Pigs and piglets: how to buy for fattening or breeding at a good price
Fattening or breeding
For fattening for meat, people usually take weaned piglets, and already grown-on pigs give a faster result. For breeding you need gilts, pregnant sows or a boar, where the breed, the parentage and the papers matter more. Do not mix up the two routes: different purchases have different prices and risks.
Buy piglets after weaning, usually from two months and weighing about 20–25 kg: they already eat on their own and cope better with the move. Ones that are too small or weak lag behind in growth for a long time.
What affects the price
- Breed and crossbreeding: Landrace, Large White, Duroc and their crosses differ in growth rate and meat quality.
- Weight and age: the price is often counted per head for piglets, or per kilogram of live weight for grown-on pigs.
- Sex: castrated young boars raised for meat usually give better quality than uncastrated ones.
- Breeding value: a pregnant sow or a boar costs more than ordinary young stock.
- Vet certificates, vaccinations and guarantees about the farm's disease-free status.
What to put in your request
- type of animal — piglets, weaners, sow, boar, pigs for fattening;
- breed;
- age and weight of one head;
- number of heads;
- purpose — fattening, breeding, meat;
- sex — young boars, gilts, castrated males;
- vaccinations and treatments — vet certificate, no African swine fever on the farm;
- district or village and budget per head or per kilogram.
Example: “I need 10 Landrace piglets for fattening, 2 months old, weighing 20–25 kg, castrated males, vaccinated, with a vet certificate. Near Sydney, self-pickup. Budget up to $86 per head.”
Safety and papers
African swine fever (ASF) is a serious threat to herds, so buy only from farms that can prove they are disease-free. Ask for a vet certificate and find out which vaccinations and treatments were done. Animals of unknown origin are best avoided. Transport may need veterinary documents, so check this with the local veterinary department.
How to compare offers
Look at the weight, age and breed in each offer, and count the price per head and per kilogram, because piglets of different weights cannot be compared directly. Ask what they were fed, whether there have been cases of disease, and whether you can see the litter and the housing. Agree who will transport them and whether delivery is included in the price.
How BlaBlaPrice works
You write your request once on BlaBlaPrice, and farms reply in the chat: breed, weight, price, documents. The platform shows the best-value offer first, and sellers compete for your request. Contacts are opened only to the seller you choose. Read more on the How it works page.
Look for other animals for the yard in the “Farm animals” section.
