sold at about 140 - 150kgs. They returned over 8000 baht a piece being sold at the farm gate to locals for 58 Baht per KG.

Like you I am very optimistic at the moment, 44-45% return from a farming enterprise isn't bad.

Isaanaussie

[fruity]

I really don't think theres been a better time to be involved in the 'pig business' & as has already been said; the big players, i.e. betagro etc will not allow things to backslide.

Feed prices are cheaper than ever, pork prices are higher than ever. The demand for piglets is very strong. We are currently selling weaners @ 15-16 kg @ B 1,800 apiece & we have a very healthy order book, with many repeat customers.

yeah...i did the sum back then too. They work out how many sacks of post wean, beginer and finisher feed are needed and base on average 100kg/pig at a support line of 60 THB/kg, i'll still get 1'170 THB/pig at lease. As the prices are going up ( i pray ), i'm very optimistic now.

My numbers are done a little differently. FCR of around 2.2 means 200-220 Kgs to get to 100Kg liveweight. Starter feed at 62 Baht per Kg down to 28 Baht for adult feed. I include the cost of depreciation on equipment and ROI over 10 years as well as the breeding herd overhead costs. As an indication each piglet bears about 500 baht of overhead cost at birth. Currently total per head production cost was about 4500 for the last sold at about 140 - 150kgs. They returned over 8000 baht a piece being sold at the farm gate to locals for 58 Baht per KG.

Like you I am very optimistic at the moment, 44-45% return from a farming enterprise isn't bad.

Isaanaussie

[IsaanAussie]

For anyone out there thinking about getting into pigs, there is one factor that you should consider, cash flow. Yes the accountants whore... feed costs are on going and if you were to buy piglets to grow out, you will have to cover 5 to 6 months before getting any return. To establish a breeding herd from the same start the coverage is over twelve months. Do the maths carefully

(voice of experience speaking.....absolutely!)

[highlander403]

some really good advice from the guys who have been there done that,

regards scotty

[Khonwan]

Based on my previous (and costly) experience of fattening pigs, the greatest risk is the complete absence of market intelligence. Granted, the consequences are reduced in the type of pig breeding operations being discussed.

Rgds

Khonwan

[COXYATCITY]

The price verys with the cost of pork with out knowing that I have a friend that raises pigs and depending on the price he gets 800 baht to 1100 baht per pig in a liter when he sells to the dealer. He can have liters of 8 to 14 pigs.

Hi,i have paid 1300 baht for pigs from small breeders (in Surin) but they grow very slow(loose time & money,,,i paid 1700 from a medium breeder in Buriram, good pigs but cheated a few times on the weight of the piglets,,supposed to 12 kilo,but much smaller when is saw them(6 -10 kilo)as my in laws went to buy them ,as i travel back and for from chonburi,I pay 1800 for 10 kilo pigs in kassang(buriram) from a very large farm,have been sticking with these as you get what you pay for(weight wise). if anybody knows a good reputable farm in buriram/surin area where i can get piglets ( 60 a month) at a reasonable price,please let me know

regards nueng

Edited June 22, 2010 by COXYATCITY

[OOTAI]

My numbers are done a little differently. FCR of around 2.2 means 200-220 Kgs to get to 100Kg liveweight. Starter feed at 62 Baht per Kg down to 28 Baht for adult feed.

..............a piece being sold at the farm gate to locals for 58 Baht per KG.

Isaanaussie

IA

Call me stupid but something just doesn't add up for me here. My understanding of FCR is that it means for every 2.2kg of food you get 1kg of meat (bodyweight).

Therefore at your lowest feed cost of 28B/kg and using FCR of 2.2. Each kilogram of bodyweight would cost 2.2 x 28B = 61.6B

So if it costs you 61.6B to get a kilogram that you then sell for 58B I don't see the 44% return.

As an aussie politician once said "please explain".

Alternatively if you take your pig that had a cost of production of B4500 which you sold for B8000 then taking the overhead cost of B500 into account the return is B3000 form a cost of B5000 or a return of 60%.

By the way thanks for the information on feed cost as I am trying to put together a spreadsheet to gauge cost /price sensitivities before I jump into the quicksand of pig breeding / raising

[IsaanAussie]

My numbers are done a little differently. FCR of around 2.2 means 200-220 Kgs to get to 100Kg liveweight. Starter feed at 62 Baht per Kg down to 28 Baht for adult feed.

..............a piece being sold at the farm gate to locals for 58 Baht per KG.

Isaanaussie

IA

Call me stupid but something just doesn't add up for me here. My understanding of FCR is that it means for every 2.2kg of food you get 1kg of meat (bodyweight).

Therefore at your lowest feed cost of 28B/kg and using FCR of 2.2. Each kilogram of bodyweight would cost 2.2 x 28B = 61.6B

So if it costs you 61.6B to get a kilogram that you then sell for 58B I don't see the 44% return.

As an aussie politician once said "please explain".

Alternatively if you take your pig that had a cost of production of B4500 which you sold for B8000 then taking the overhead cost of B500 into account the return is B3000 form a cost of B5000 or a return of 60%.

By the way thanks for the information on feed cost as I am trying to put together a spreadsheet to gauge cost /price sensitivities before I jump into the quicksand of pig breeding / raising

OOTAI,

The FCR is not a constant. It increases with age. The table below shows my target ranges.

I'm getting close to achieving these figures. Currently, as close as i can figure my herd average is about 2.4 but that includes the breeders that are not sold.

FCR Chart.pdf

Yes, complicated and worth spending as much time on it as possible, mistakes are expensive.

In summary without any overheads, the direct costs of feed only, my numbers per stage are currently running at

Stage feed costs.pdf

Hope that clarifies your issues

Isaanaussie

Edited June 22, 2010 by IsaanAussie

[oldestswinger]

One other unexpected overhead - the other day our prize sow was found dead. The in-laws etc are insistent that it was bitten by a snake. I'm already sick of pork chops, loin, etc!

[IsaanAussie]

One other unexpected overhead - the other day our prize sow was found dead. The in-laws etc are insistent that it was bitten by a snake. I'm already sick of pork chops, loin, etc!

Condolences on the loss. I lost a 250 kg sow the other day and I know how much it hurts the pocket and the timing. Having to replace the sows routinely is hard enough without incurring an accidental loss. I have recently decided to run a 5th batch of 4 gilts to cover such occurences.

Isaanaussie

[OOTAI]

Hope that clarifies your issues

Isaanaussie

IA

I don't have issues, I have questions because I'm an inquistive bastard and because you are a helpful (?).

Anyway next question (this is probably like having kids, never ending questions) how do you classify the stages - Weaner, Grow1, Grow2, Finish1 and Finish2 is it by weight or age or is it that on average it doesn't matter as pigs of a certain age are (or should be) a certain weight.

What do you expect in terms of litters per year from your sows?

Do you wean piglets at 4 weeks?

Do you clip teeth and tails?

Do you maintain the pigs in a pen all the time or do you allow some time in a paddock each day?

Do you vaccinate the young piglets against disease?

Do you feed twice a day?

Do you let recently weaned piglets eat as much as they can?

Would you be kind enough to provide the various feeds you use and their cost?

If this is all considered proprietary information I will understand.

Oh by the way i would like to congratulate you on the posts in "Down on the Farm" they have absolutely captured the way it works. If you can understand that then it can be a lot of fun watching the result dawning on them. The dawning is "maybe farang not so dumb afer all".

Cheers

[IsaanAussie]

OOTAI,

WOW, What a list of questions... Remember that I am only just getting my operation started, the majority of my pigs are still in another sty on holiday.

...how do you classify the stages - Weaner, Grow1, Grow2, Finish1 and Finish2 is it by weight or age or is it that on average it doesn't matter as pigs of a certain age are (or should be) a certain weight.

What do you expect in terms of litters per year from your sows?

I'm using a batch system of 4 x 4 sows. The batch cycles are 35, 35, 35, and 42 days. So each batch of 4 sows enter the farrowing area each 147 days. I try to keep the growing pigs in line with the sows more than by either weight or age to maintain an all-in-all-out rotation through the pens. So the weaners enter the nursery and stay there for a month, enough time to clean the pen before the next batch enters. From the nursery into Grow1, again AIAO after a month and so on to Finish 2.

I have limited housing for growing pigs so my operation is based of a combination of market opportunities whilst I build up breeding herd size.

Do you wean piglets at 4 weeks?

Yes

Do you clip teeth and tails?

Yes

Do you maintain the pigs in a pen all the time or do you allow some time in a paddock each day?

At the moment in the pens. I have rear gates to allow the pigs out into "play pens" but have not built the fences yet. Currently I use chopped straw as bedding which amuses the pigs and is a handy way to collect the wastes for me. Premix for the compost bins. It also limits the amount of wash water going into the septic system..

Do you vaccinate the young piglets against disease?

Yes, triple "antigen". Three month worming. Currently looking into increasing calcium to gilts with potential.

Do you feed twice a day?

Three times a day for young pigs. The feed is expensive and the pigs are particular about "soured" feed. Older pigs twice a day or ad lib feeding up to about 70 kg. Breeding group, limit feed to gestating sows, maximise feeding to lactating sows.

Do you let recently weaned piglets eat as much as they can?

They dont eat much for the first week or so, I just make sure they have enough so it is eaten and not wasted.

Would you be kind enough to provide the various feeds you use and their cost?

I am using Betagro balance

feed costs chart.pdf

If this is all considered proprietary information I will understand.

Nothing unusual in what I'm doing.

Oh by the way i would like to congratulate you on the posts in "Down on the Farm" they have absolutely captured the way it works. If you can understand that then it can be a lot of fun watching the result dawning on them. The dawning is "maybe farang not so dumb afer all".

Thanks, being a Jai Ron farang is to often my usual label, if you can maintain to keep your cool then you can beat off the crocodiles. As they say in the classics, "Get angry and you loose!" I try.....

Isaanaussie

[RedBullHorn]

My small humble piggeries farm

Shed 1 on the right and shed 2 on the left, total 60 of them.

They were housed in shed 1 before i split them up ( shed 2 was under construction then)

Shed 2

This batch of 60 pigs was delivered to me on the 3/5/2010, weighing 17-18kg each on average (1900 THB)

[OOTAI]

IssanAussie

Thanks for your reply. I haven't downloaded the attachment on feed costs yet will do that tonight.

Just a thought for your future planning. Your rotation schedule for the sows has them producing a litter every 21 weeks (correct me if I'm wrong). This is, in my opinion a little to optimistic.

14 weeks gestation, 4 weeks from farrowing to weaning, either 1 week to go to boar or 4 weeks if misses first mating, therefore 21 weeks possible.

A long time ago I spent some time working in an intensive piggery. They had 2 sheds, one had 330 sows and the other 540 sows and they had to produce 250 bacon weight pigs each week to supply their contract with a smallgoods producer (Huttons).

Anyway the smaller shed (where I worked) had been operating for 4 years the other was a lot younger. In the whole 330 sows there was only one who had survived for the whole four years and was still going strong. In that 4 years she had had 10 litters, so it is possible, however not very likely. I believe planning for 2 litters per sow per year to be more realistic. The average litter at that time (a long time ago, but not that long that the world was still flat) was 8.5 and the greatest killer of piglets was the mother laying on them.

Thanks again

[RedBullHorn]

my neighbour will only let them off after at lease 4-5 batches of litters, but she insist on not having the sixth due to pity for the sows... By the way, IA, we're getting 64 THB/kg farmgate since last week up here in the northernmost.

[IsaanAussie]

OOTAI,

A bit to do with layout. The dry sows are positioned next to the boars and are coming back into season within 3 to 7 days. Second ace up the sleeve is having a group of gilts ready to go to cover the bets. Sell any that are pregnant and not needed.

Redbullhorn,

Wow, what a setup, love the natural ventilation.

We have had 65 baht recently here. I sold a couple of 2 year old non-performing females last week at 58 baht, needed to cut the losses. Still at 275 Kg the return wasn't too bad. No time to slaughter them at the moment as I am as busy as a one armed paper hanger.

Isaanaussie