How Quickly Does Albendazole Work?

[missuscluck]

Our pigs are going to slaughter in 2 lots over the next couple of weeks. The first 3 are going tommorrow and the last three in a week or so.

They have had a lovley time with us and we have had a lovley time having them.

We have sorted out our finances today and have added up all the pig food, butchery etc...

Our costs this year have risen due to the cost of the food. The spoilt things eat LOTS and LOTS. Its easy to see why it is said that pig farmers are struggling.

Here are our lovley happy porkers. We are going to miss them! Its hard to do, but has to be done.

I have taken lots of piccys of them this weekend and put them on my blog, if anyone wants a look.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Guest

[Guest]

don't they grow fast! I'm sorry we didn't have chance to say hello to them but perhaps it's for the best, considering your kind offer! Will PM you.

 

xxxxxx

[Lesley]

They do look happy don't they?

 

How old are they?

 

I haven't checked on the total feed costs to date for ours yet - I know it's going to be scary

[Egluntyne]

Gosh doesn't the time fly.

 

I remember you getting them and it only seems a week or two ago.

 

They look very happy.

[ubereglu]

Aww, they're lovely! I bet they'll be tasty too.

[missuscluck]

The 3 boys went today with no problems at all. The girls are due to go 2 weeks today. It all went really well. Nice and calm, no fuss. Happily went in the trailer but needed a bit of coaxing at the other end to come out. Luckilly they decided to come of their own accord.

They are 23 weeks old. It has gone so quickly.

[missuscluck]

Our girl pigs went on Monday and now we have no piggies. We are waiting for the meat to come back from the butchers.

I have posted some piccys on my blog of the boxes of meat from the boy pigs.

All the meat from the boys has been sold on to friends and family so I havent tasted any as yet but I am hearing good reports back.

We have had an offer of 6 new Gloucester old spot piglets from our small holder friend and we are considering taking them on. If we take them it will be just before christmas when they go to slaughter so we have had to ok this with the butcher as they get very busy at that time. Its looking like all will be ok so I think we may well go for it.

We are missing having the pigs I think.

[Karen & co.]

We have had an offer of 6 new Gloucester old spot piglets from our small holder friend

We are missing having the pigs I think.

 

Gloucester old spot piglets are very cute

 

We had your sausages the other night for tea, and Christopher has called them 'Special Sausages' or 'SS' as he has declared them the best he has tasted

 

Can I come and see them if you get more piglets pretty please?

[missuscluck]

Oh, thats brilliant I like it!

Of course you can come and see the babies when we get them. Its looking like we will be. All is in place to do so, we just have to make sure we have takers for all the meat otherwise it turns into expensive fun. There is a limit to how much pork we can eat. Even my greedy lot cant eat that much pork.

[Karen & co.]

Oh, thats brilliant I like it!

we just have to make sure we have takers for all the meat otherwise it turns into expensive fun. There is a limit to how much pork we can eat. Even my greedy lot cant eat that much pork.

 

Can I put my hand up and say yes please!!! Mark will be salivating if I tell him

 

Karen x

[Matthew]

If we had room we'd get pigs.... not too much room in an end of terrace garden lol

[missuscluck]

We have had out meat back and now have a freezer FULL. We have had a peice of roast leg yesterday for Sunday lunch and it was perfect. Lovley crackling and not too much fat.

 

Our chickens which we have been rearing also met their end on Saturday and we have got some lovley plump chickens in the freezer too.

 

As some of you know I have found this project quite difficult being used to pet egg laying hens. We have raised Ross-Cobb chickens from day old chicks to slaughter. We started with 20 birds. Lost a chick about a week in then lost a hen last week, purley due to it being to fat to carry on.

 

These birds are bred for the poultry industry to get to table weight quickly. Yes, they do make lovley table birds but next time we do this, we will try to source a traditional slow growing breed that wants to free range. The Ross-Cobbs really arnt all that interested in free ranging, prefering to sit and eat.

I have found this an uncomfortable insight into the chicken we eat.

Our chicks had the best we could give them and a better life than where they were heading (broiler) but I am dissapointed they had very little interest in free ranging, and I am uncomfortable with what is really a bird bred to be a freak of nature, putting on an amazing amount of weight in a very short time. If we hadnt of 'done the deed' this weekend they would have died one by one of a heart attack.

The poultry industry has to be cost efficiant and make a profit, but I dont. These birds are not really my cup of tea at all.

I havent tryed the chicken yet. We rear our meat with another family and they roasted one on Sunday and said it was really good.

[Lesley]

It's interesting you should say that Lynda - we've just come to the same conclusion!

 

We had two batches of Ross/Cobb and then this time we had Hubbard and Coloryield which are very similar.......

We had no problem with them free-ranging and they even roost on top of the pen door which is about 4' high

 

but.....we find them hard to despatch and pluck and dress when they become really big - we did 2 yesterday and they weigh in at 8lb, so we've decided to change to Light Sussex next time.

 

We don't know if we're going to be able to do this as they are so similar to our layers

 

Lovely to have your freezers full though - will you be having more pigs?

[missuscluck]

It is difficult isnt it. Im going to do a bit of reserch into what to have next. I guess each breed has its drawbacks.

Its true to Ross-Cobbs have done the job. They were really easy to pluck and dress. I wonder if the breeders will develop them further so all their feathers fall out at 8 weeks .

I just would have lovled to have seen them living life to the full a bit more.

8lb WOW! you need some guests for dinner

Ill put all of the birds you mention on my list of things to investigate. Thanks for the info.

We have our names down of 6 piglets which will be due to go at Christmas. Its looking like we wont be able to use the land we are on next year and the owner has plans for our patch so we are currently looking at alternatives.

[Lesley]

How old were yours when you despatched them Lynda? - ours aren't easy to pluck and dress at all

 

We grow ours slowly and have grown them for up to 9 months.

[missuscluck]

Oh no, not ours. They lasted 9 weeks. We lost one last week as it had a heart attack. They were so fat they could barely breathe. Our small holder friend David who sourced the birds for us came to check them and said they had to go or they would all pop off of their own accord one by one.

 

Im wondering now...there may be different strains of this breed. Ours were headed for broiler if we hadnt had them so I guess ours are the super quick variety.

[Lesley]

So were ours - but you can grow them slowly.

[missuscluck]

Ahhh, thats interesting. Is that by restricting their food?

[Matthew]

how much space do you need per pig to rear ?

 

I'd love to have some pigs but space is definitely not something I have to excess

[missuscluck]

Sorry Matthew, Im really not sure. Its not something I have ever taken the trouble to look into as we have been lucky enough to blag a field.

 

I know they are sociable animals and therefore you should not keep one on its own so you would need at least two. Also the land you keep them on needs to be regesterd with Defra as when you move pigs at any point you need a movement order.