[hillfooter]

Well not quite yet but probably in August.  These are our first venture into pigs the idea being a few pigs now and then Turkeys in the same housing for Christmas.  They aren't really my area of expertise as I concentrate on the two legged animals but my wife Carole wanted these so here they are.  We've had them almost two months now and I believe they are Hampshire Lop crosses, two boars and a sow but if there are any pig experts out there perhaps they could venture an opinion..... on the breeding as we do know how to tell the sexs.  The girls are the ones who keep popping off to do some shopping.

We haven't had any issues as yet with them and it seems pretty straight sailing compared to chickens but if anyone who has pig experience would like to pass on their tips for pig growing I'd be happy to hear them.

Thanks
HF

[Yorkie]

Lovely pic HF 

[Spana]

All I can say is, I hope you know what you have let yourselves in for.  Pigs are so intelligent and friendly and lovely to have about,  it will break your heart to send them off in August

[hillfooter]

You're probably right.  I've just culled 5 cocks from this years hatch and that was bad enough.   I try not to dwell on it.

HF

[poppies]

Hi we keep a couple of pigs for the freezer every year, oh thinks yours look like they could have a bit of gloucestershire(sp) old spot in them, with the boars dont let them go past 6 months or you will get boar taint in the meat.

We feed ours pig grower and as much fresh veg from the veg plot as we can, they love marrows, as Spana said they are very friendly and I honestly did'nt think I would be able to eat them the first time round, but when they came back all jointed and packaged I did'nt look at them as being the little pigs I had fed and cared for.

Dont name them my daughter named the first two,  porker and rasher and then would'nt eat them.

[Wild Pony]

Well done on having some pigs HF. We had four Large Blacks, all sows, namely Pig, PigPig, PigPigPig and Whitefoot, well Whitefoot remains, but her peers were delish. The comment about boar meat being tainted is correct, always best to get the "plums" harvested at about a day old with boars, but all is not lost, as they can go for sausages/hogs pudding and other types of dishes where you spice and herb to flavour it.

We plan on selling our Whitefoot into the oldest profession soon.........well when she wakes up eh! lololol she really must be the most laid back pig in pigdom, 

[joyfull]

wish I had room for a pig or 2 and a few sheep oh and a couple of dexters - just enough to keep us going throughout the year  . it's not too much to ask for is? 

[Wild Pony]

Well here's a piccie of our Whitefoot....awake...YAY!!!! I'm 5'7" and she reaches my hips in height. She has her ancestry in a Large Black show herd from Mudford, Somerset.
She and her sisters (plus many more) were part of a welfare removal, but we never really had health problems with them, apart from a few lodgers, but we now keep her on a locally produced chop straw bed that has been treated with eucalyptus and we don't need to dust her or the bedding. Happy Days!

[hillfooter]

wish I had room for a pig or 2 and a few sheep oh and a couple of dexters - just enough to keep us going throughout the year  . it's not too much to ask for is? 

I certainly wouldn't recommend sheep Joy.  We had 30 a couple of years ago and they were a nightmare.  You need really good fences.  I was constantly getting calls that they were in the lane.  The stupid animals pushed themselves into the hedges and got tangled up in the brambles and if you've every tried to wrestle with a sheep which is trapped in brambles and had churned the ground into a muddy quadmire you can hardly stand up in, whilst you try to manhandle and cut it free when it's intent on pushing every deeper into the hedge then you'd not want to see another sheep either.  I have nothing but admiration for shearers who can manhandle them and shear them in a matter of minutes all day continuously.  Sheep are much stronger than you imagine and you need to be pretty strong to get the better of them.
Ours despite having 11 acres of grass to graze prefered to eat the ivy in the hedge along the lane and constantly needed rounding up.  An electric fence was the only solution we found.

Thanks everyone for your posts and advice we're loving the pigs so far, they are great characters and seem easy to look after even less trouble than poultry.  I've resisted the temptation to name them so far
  
Here's a picture of the ones we had which is as close as I want to get to them in future!
Best wishes
HF

[hillfooter]

Well here's a piccie of our Whitefoot....awake...YAY!!!! I'm 5'7" and she reaches my hips in height. She has her ancestry in a Large Black show herd from Mudford, Somerset.
She and her sisters (plus many more) were part of a welfare removal, but we never really had health problems with them, apart from a few lodgers, but we now keep her on a locally produced chop straw bed that has been treated with eucalyptus and we don't need to dust her or the bedding. Happy Days!

Lovely photo Wild Pony.  I must say I'm quite taken with them so far.  Carole is the one who decided to get them and she's done all the swatting on their upkeep though my daughter did her universitity degree project on a pig husbandry methodology so she's reasonably clued up.

Here's a recent photo of a couple of ours making a wallow after the hose came off the automatic drinker over night!

[Wild Pony]

Lolol, and I wonder how that happened??? Pigs are notorious for "helping", lololol
Mines currently asleep (again) in her ark as its raining. Boy can that pig snore!!!!

[winstonwobble]

Just taken my 2 saddleback girls to the slaughter house get them back on Thursday you know what i will be having for tea pork chops and sausages yummy nothing taste's as nice as your own pork and they have done 6 food miles their whole life

[joyfull]

but HF I really love roast lamb 

[debih]

We have a couple of pigs - our first venture into pig keeping.  A friend has some land on the hillside opposite our house (12 acres) where they are building a house of their own.  In January we decided to have a go at pig keeping together.

She has two Tamworths and we were due to have two Gloucester Old Spot Berkshire X but unfortunately one of them was tossed in the air by the sow so we only had one.  We managed to get hold of a Middle White and the three breeds live quite happily together.

Ours are due to go to slaughter in September although as we are away for a week we are hoping that they will hold on until October (we need to start asking for advice in the next couple of months as to how we know when they are ready to go).

We are already talking about next year.  We have ear marked a larger area on their land and are intending on having 10 or 12 pigs between us.

Fortunately we have 3 pig arcs.  We only use one at the moment for the four of them (they are big arcs given to us for free from a farmer that was retiring).  The other two need some work on them to make them water tight but it means that we will have plenty of space for them.

I have am really enjoying having them - they are so intelligent.  But I always keep in the back of mind what they are there for!

[hillfooter]

Glad you are enjoying keeping them.  I must say our three have been no trouble at all and have kept us amused watching their antics.  They have their own "swimming pool"  mostly mud and water which this hot weather they enjoy a quick dip in.  I'd certainly have them again.  When they leave I'm hoping to get 6 turkeys in the same housing.

We weren't lucky enough to have housing given but at least it's in good shape for next year too.

We were quite surprised at the amount of paperwork we needed to complete to transport them.  Also don't leave it too long to book them a slot at the slaughter house as we hear they can be very busy and also we have the butcher already lined up too.

You shouldn't let boars go beyong 6 months as the meat taints once they become sexually mature.
 HF