Our new pig!!

mdueal · « **on:** June 24, 2008, 12:46 »

Ok - this is not chicken related. But thought you may want to see some photos!!

We got our pig two weeks ago! He is a black berkshire and is sooooooooo cute. We have gone halves with some neighbours as apparently you cant just have one pig as they get lonely (plus they have enough spare land!)

Ours is the smaller one called smokey and theirs is called george (after a little boy that our neighbour's son does not like at nursery!)

We got them at around 12 weeks when they were weaned onto pig nuts and wormed then we raise them for a further 12 weeks before the farmer takes them off again and we get 60Kg of prepackaged pork back!! (We need a new freezer!)

edited by munty dounle post

Travelling in style in the back of the car on arrival day:

Pig handling lesson one (yes it did poop down his trousers and fill up his pocket!):

Munching the grass in their new enclosure:

Our little smokey:

When the neighbour's four year old was asked at nursery why the pig was called smokey his answer, after some thought, was 'I dont know - ive never seen him with any cigarettes'

muntjac · « **Reply #1 on:** June 24, 2008, 13:04 »

maybe behind the bike shed

bockhamptoners · « **Reply #2 on:** June 24, 2008, 13:16 »

lovely piggies

really gross pooing in the pockrt though

gardgydja · « **Reply #3 on:** June 24, 2008, 20:40 »

How lovely! I will have pigs on my smallholding, dh be damned!!

They really are wonderful creatures. It will be a wrench when they head off to be slaughtered but think of the lovely life they will have had, with the sun on their backs and plenty of tlc.

Well done and post more pics!

Kate and her Ducks · « **Reply #4 on:** June 24, 2008, 20:44 »

I'm with you, gardgydja. Lord knows when that will be though. Don't think even Vember will try convincing me I can fit a pig in the garden of my Liverpool semi

peggyprice · « **Reply #5 on:** June 24, 2008, 20:50 »

OH was ahead of me on this one ... :!: Though sending them away after just 12 weeks seems such a shame ...

Fifitrix · « **Reply #6 on:** June 24, 2008, 23:27 »

Tut tut :roll: now I want one of those!!! :roll: :roll:

R66VEY · « **Reply #7 on:** June 25, 2008, 08:01 »

im thinking about getting two pigs intending for slaughter !! whats a good breed you recomend??

mdueal · « **Reply #8 on:** June 25, 2008, 09:37 »

Quote from: "R66VEY"

im thinking about getting two pigs intending for slaughter !! whats a good breed you recomend??

I am by no means an expert - we just found a very friendly local farmer who sells pigs in small numbers to people like us who want to raise them ourselves. They just happen to be Black Berkshires as they were what he had that would be the right age for when we wanted them. I cant even really advise you somewhere to go looking at the breeds.

I also think he is quite unusual in only selling them at 12 weeks old - I think you would be able to buy younger weaners more cheaply and have them for longer - but the downside would be heating and weaning them yourselves - plus you would get way more attached to the little babies