Piggy books

[jonnybeegood]

Hi all, i have been toying with rearing a couple of pigs for food each year, does anyone keep pigs? Do you know of the best books or places for info on best breeds & where to start? I know nothing about it so would like information on regulations etc as well as best feeds/ space needed etc etc.

 

[MikeT]

The regulations have changed recently. You have to have a registered holding with a CPH no (County Parish Holding) issued by DEFRA. You also have to inform the Animal Heath in Your area that you are keeping pigs (also sheep goats cattle and poultry). You also have to register with the electronic pig movement organisation . BPEX

https://www.gov.uk/bpex-online-pig-movement

This must be done before you move any pigs onto your holding.

I have not kept pigs for some years, but I was told the killing and butchery charge is now quite high at £100 +.

I cannot recommend any books on Pig husbandry, Suggest a search on the South American River site.

Mike

 

[beehive1234]

DEFRA have made it almost impossible for ordinary people to keep pigs. The cost is too high.
It was once a right for everyone to be able to be self sufficient. Alas the fat cats creaming off the cream from established businesses don't want any more outlets.
I loved the programme Tudor Farming where they built a pig sty from lime and stone, with wine bottles in the floor for thermal insulation.
Feed for chickens has doubled in the last few years, I believe their is a 'plan' to stop the independents, so big business can enslave us all.
This is extending to beekeeping now too.
It could be commerce gone MAD.
Or a unwritten rule that all must be sold through a supermarket.
I think if, and it is a big IF, the internet is free and open, we should buy and sell through the internet. As individuals rather than being lazy and relying on someone else to do the selling.
"Come buy my ............."
I am wanting to buy.

 

[Glenviewbee]

We keep pigs once a year, taking them from weaner to finisher at about 6/7 months old. They then go to the freezer.....
We attended a one day pig course way back when which was very informative as well as good fun. Otherwise a very good resource is the forum at www dot accidentalsmallholder dot net/forum - they are a very friendly bunch and more than happy to help with all newbie questions.
For our own part we built an ark ourselves, use electric tape for fencing (you have to 'educate' the weaners at the beginning but they are very quick learners. We get our feed from our local agric store, in 5 years have only had to have the vet out once, and we have built up quite a good relationship with our local abbattoir. Kill and cut costs are about £50 per pig. Basically a pig costs about £150 to take from weaner to meat taking into account weaner cost, feed and slaughter costs - NOT counting labour or setting up.
I love looking after the pigs, they are great characters. The meat is FAB we have done air dried ham as well as the more standard ham, bacon, sausages etc. This year I am giving chorizo and salami making a go.
Take the plunge - it's addictive

 

[jonnybeegood]

We keep pigs once a year, taking them from weaner to finisher at about 6/7 months old. They then go to the freezer.....
We attended a one day pig course way back when which was very informative as well as good fun. Otherwise a very good resource is the forum at www dot accidentalsmallholder dot net/forum - they are a very friendly bunch and more than happy to help with all newbie questions.
For our own part we built an ark ourselves, use electric tape for fencing (you have to 'educate' the weaners at the beginning but they are very quick learners. We get our feed from our local agric store, in 5 years have only had to have the vet out once, and we have built up quite a good relationship with our local abbattoir. Kill and cut costs are about £50 per pig. Basically a pig costs about £150 to take from weaner to meat taking into account weaner cost, feed and slaughter costs - NOT counting labour or setting up.
I love looking after the pigs, they are great characters. The meat is FAB we have done air dried ham as well as the more standard ham, bacon, sausages etc. This year I am giving chorizo and salami making a go.
Take the plunge - it's addictive

Thankyou for the great reply , do you have a preference of pig? A neighbour of ours used to keep Tamworths, i guess i am thinking more about flavour here rather than looks or personalities ;-)

 

[Glenviewbee]

We haven't been particularly picky about breeds - bascally it has been whatever is available when we wanted them. We've had Gloucester Old Spot, GOS x middle white, GOS x Oxford Sandy Black, Tamworth x middle white and landrace x pietrain. The GOS breeds have definitely had more fat on them with very tasty meat, but the feedback received about our last lot's products has been very thumbs up as well so maybe it is more to do with surroundings, feed and environment.
The biggest difference we have found between the breeds has been whether they are lop eared or prick eared. Lop eared ones have tended to be a bit more hesitant when in new surroundings - we have a pig paddock where we start them off in a smaller part of it (say 10m by 10m) then gradually increase the area. The lop pigs have taken several hours to work out that the electric fence has moved, but the prick eared pigs are exploring the new area pretty much as soon as we move the fence.

 

[enrico]

We are on our fourth year of pigs, we keep them as a co-op. That means that we can have half a pig if we want it. This year we have five. We prefer Oxford sandy blacks, they don't grow to a huge size but are quite friendly. The main thing is to get a good breeder. We visit the farm we get them from to make sure we like the way they are brought up. We take them from about 10 weeks old and grow them on until they are between six and eight months depending on weight. We take them to the abbatoir for killing and splitting in half but do all the butchering ourselves as this cuts costs. Easy after the first time and there are good videos on the net. Your pigs need a shelter, water and we feed growers pellets. Be aware they need electric fence training and a good electric fence if you don't have posts and rails.
The most difficult thing is to get them in the trailer when the time comes, you need to train them to follow a bucket of feed. The first year it took us hours to get them in the trailer, we thought we were stuck with them for ever, now it is easy! They canbite so be careful! But generally they just want food.
It isn't necessarily much cheaper to get a pig through to the end but it isn't more expensive and you know they have had a good life. The meat is so much sweeter, they dig your ground for you and are time wasters. We smoke our own bacon and hams, we cut joints to sizes that suit us and make our own sausages. Well worth the effort and so very satisfying
Books, try 'starting with pigs 'by Andy case
Pm me if you want more help
E

 

[beehive1234]

I wish I could keep pigs

 

[enrico]

I wish I could keep pigs

Good point! Forgot to mention, they are much happier in groups of three or more!

 

[jonnybeegood]

Thanks Enrico, how much land would 2 pigs need? I have 1 3/4 acres but use this to walk dogs on at times & fly my hawk in training, I wouldn't want the pigs to have it all but I though maybe I could rotate them around each year & the ground they dig up I would be planting wild flowers so eventually I would have the whole field as a meadow.

 

[enrico]

Thanks Enrico, how much land would 2 pigs need? I have 1 3/4 acres but use this to walk dogs on at times & fly my hawk in training, I wouldn't want the pigs to have it all but I though maybe I could rotate them around each year & the ground they dig up I would be planting wild flowers so eventually I would have the whole field as a meadow.

That's what we do, they turn their area into mud! They don't NEED much room, it depends what quality of life you want them to have. Two pigs, probably about quarter of an acre. Girls are best, boy pigs can be strong meat if you keep them too long. There is a perfect weight you want to get your breed of pig to and then they go.
E

 

[enrico]

Deleted, sorry

 

[MikeT]

We keep pigs once a year, taking them from weaner to finisher at about 6/7 months old. They then go to the freezer.....
We attended a one day pig course way back when which was very informative as well as good fun. Otherwise a very good resource is the forum at www dot accidentalsmallholder dot net/forum - they are a very friendly bunch and more than happy to help with all newbie questions.
For our own part we built an ark ourselves, use electric tape for fencing (you have to 'educate' the weaners at the beginning but they are very quick learners. We get our feed from our local agric store, in 5 years have only had to have the vet out once, and we have built up quite a good relationship with our local abbattoir. Kill and cut costs are about £50 per pig. Basically a pig costs about £150 to take from weaner to meat taking into account weaner cost, feed and slaughter costs - NOT counting labour or setting up.
I love looking after the pigs, they are great characters. The meat is FAB we have done air dried ham as well as the more standard ham, bacon, sausages etc. This year I am giving chorizo and salami making a go.
Take the plunge - it's addictive

£50 is cheap for slaughter and cutting, I had to pay £35 for a small lamb last year.

 

[enrico]

We pay £25 for slaughter of a whole pig and splitting into two halves, they also come out with scraped skins to remove hairs if you happen to have a hairy variety. Butchery costs depend on joints, sausages, boned and rolled joints etc which is why we do our own.
E

 

[Worldsend]

first make sure you can find local slaughterman- mine does my pigs at home (can only be used for home consumption)
Local abattoir 1 1/2 hours away will only take a minimum of 5 animals