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percy049

Pigs

By percy049, in My Family and Other Animals

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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I have pigs every year as 'pets', but we do slaughter them and eat them :? . This is Bert and Ernie...

 

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We get them each year around Easter time as weaners (about 7 weeks old) and keep them for 6 months before :shock: getting them slaughtered in one of the country's most reputable abattoirs. Below is Sam; after 6 months with us he got up to a weight of over 13 stone... :roll:

 

DSC02846.JPG

 

We find that they are easy too look after during the late Spring, Summer and early Autumn months, but when the clocks go back we never see them during the week as we leave the house and return in the evening in the dark, so it was not worth doing it with us both working.

 

If you have any questions, let me know. :)

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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Wow - Pigs 101 :shock: - I shall give it a go. :D

 

:roll: First, you need to check your house / land deeds (or ask your solicitor) to find out whether there are any stipulations against you keeping swine on the land you have in mind. There isn't usually, but if there is, then it might be tricky to overturn that.

 

:? If that is ok, then you need to contact (I recommend you call them - it's faster and you get to ask any silly questions you are worried about) the Rural Payments Agency. Tell them you want to keep pigs and therefore need to register with them for a CPH Number for your land. It might already have one, and they will tell you it. Otherwise they will take your address and some other details and then mail you a CPH number. You are now a farm!

 

:) You can technically now buy pigs and keep them on your land, but they need to be registered with the Animal Health office who will want to know how may pigs (or other livestock) you have on your 'farm'. They will confirm the details by post too.

 

:D To get your pigs from where you buy them to where you live you will need to fill out an animal movement form with the person you bought the pigs from and the person who transports them for you (if that is neither you nor the seller of the pigs). These can be obtained from DEFRA too, but the pig seller will probably have one you can use - worth asking before you turn up to take them away.

 

:( You will also need to tag them with tags that have your holding number on them, so if they get out, people will know whose they are. I recommend you get a friendly farmer to do the tagging for you the first time, but you will need to buy the tags first - I got mine on the internet!

 

See this DEFRA guide for more details which will help and fill in some of the gaps. It really helped me.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/movements/pigs/documents/new_owner_guide.pdf

 

:shock: Once on your farm, they cannot be moved for at least 20 days. Make sure they have food and plenty of water and somewhere cosy to sleep that is dry and clean - they are clean animals and will go to the toilet well away from where they sleep and eat. They will be pretty scared of you for a couple of weeks, but keep trying to socialise with them and before you know if they will be calling for you and rolling over for a scratch and generally believing you are their best friend:

 

DSC02438.JPG

 

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want anymore information - some more stuff on my old blog too:

http://stinkycabbage.blogspot.com/

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craftyhunnypie Chuckling Chook

craftyhunnypie

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Ooo thanks that is sooo helpful & in plain English too. Some of the books are a bit too technical & not to the point. It will be difficult at slaughter time, but I think once they are 13 stone - I'd be a bit wary of them any way.

I'm going to go on some ' pig' days soon to hopefully learn a bit about them & how to socialize with them etc. I know that we will be keeping them for meat, but whilst they are with us - we will give them the best & get rather attatched - I'm sure of it.

All the properties we have in mind to buy are all registered smallholdings & most have kept pigs on them...so fingers crossed. It's just deciding which house is best for our needs now. A very stressful time ahead of us, but will be well worth it.

I presume you buy your pig back in the cuts you want, plus sausages etc & the rest goes to the food industry?

If you could buy just a straight forward book, which would you recommend? We are so scared of getting it all wrong & being laughed at as 'towny farmer wannabees'. :anxious::lol:

Thanks for all help - love the photo.

Emma.x

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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Glad it was helpful. :D

 

We totally love our pigs while we have them - they get spoiled rotten and we were a bit worried about eating them in the first year, but actually it was much easier than we thought - we had no problem whatsoever eating them. We were even commenting 'oh, these chops are from Ernie'!

 

The pigs days are supposed to be ok, but we didn't bother. It's better to make friends with neighbours who keep pigs themselves and ask them to help you set up, recommend where to buy piglets locally, what fencing to use, where the best place is to buy food, or get them slaughtered (we send all our pigs together now to save costs) etc etc.

 

I actually get the pigs back in halves! one half has the head attached. I butcher them myself. I bought a butchers saw and a good (not a normal kitchen one) mincer. I make my own sausages and hams, even bacon and air dried hams too. For me, the butchery is great fun.

 

I would buy the river cottage meat book and basic cookery book, as these too cover how to do lots of the sausage and ham making stuff. River cottage do a great pig butchery DVD too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Cookbook-Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstall/dp/0007164092/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1295991265&sr=8-8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Meat-Book/dp/0340826355/ref=pd_sim_b_2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Pig-Day-DVD/dp/B0038409IS/ref=pd_sim_b_23

 

Keep asking me questions, happy to answer them even if you think they are daft... it can be a bit scary to start with, but when you get them you realise how easy it is - honestly!

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craftyhunnypie Chuckling Chook

craftyhunnypie

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Thanks ever so much! I've actually got the Meat book, as I went on a mini butchery evening course a couple of years ago. That was brilliant & I enjoyed every part of it. I could handle my pigs back in 2 halves, but not sure about the head still being on one half - would take some getting used to that. :anxious:

I'll definitely be giving you another shout once we've moved. We will be round Aberystwyth way & not far from Welshpool. There is a livestock market there, but I presume it's best to buy piglets from a reputable local farmer?

Hubby is reading all this & is so enthralled. It's his idea in the first place to keep pigs. Suppose the next question for us will be shall we raise for bacon or pork? :think:

Oh another daft question...do you shut them in at night, or do they just wander into their arks & have an open door? Do they take themselves to bed? What special requirements would they need if we were to go on holiday ( pet sitter) etc.

Thanks again...

Emma.x

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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They go to bed on their own; they don't need to be locked in or encouraged to have a rest!

 

I would buy them from a local farmer if you can. There will be plenty selling them in that area I am sure. It just means you are more likely to get help from them if you need it; especially if you think you may buy weavers from him each year.

 

If we go on holiday we get our neighbours to pop over to feed them and make sure they have enough water, etc. The neighbours love them and all want to help.

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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Yes. I meant weaners. Damn predictive text. :roll:

 

Sex. :shock: Its a good idea to get two of a single sex. They can get a bit frisky from about 5 months, so well within the time you have them. You dont want the abattoir refusing to slaughter one 'cause she is pregnant.

 

We have had boys each time. Might have girls next time, but doesn't matter too much either way. Boys can be a bit bigger (good) and possibly a bit more boisterous, but I have been told that is more down to breed than sex, eg tamworths are pretty lively, but great long pigs and fast growing, big characters.

 

It's best to decide when you go to choose your pigs ( they should show you a selection and let you choose a couple) so pick the ones you like the look of. Go for a couple that look bigger, longer, stronger, dominant over the others. But don't worry too much about it; if you like one 'cause it has a nice colour or markings, that's ok! Pick the ones you like.

:wink:

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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Thought you'd like to see the area we keep our pigs in.

 

DSC02813.JPG

 

(See a bigger one here: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bwPytN55Rjg/S7eRcUUSNeI/AAAAAAAAAu8/1PdwS4aPtCU/s1600/DSC02813.JPG) ... just click on the photo as you see it and it should expand.

 

This area is duplicated exactly on the other side of the garden; that way we can keep one side bare (recovering!) whilst the other side has pigs on it. The double grey gates allow me to roll the pig house from one side to the other each year. Note that there is barbed wire at the bottom of the fence all the way around: I don't like the stuff, but without it they would dig under the fence in NO TIME and be out knocking over my bee hives and rampaging down into the veg garden or greenhouse :shock: . I don't put it at the top though. The alternative is to get an electric fence, which is also very effective for piggies.

 

The area is 20 metres by 5 metres, plenty for two pigs. The tree in the background that over hangs the pig area is an apple tree - they love that.

 

The pig arc is brilliant; it wasn't the cheapest, but it's very robust, easy to clean and keeps the boys nice and warm. Included in the price is delivery and they have a crane on the lorry to put it where you like; in this case they craned it over the hedge to the left of the picture into position for me.

 

If you want to see their site - http://www.pig-arks.com/ - 'other pig housing is available!' :roll: - I have nothing to do with this company - just a satisfied customer! :D

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craftyhunnypie Chuckling Chook

craftyhunnypie

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That enclosure looks fab & exactly the type of thing we have in mind. We would also sooner spend money on a decent ark - rather than one that is flimsy & will become weather beaten. I will certainly keep hold of that website!

It's useful to know the size of enclosure needed. All the places we have looked at have plenty of room for pigs & the like.

We are both looking forward to a piggy future & lots of nice chops etc. :wink:

Thanks for all the help & piccies.

P.S. May I ask what size ark you have, as we would like exactly the same set up. Hubby has asked me to save that photo, so as he knows what to order & build when we get our place. :D:dance: We simply can not wait!

Emma.x

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snowcloud Frequent Layer

snowcloud

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We bought an 8' x 8' one, so we had plenty of room in case we wanted more than 2 pigs; it's big enough for 3 easily, probably 4 biggish ones as they like to sleep next to each other for warmth and comfort (they are very sociable, except at feeding time, when they might fight a little bit :shock: ). The 8' x 4' is only really big enough for Kune Kune pigs, but would actually be probably big enough if you are only taking a couple of pigs from weaner to 7/8 month slaughter age. However, for the price difference, I thought it was worth getting a bigger one; they have loads of room in there and when you want to clean it out, and they want to be in there with you to 'help', you have a chance to get out of their way. They are very friendly and playful when you are throwing straw about and so will get excited and think it is a game. It's great fun when they want to play :D .

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kinsk All Knowing Superchicken

kinsk

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Nothing really to add to the advice you've already had.

 

Pigs are fantastic, we've currently got just over 50 Old spots, they are fantastic animals to have around.

 

I would definitely look around for a breeder to buy from direct rather than a market to start with. Speak to a few and ask as many questions as you want. We frequently get people ringing up afterwards for advice on what to do.

 

We sell some of ours for breeding and send some off for meat. Our local abatoir will do sausages, bacon, joints etc. for us. We've also had a butcher friend pick up the carcasas and process it for us.

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Space Chick SUPER CHICKEN!!!

Space Chick

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The whole parish holding number is a bit different in Wales Emma, we don't follow the same rules as England due to Welsh Assembly Government rulings. You need to get the holding number through the local council environmental department.

 

I looked into it when I was considering getting pet micro piggies, but OH put his foot down :lol:

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