Diary

Pigs and Snak-a-ballRSS feed

Posted: Monday 25 August, 2008

by Dan at 11:52am in Pigs 3 comments Comments closed

When we first got pigs we soon discovered that feeding time was over very quickly. Rosemary had the great idea of using a horse toy, a Snak-a-ball, to keep them interested after their trough was empty, and to give them some exercise. We've always introduced new pigs to the ball since then, and as you can see from the video they love it:

Pigs with Snak-a-ball from The Accidental Smallholder on Vimeo.

The ball is made of very thick plastic, so it's pig-proof. The only problems are when the ground is very wet, and the ball gets clogged with mud, and the rare occasion that they get it wedged into a corner and can't get it out. If you've got pigs we'd recommend getting one, your pigs will thank you for it.

Comments

Kimberley

Tuesday 26 August, 2008 at 10:47am

Such a great idea! Could watch it for hours, and can't wait to do it for my own ....someday...*sigh*

Could you tell me (again) how big your pig "paddocks" are? and also how long you keep the three pigs on there...and also (sorry) what weight you got the pigs at and what weight (and how long it takes) you'll take them to slaughter?

Are you concerned that the paddocks don't get enough rest between stints with pigs on them?

THanks again, and great to see you up and posting again.

Cheers,

Kimberley

Dan

Tuesday 26 August, 2008 at 11:20am

Glad you enjoyed it Kimberley.

Our pens are about 30x40 feet. They get rested over-winter, and we sow grazing rye or something similar late in the summer, once the pigs have gone to slaughter. We're not too concerned about the ground not getting enough rest, although we are getting fewer hard frosts than we used to, so it might become a problem. Most years we only keep 2 pigs, this year is an exception with 3 but we'll be back to 2 next year.

We get our pigs at betweemn 8-12 weeks old, and they go to slaughter at 32-33 weeks.

Hope this helps!

Michelle

Tuesday 26 August, 2008 at 12:30pm

Great video! What an amazing location you are in - the view is wonderful - M

Comments are now closed for this post.

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS