Pigs
Pig shower
Wednesday 14 May, 2008
It was hot here last weekend so we rigged up a shower for the pigs. They like it a lot, as you can see!
A shower for the pigs from asmallholder on Vimeo.
Settling pigs
Tuesday 8 April, 2008
Our pigs have been with us for just over a week now, and are settling in nicely. For those of you who are getting pigs for the first time, here are a few tips on getting them accustomed to your presence:
- Talk to them all the time. Pigs respond well to voice, so if you use a consistent call with them before feeding they will learn to come when you use that call. Rosemary uses a slightly high-pitched 'pig-pig-pig' to call them.
- Feed them around you. We feed our pigs on the ground by simply scattering their nuts - if you scatter them around yourself and crouch or stand still the pigs' desire to reach their food will trump their nervousness of your presence every time. This is a great opportunity to get a hand on their back or head so they can learn how nice it is to be scratched.
- Scratch them. Pigs love to be scratched - start with the back of the head and the back. If you work around to under their bellies they will topple over and just lie on their sides.
- Feed them treats. We hand-feed them apple slices (see vid below, apologies for the wind on the sound again, it is very windy here!) which they love.
Tamworth weaners getting apples from The Accidental Smallholder on Vimeo.
New arrivals
Sunday 30 March, 2008
Yesterday we popped up to Crieff to pick up this year's weaners - 3 8-week old Tamworth boars. Everything went very smoothly, they have settled in very quickly and found their ark within an hour of arrival. (They like the ark so much they stayed in it until nearly midday today!)
We introduced the dogs to them and then left them to their own devices. Tess will be obsessed with them for a month or two, Meg is indifferent.
We made a little video of the day for your enjoyment.
Pig preparation. Now with added video.
Monday 24 March, 2008
I can't believe it's over four years since my last post titled 'Pig Preparation'. A lot has changed since then, as the photo on that entry shows compared to this video.
Anyway, we've got 3 Tamworth boars coming at the weekend, 8 weeks old and depending on us to provide them with a nice home. As you can see we've been busy getting the pens ready, painting the ark and making sure they're secure.
Kune Kune looking for a new home
Tuesday 8 January, 2008
A work colleague of mine is looking to rehome two, one-year old Kune Kune gilts. They are ginger and black. Currently they are living near Port of Menteith.
If anyone is interested, can you contact me asap and I'll put you in touch.
Now the pigs are gone...
Monday 22 October, 2007
we've started clearing down the pens and the hut. And washing the "snak-a-ball", which always makes me a bit sad.
Anyway, it was a nice day yesterday, so Dan and I spent a few hours clearing down the pig pens. I cleaned out the hut - a dusty but not unpleasant job. Although the pigs don't dirty in the hut, they do trail in a lot of mud, so I like to get this cleaned off now, rather than having damp mud lie on the wood all winter. All the straw was swept out into one of the pens - a combination of weather, hens and other wildlife will soon see it gone into the soil.
Oxford Sandy and Black weaners for sale
Thursday 18 October, 2007
Ready three weeks or so; £40 each. Contact Peter on 01360 440480 (Ballat Crossroads, by Balfron)
Yummy apple slices
Saturday 5 May, 2007
It's important that you get your pigs tame, so that they can be relatively easily handled. We've found that the easiest way to do this is to bribe them with food. And the best food is apple slices. Pigs seem to have a natural affinity for apples!!
So here we are tempting the pigs with apple slices and reassuring them that we're not so bad.
New Tamworth weaners
Saturday 28 April, 2007
Rosemary headed off to Crieff this morning to collect our new Tamworth weaners. While she was away I secured their pen, fixing the chicken wire that last year's pigs lifted. We had an escapee last year, and wanted to prevent a repeat performance.
They arrived safely, and were soon rooting around their new home. We have two pens - the eastern pen, where they are now, has pretty good ground cover and excellent fencing with chicken wire; the western pen has good fencing, but with sheep netting, which pigs of this age can get through. Once they are too big to squeeze through the sheep netting they will be moved west, onto ground which was sown with grazing rye in the autumn: it's already thigh-high, so they will have great fun when they get in.
Tess & the pigs
Sunday 11 February, 2007
A video of Tess having fun with the pigs back in 2003 which I came across yesterday while going through old photos. Apologies for the poor quality, I'll try to improve it.
