The Ultimate Homestead Pig? Here's why! | Pantry Chat

[@jruzich43]

I’ve raised a lot of pigs over the years and three years ago made the switch to KK and I absolutely love them. They are perfect for the homestead.

[@wildcountryacres]

It was sooooo fantastic to meet you guys and attend the conference! Blessings from Minnesota!!!

[@angelat4639]

Bread with lard on it and some salt was very common when I was young. I think it is delicious! :)

[@kolleendegraff6619]

It was great to meet you at the conference. Looking forward to next year!

[@FantailValleyHomestead]

We loved our kunes, but as soon as the soil got soft, they would root up. So over winter we would pen them and give them scraps, over summer they were on pasture. We will probably get them again when we move to our new property. It is great being able to breed your own! And the lard is amazing.

[@trishapomeroy9251]

We adore our kune kunes! They are everything you said and more. The most personable pig and they are also very delicious. Mine will just barely surface root in wet ground. They don't do any damage like the big breed feeder pigs we would grow out...like you said there is a place for those too, but I'd not want to have them as full time residents on our homestead. Another great thing about them is they are smaller at butcher time, so much easier for the average homesteader who doesn't maybe have a tractor or other lifting equipment.

[@reneeclark9903]

We love our Kunes! We kind of accidentally run up on a breed group at a wonderful price and grabbed them. We've raised bigger breeds but for me....this is the one.

[@TheHilary49]

I’d love to subscribe to your magazine but I really don’t seem to ever read digital magazines or books. I have so many on my IPad but really don’t enjoy it. If you ever get a print version I’ll definitely sign up.

[@amandabradshaw6760]

I want to see your big lard day! I recently watched the plum jelly vid and I LOVE seeing how you do a large scale processing day. I love the tools, organization, workflow, all the things. Tell me everything!

[@amandar7719]

How wonderful that you’re putting a full Pantry Chat on KZbin. It’s really helpful (and fun). I’m sure most of your subscribers followed you onto A+ but some of them didn’t. Hope you’re going to put content of Joe’s visit on KZbin. But can understand if it’s just for your consultancy work. 👍🏻

[@Fortnitewrestler478]

Thank you for putting a full pantry chat on KZbin. I miss them sooo much!!!

[@chrissyrinehold3562]

I saw you guys at the conference and it was amazing we learned so much

[@davidjames1063]

We cooled our greenhouse by combining a mist watering system, with end fans, for evaporative cooling. 89'F on 110'F+ days !

[@tessagarrard2413]

I am so excited for your multi-species pasture rotation video!!! Thank you for all you guys do. Your videos are always very informational and easy to understand. Thank you again!

[@jodiecarr9750]

We raise idaho Pasture pigs and we love them. They derive from the kune kune and a couple other types of pigs. They also are a great homestead pig to raise.

[@CDJMiniRanch]

I recently sold most of my registered Kunekunes for Idaho Pasture Pigs. Love the Kunekunes and will continue to raise them but we also wanted a bigger pig and bacon! Hopefully the IPP will do that for us.

[@jodiecarr9750]

We just started raising them so we haven't butchered one yet. We had our first litter of 6 piglets. We can't wait to butcher one ae taste the meat.

[@kathleenredick275]

Lard is an awesome fat for pastries! I used to make pie crust with lard and whole wheat flour. Everyone loved it!

[@reneenewfrock5743]

I use lard for almost everything! I buy the leaf fat from a local meat processor; very inexpensive. I render it and can it up. We eat those beautiful warm cracklins for a snack and then I freeze the rest to give to the chickens in the winter. I also make soap with lard and tallow which I either use just as soap and/or make a variety of homemade cleaning products with. Tallow soap is awesome for cleaning garden hands and excellent for mechanics hands. And tallow makes wonderful candles too.

[@Preciousaccordingto977]

When my pigs go to the butcher, I make sure they separate the back fat from the leaf fat. I use the leaf fat, which is the fat surrounding the organs for baking. I use it in chocolate chip cookie’s, or whatever, nobody ever notices!

[@ericaraulston7923]

Thank you for this! We’ve been trying to decide between Kune and American Guinea, you sold us!

[@lesawalker6419]

I am new to your channel and so blessed by it ! Thank you so much ! 💓

[@missmishpot]

Very informative. Thank you! I’ve been working on the hub to grow our own pork, and this is very helpful!

[@katrinagarland5219]

Great information, as usual... Thanks!

[@davidjames1063]

Great video guys !!

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@shawnaziegler2655]

I LOVE my kune kunes!! I have had mine for about a year now, and they have the BEST personalities. I picked up another gilt, so now I have 2 females, my male, and 2 piglets. I've raised several other meat pigs, I loved the red wattles, but these are so much better!!

[@charlesperry1051]

We have 5.5 acres in east Tennessee. I am seriously considering raising KK pigs to meet our pork needs and maybe as a source of additional income. Our property is zoned for farming so there is no issue with that.

[@Audrey-km9in]

Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable Kune Kune tutorial. I knew little about them and now feels as though I could be somewhat conversant. The reasons for these pigs are fascinating! Perhaps my HOA would approve? Thanks, again.

[@rickthelian2215]

My family had always used Lard for Hungarian Goulash to fry the onions and other spices.

[@lesmohr6289]

Would you do a chat about teas you could make from your garden

[@Preciousaccordingto977]

Tea’s are easy. If you have leaves, you have tea. Dry and store. That’s all I do & have done for years.

[@cherylpresleigh6403]

We had a wonderful time at the conference. What an incredible group of speakers. We appreciate all the work that went into this event, the wonderful people we met and we look forward to next year as well. We have a shy 1 acre property and have been focusing on building a garden. We are also working on getting set up for laying hens and next want to do meat birds. We don’t think we have room for pigs and are disappointed about that but we are grateful to work with what we have. Thanks for the video and for sharing your journey with us.

[@nicholehillabush7211]

You could do a deep litter method. Justin Rhodes has a video about a Pig Port that he used to raise pigs in. If you have an acre, you could still do it!❤

[@marthasundquist5761]

I noticed when I planted rapeseed as a ground cover they were chewed up by flea beetles, but they left my cabbage alone ...could be because I started the cabbage inside but direct seeded the rapeseed so it was younger and more tender.

[@GUNMETALGUYUSA]

Cool informative video. Learned about it new pig. Thanks

[@Ok-Mardy]

Do the Kuni pigs like weeds as well like ragweed and johnson grass and such?

[@mariatorres9789]

Mmm, goat cheese, my favorite. My abuella wouldn't eat an enchilada without it, lol. Mole (with chocolate) chicken enchiladas with goat cheese on top, or, goat cheese filling and slathered in tomatillo verde or a mole sauce.

[@brieannerice5862]

Can you share where you got your Kunes? I'm in CA as well and a non-rooting line of Kunes sounds great! Thank you.

[@queenimari602]

Pigs enjoy water. Are KK destructive on land during the rainy seasons?

[@clarkl4177]

😊we realized how great our KKs were AFTER "pig sitting" a friends pair that were PARTLY KK (had wattles but long snouts). After fencing them in for the night we woke up in shock😳😲🥺 They'd destroyed the area! We Never had any such destruction with the KKs--plus, they are friendly and even smile 😂

[@tinarenshaw7360]

Hello, have heard of Nema seek? They are a beneficial nematode that seek out beetles, but not your plants. It's an organic way of controlling the beetles.

[@jenniexfuller]

Use lard to make flour tortillas!!!! 2 adults, 2 kids - 1 stick of butter per week - can we do that with 1 cow (maybe 2 with offset pregnancies?)?

[@lotus....]

We have had Kunekunes for over 4 yrs now. They are so sweet. They only root if they are kept in the same place/pen AND there's some sort of good tasty tree roots that are closer to the surface. Its best if you can rotate their pastures. They sure are fatty! I have so much fat in the freezer now and rendered lard on the shelf. We are thinking of adding another breed to get more actual meat per carcass. We do our own butchering (big hunting family so we are used to it). We will still raise Kunes but we dont need so much lard lol. Their meat is the best though.

[@madisongriffith6884]

We just got our first Kune Kunes and love them so much. They're eating a ton of grass but we were told to supplement with 1 cup 2x a day per pig for "a balanced diet" so they won't root ect. It seems like you guys don't use feed at all? Also what table scraps do you feed them? I assumed I could feed them basically anything but the internet has lots of opinions lol

[@barbgardiner5719]

I rendered lard and made my cookies with it and people argued with me that I had used butter. I’m like um, no, it’s the lard I rendered.

[@darwin2022-ret]

Grandma always baked and cooked with lard. She refused to use Crisco.

[@shannonjensen9915]

How many kunekune pigs do you butcher for your size of family? you mentioned you have some meat pigs. Do you recommend meat pigs for most of a large families pork and the kunekune for mostly lard?

[@christineperez7562]

She said she uses Kune pigs for lard

[@zoeshorthouse7913]

Before I knew about homesteading, I saved our bacon drippings. A few times, when we ran out of butter, we did spread bacon drippings on our toast. But, as you said, you wouldn't want to spread lard on your bread.

[@debbiepark9387]

How does the meat taste compared to the big pink feeder pigs? My meat is sooooo good. and the lard isn't too piggy.

[@tinaschantz5000]

Do the kune kunes need a wallow? How do they do on rocky soil? Can they be left unattended while I go to work?

[@dogman807]

Have you ever used Improvac on your boar pigs?

[@chelseajames6434]

PLEASE ANSWER: I understand you're in Idaho. If you could go back in time knowing what you know now and re-start your homesteading journey, would you do it in the same location? My husband and I are trying to decide if we want to homestead in our home state (Nevada) or go north or even go out east to MO/TX area.

[@toddfriley9373]

Would getting a second cow for additional fat and using the skim milk to give to the pigs for the protein. Ultimately turning grass into bacon? A KZbinr from Canada puts in skim milk ,duck weed and chopped up hay/grain and let’s it ferment over night. Search feeding pigs duck weed and you will be amazed at how low cost and beautiful the meat looks.

[@homesteadincrazy7773]

How do you think they would do in the southeast? I am in north Alabama. Thanks.

[@clarkl4177]

😊 writing from just south of HSV. 5 KKs are here--made it through the extreme cold in Dec '22. We've had a set of piglets and all have made it through the usual heat of AL. We enjoy them!

[@homesteadincrazy7773]

@@clarkl4177 Thank you for the information. I have been looking into large blacks and guinea hogs for our homestead. One more to add to the mix and do my research on. Thanks again. :)

[@robinsouth8555]

I have been considering them for about 2 years, it is going to have to wait until I retire. To busy

[@samanthas5167]

How much meat do you get from a Kune Kune if they are considered a lard pig? I have friends that have Kune Kunes but my husband is a carnivore and would miss his bacon. Just curious the lard/meat ratio as we are looking into getting pigs soon.

[@southloupriverhomestead4696]

Did you give away the milk cow? I was part of the online seminar but never heard who won.

[@dallasburgess5329]

Our farm was recently blessed with a rescue KuneKune. A couple found it on the hwy, nursed it back to health. And gave it to us via a Vet clinic my wife works for. Found out, in our area, KuneKune go for 400-$1200 per piglet! The one we have is extremely small, I'm not sure why...maybe malnutrition in its early weeks. At near 3 months, she is just 10-15lbs, whereas our typical piglets are around 60-70 lbs, same age. I wonder if you two have any thoughts on how we might improve her weight gain. 🤔 I am concerned she might not fit into our breeding program due to size. She is very energetic, and eats a TON already. You must not have a lot of time to answer anyone's questions, but if you can, much appreciated 👍

[@bobbarnes5014]

I will be getting a pair of kune kune pigs at the end of this month. I've been stressing out over Shelter and fencing. The piglets are currently contained in an electric poultry net. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[@queenimari602]

How long does it take KK to get from weaned to 300 lb butcher size (using grazing and cost effective inputs like kitchen scraps)?

[@annadavis6322]

From my experience it takes years. We just butchered some at 8 months, 15 months, and 3 years old. The 3 year old breeder pair was 300 and 450 pounds.

[@simplifylifenow]

There's a good chance they'll never get there. The females most likely won't. The males can (most likely will there) but it'll take some time. Kunes are a small breed of pigs, one of the smallest even and slow growing. It takes them about 2 years to reach full maturity. But, like already mentioned, If you have enough pasture, they won't cost you anything but space (and obviously time) to get to that point. So yes, expect 2 years and expect the female ones to never get to that weight.

[@LisaB_at_Pine_Ridge]

Love this! Can you put them in pasture with other animals…goats, dairy cow ( would love to rotationally graze - just not there yet).

[@clarkl4177]

😊we have 5 KKs that share pasture space with EVERYONE ELSE 😅 Cow, 2 goats, lots of chickens, guineas and even a few ducks. Sure, there's some kerfuffling that happens occasionally but nothing serious 👍

[@davej7458]

Pigs are very interesting. I am looking for the right pig. One that won't eat you if you're not careful. One that can reproduce its, self and is by nature healthy. Is an efficient meat producer with only homestead input. Can be rotational on grass. I don't want a six hundred pound pig. Two, two hundred pound or three hundred pound pigs are better. How many kuni kuni pigs could live on the same pasture as a 1200 pound cow, and how much would they weigh? Nothing exact, just a fair estimate. Thank you.

[@deltabird3641]

Do you need to cut the males for bore tant

[@rickthelian2215]

Processing cost would be higher for smaller pigs? Unless your processing yourselves. Do you have an outside source that you can get food scraps for the pigs for free?

[@rachelswanson8797]

It would interesting to see what Joel Salatin would think of pasture in the Nebraska. We can get so dry out here.

[@southloupriverhomestead4696]

We just finished 3 years with IPP breeding trio. Great Pigs, Great Meat. They were the most work of any animals we have had. Also the least profitable. So we decided to stop raising them. They were not too destructive but I would never recomend premier one nets to anyone. Central Nebraska Here

[@zoeshorthouse7913]

Greg Judy has done grazing consults in Arizona.

[@pobo6113]

I am on a very small homestead. I am very interested in this type of pig. Will you be doing a class on them, an where can I locate them? Thanks

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

KK pigs are on my list once I finish 2 projects. Is their meat more on the darker side or lighter like the "commercial" pigs?

[@SabbathAcresRanch]

Not sure about KK but red wattles have very dark, rich meat if thats what you want, excellent marbling as well. We have raised them, they were very good natured pigs and tasted sooooo good! We have raised Yorkshires and Hampshires, we weren't real impressed.

[@sherriekemper1828]

What about the KK meat? Tasty? Quantity?

[@ericapeterson3748]

Kuni kuni I believe.

[@angelamartin3876]

Thoughts on an ipp?

[@martinoneal6568]

You didn't mention the meat. How is it compared to the seasonal pigs you've raised in the past?

[@christineperez7562]

She mentioned the meat. She said there is more fat than meat. It's more of a lard animal. She said the meat is good. Since bacon is fat I assume a lot of bacon.

[@crochetgottaloveit]

I just discovered your previous pantry chats two weeks ago and I love them! I'm learning a lot from y'all. I would love to know if you do medicinal tinctures and medicinal teas from various herbs in the garden . I am growing herbs this year such as pineapple sage, hops, comfrey, stevia, lavender, mint, basil, sage, turmeric, ginger and some others. But I'm kind of at a loss as to how to use these other than in cooking. I pick them and dehydrate the herbs pretty regularly too. But thanks for your wonderful channel and thanks for the great teaching. 😊😊

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Here is free class we offer: classes.homesteadingfamily.com/healthy-healing-at-home

[@mystic8merlin]

Are the male entacted KK's agressive? We had a pot belly that punched a whole in my leg. I want to get back to pigs as I grew up on a hog farm. There we had a male that grandpa or dad had to beat back with a board to get in the pen. I can't deal with that anymore. I'm to old to deal with it.

[@sandraforsythe7908]

How do I get your magazine?

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Here it is: classes.homesteadingfamily.com/homestead-kitchen-magazine

[@callieb9049]

What Kunekune bloodlines are your pigs from that they don’t root?

[@pamelamercado6902]

Raising pigs for 40 years I can tell you that kuni kuni or any other pig is not healthy when they only eat grass for long-term if you're going to butcher it as most will and not have it as a pet short-term is okay on grass I know this not only by experience but by autopsy that have been done on several pigs I only mention this because of the fact that people who want to keep them for pets believe they should just feed them grass. I think kuni kun are so cute and they're docile. I do believe they can make a great homestead pig

[@cellen9554]

What kind of goats do you have? I have been researching and building a pasture in hopes of getting some towards the end of the year.

[@SabbathAcresRanch]

I'm not sure what they have but nubian's, alpine's, and Saanen's are great! I don't recommend the Nigerian Dwarfs, they don't produce a lot of milk, and can be more difficult to milk, but it depends on what your set up is and how much milk you want. For some people ND work amazing, but for my family of 6 they just wouldn't work.

[@HomesteadingFamily]

We have Nubian's.

[@bw7057]

My mother use lard for all her pastries. They were flaky, tend, delicious. We knew she was making pies on the way home as we could smell them cooking. Lard is the king of fats…

[@elt.214]

Did I miss the new baby updates?

[@thehazelnutspread]

For breeding the pigs, I imagine that you can breed the same couple for several years and eat the offspring but you shouldn't breed the same offspring together (siblings) so you'll have to bring in another pig to breed with. Eventually the parents will have to be retired. Do you know how many years the parents can breed for?

[@mkshffr4936]

I strongly recommend you avoid seed oils. They are very bad for your health. Your lard project is great. Geese are another option. Goose oil can be used for cooking and lighting. 😇

[@robaldridge6505]

hogs used to be called 'mortgage breakers' ... feed them on garbage all year, butcher in the fall, eat em all winter...

[@stephanygates6491]

I bet the wild Kunis root. And, once a domestic Kuni finds a sweet potato plant. Reward!

[@debrabrooks6138]

I have a question , If I may..You were saying that you grass feed your livestock right? Why not get a grass pellet making machine to make your own grass/green pellets to feed your stock over winter? It would save on food cost and can be used for many types of livestock and you can even incorporate the grass or greens with grains, corn, minerals etc. to suit the nutritional needs of each livestock.

[@andrewhammill6148]

Y'all need to figure out some other acronym for Homesteaders of America. HOA is a dirty acronym. LOL.

[@annadavis6322]

We have just had all of our kunekune pigs butchered, including our breeder pigs. Ours rooted, were insanely difficult to keep in, cost a fortune to feed, and took forever to grow. We had 8 month old ones, hanging weight was 51 pounds, fat for rendering was over 20 pounds. The only meat that was usable for things like chops was from our boar that was 450 pounds. I just wish i had had realistic expectations and had really, truly known what to expect out of a lard pig and had known about how bad they could tear up the land. I hope this helps someone

[@rodneyferris4089]

I can’t understand why people turn up their noses to offal. Liver is the only strong one. Kidney if washed and soaked properly has a beautiful texture and flavour Heart is like roast beef and tongue is one of the most delicious meat there is. It is succulent and beef tongue is the essence of really good beef! TRY THEM, you’ll be amazed!

[@FrostyThundertrod]

The Kune Kune will root if they don’t have the minerals they need

[@TomokoAbe_]

I never heard of that pig. Of course I live in the city and would get arrested if I got a pig. Not that I would want to. In Central Florida there are a lot of wild pigs! I completely freaked out the first time I seen a wild pig with babies following her. I would image these kuni pigs are ideal for soap.

[@mariatorres9789]

It would probably be cheaper here in FL, to just get a lifetime hunting/ fishing license. It's about $1,200, and you can go in season & get those wild boar. It also includes crabs, lobster, fishing, deer etc. I finally talked my hubby into letting me get one, lol. Common sense, clean wild food for your lifetime.

[@barbgardiner5719]

Nubian goats, feed them Trefoil hay= the BEST milk you’ll EvER Drink!💕💕💕 I don’t drink cows milk. Don’t like that sour taste after drinking or eating products with cows milk. 😬

[@ruthmcbride1778]

Oh my, when I was in school the pluck was heart and lungs of animals. I cant imagine eating lungs, seems like eating styrofoam. Heart is just meat. Its good lung, interesting

[@christineperez7562]

Those are organs. I have a hard time eating any organ meat.

[@marywysocki6641]

Due to my religious beliefs I am not able to eat pigs! I have been eating a plant based bacon, called Litelife Smartbacon

[@barbaracostello9108]

How do you kill an animal that wants to be loved like a dog? They are so intelligent….. just can’t imagine how you can kill then. Do you make sure they do not know you are going to kill them….. and do you kill them yourself painlessly. Not being a vegetarian.., I eat meat (not pork) but always wonder how you can kill them painlessly and without fear I would like to know for my own path…. Just don’t think I could ever kill an animal. We have a couple people in our family that hunt …..do you shoot them? Use a bolt? My thoughts are probably more horrifying than reality but I just don’t know

[@chaparra71]

😂😂😂

[@lennnicholson3846]

Yes, they are intelligent animals, but when we're ready, we put down a little grain. They come up not suspecting a thing. One shot into the brain, no pain whatsoever. Treat them well until harvest.

[@BNM-b7t]

As long as you don't eat the creature, scripture says it isn't food. It's a garbage disposal.

[@mariatorres9789]

Those rules were for Jews, so if you're not Jewish, it wasn't meant for you.

[@BNM-b7t]

@@mariatorres9789 I'm sorry but you have been lied too. Scripture says it's not food. Leviticus 11. Church doctrine confuses the vision Peter had to convince people pigs can be eaten If you read the rest of the chapter you will realize that the synagogue rulers of the day forbid people from mixing together. And Peter was instructed to go to /with hose who were inquiring of him. Everyone has been lied to and it will take more study to undo the lies we have been taught. We need to read scripture from the beginning in Genesis to the end to understand everything in context. The bible defines itself, that way commands, principles and precepts are understood .

[@sarahanderson7916]

1 Timothy 4:1-4 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing a spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

[@BNM-b7t]

@@sarahanderson7916 indeed, in context to the definition of food which is a continuous understanding from the beginning of scripture to the end. So xxplain how Lev 11 says you should not eat swine flesh and then all of a sudden Peter's vision explains it ok to eat the flesh AND then in Revelation that very same creature defiles the temple. How could that be???

[@BNM-b7t]

In Scripture the 'law of first mention' is the definition of that word. So the first time a significant subject is mention that is the definition. Take the 7th day Sabbath. What day in creation was hallowed and set apart?? The 7th day. Ok, so the Creator of heaven and earth set the 7th day aside and said this day is special, I AM going to rest from all my work on this day. Next, when is the 7th day mentioned again??

[@ammm6854]

“Pigs aren’t food” -YHWH (I do not change, Malachi 3:6)

[@queenimari602]

Pigs enjoy water. Are KK destructive on land during the rainy seasons?