[Roughlee Handled]

I have no idea what there weight is at the moment. 

[Roughlee Handled]

This morning I had a lie in so the pigs where not fed till 08:00 rather than at 06:30 I could not find them in there Ark. But found them sunning themselves in the summer house.  I had to apply the factor 40 and they did not budge.

[Vember]

Awww cutie bacon butties

Rough they look like they've doubled in size since

This is them now

Bless Hp & Ketchup 

Sarah

[chickenlady]

This morning I had a lie in so the pigs where not fed till 08:00 rather than at 06:30 I could not find them in there Ark. But found them sunning themselves in the summer house.  I had to apply the factor 40 and they did not budge.

I do hope you gave them tummys a scratch!  :happy:

[FCG]

Can't wait till the morning! Also i won't be running around like a puppy Rob. Missed that .

I'm only furry at full moon, so you should be aright Stu.

[potter]

Pigs are possibly my favorite animals. I regularly go and see them at the Essington fruit farm near to where I live just to give them a bit of fuss before they turn into chops. So I am going to give yours an aahhh and some xxx (kisses) because the poor little loves dont know whats coming to them.

That said im havin a bacon sarnie in a mo !

[poultrygeist]

Happy as pigs in muck 

Hope everyone has a good time up there. When are they arriving ?

Rob

[FCG]

We arrived at erm... i forget now and then Peapod+ arrived. Merry fun was had by all (including the pigs). Stu is definitely going to be dead soon however

[Roughlee Handled]

Oh the shed saga continues.

[nicchick]

Roughlee, before the shed war commences I wondered if you could help me out with a little bit of info about rearing pigs?
We are in talks with some other plot holders about getting some pigs as a "pig club" like they had during the war. I wondered if you had any idea of the costs ie. feed and slaughterhouse costs, butchery etc. in relation to the meat produced. I'm not too worried as it is the quality of the meat and welfare that I'm most concerned about but it would be nice to have a guide for other "pig club" members. Loving the photos. Cheers, Nic.

[Roughlee Handled]

I am looked at these costs.
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/articles/pigs/costs/
Item                      Unit cost   No.   Total
Tamworth weaners     £35.00      2      £70.00
Feed                         £7.25       38     £275.50
Straw                       £2.50        4      £10.00
Slaughter                 £23.00       2      £46.00
Butchery                  £20           3      £60.00
                                           Total   £461.50
The feed I am giving them is £8.50 its not organic or anything special.  It sounds allot but then you work out thats approx 50 kilos of meat per porker. You will not get bacon off them as they need to be over a year old.  Pigs I must say are simpler that chickens.
This is my first time so I am still estimating.
I did have a thought the other day in the shower that pigs would be good at clearing allotments either unused an over grown or cleaning out after a growing season as they turn over the soil and fertilise it as well!!!!! You could hire out your porkers.  I must say that my best idea so far was asking my local corner shop for all there out of date veg, was excellent as I had 6 bags of "waste" (just from Saturday) and it filled there stomachs good and proper.

[nicchick]

That is brilliant, thanks for that! Just to give us an idea, you are doing so well with yours. The fruit and veg must be so good for them too. The bit of ground we have in mind was a plot years ago but has become very overgrown so it would be perfect for them. We have spoken to about half of the plotholders so far and they are in favour so wish us luck with the others! I got so excited yesterday that I made myself feel ill - how sad. Thanks again for all the info, I had a feeling you would have done the number crunching.... Nic.

[Roughlee Handled]

One major issue is do you or your allotment have a defra holding number? You will need one before anyone can sell you a pig.  How big a space do you have?  I am keeping mine of a 1/4 of an acre at the moment. I can still see grass !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rubellite]

How big a space do you have?  I am keeping mine of a 1/4 of an acre at the moment. I can still see grass !!!!!!!!!!!!!

You won't be able to when you've got two black eyes!

[nicchick]

Hi, our allotments are really old and in the past had all sorts of animals but I didn't know about the defra number - I suppose that's our next step after getting the go-ahead.
I am friends with a pig vet so can find out what to do. We aren't rushing into it and it will be a long term thing, so hearing how you are doing is really useful. Thanks again, Nic.