Author Topic: OSB (Read 7304 times)

HappyHippy · « **Reply #15 on:** July 19, 2011, 09:54:51 am »

I have to admit I was a tad upset at Lesmahagow show when the Mangalitza's and the Kune Kunes were put in the same class, but the real killer for me was not to have either breed in the ring when judging overall show champion

It's horses for courses, but I agree with Oaklands - there is a place for them in the meat market and the pedigree show ring.
I know we've all got our favourites - but don't dis' the little guys - and lets not start pigling rivalry

robert waddell · « **Reply #16 on:** July 19, 2011, 09:59:47 am »

steady on there oaklands mangalitzas are Hungarian and that area they are also breed for lard (70 litres of rendered fat from a mature pig )
nearly 400 pigs at yorkshire and no mangalitzas far better of competing against pigs from the same breed as bunched all together
same happens in sheep classes now if you want a weekend of adult fun with the bidie in or anyone Else's get a cooked mangalitza ham with some horseraddish sauce yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmm even the fat melts in your mouth

Fowgill Farm · « **Reply #17 on:** July 19, 2011, 10:12:20 am »

Probably wrong saying they are a novelty but they are not a British Breed and i'm tired of people trying to pass them off as the saviour of the Lincs Curly coat! and i don't see why they should be in the BPA after all its the BRITISH pig association but then the BPA is another story and they'll take money from anyone! and then theres the argument that if Mangas are in the BPA why can't KK's, as HH says everyone has their favourites and they're just not my cup of tea. At least OSB's do have some British provenance and its only recent that the BPA has reconised them.
Mandy

oaklandspigs · « **Reply #18 on:** July 19, 2011, 01:28:33 pm »

Good debate !

Robert - Yes I totally agree with you that where quantities allow, then breed classes should take place, I am always happiest when my saddlebacks are being judged against other saddlebacks. Unfortunately whilst this can happen in some parts of the country or at larger shows, and where numbers are not sufficient I would always prefer mixed classes than no classes, or judging of classes of 1 or 2 pigs.

Mandy - perhaps I over reacted to your choice of words, but am all for encouraging people to show pigs. And I am as keen as you are that they are not a substitute curly coat !!

Having showed various other animals and found the handlers to be bitchy, devious, and selfish, it has been a real eye opener in the last couple of years to find out that pig showing is different. We've met a really nice crowd of pig people, who help each other and are as pleased when you win, as we are when beaten by a cracking pig. Many of the sows we go to are small affairs and individual breed classes are not practical.

However showing whilst fun, and good discipline for ensuring that you keep best for breeding, is for me only half the point. Getting the public interested in preserving all breeds of pig, mainly by reconnecting with their food and eating them, but also getting some into pig keeping is vital if we are not to just keep museum pieces. To this end I would much prefer JSP and her Mangas at a show than not. Our Mangalitza at the South of England show generated a lot of interest from the general piblic, and sparked lots of conversations where we were able to explain about where pork comes from, conversations that would not have started without her.

Final thought - just about every other farm animal (or indeed any animals that people show) has breds from all over the world eg the Simmental cow from switzerland, Texel sheep from Holland, Angora goat from Turkey, countless poultry breeds etc. so why should pig showing not represent the breeds that are kept in the UK, not just those that originated?

Crikey this horse is getting awfully high, so time to get off it!!:)

Fowgill Farm · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2011, 09:46:22 am »

It would seem the animal world is as cosmopolitan as the british population has now become and whilst the majority are welcome i personally feel though that their inclusion should not be to the detriment of our own native breeds whatever the animal species.
Likewise i am all for encouraging people to go showing, as you say piggy people are a different breed and so willing to help each other out.
And just as an addition to this at Driffield show this week a party of school children came to the pig tent and i got talking to their teacher and she told me they had just been to see the cattle and one child had asked her why the horse had horns!, City kids she said just have no idea (they'd come from Hull) about farm animals or where their food comes from. A very sad endeightment of todays society and education. Which makes it the more important that we get out there with our animals and promote what they're all about.

Mr Pig · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:59:36 am »

I would just add that mixed classes are hard enough for judges anyway but if the likes of KKs and Mangalitzas are included it can become more so. Wherever possible they should be kept seperate as their breed standards are very different from those of our native breeds. This is as much for the benefit of their owners as their competitors as it is very unlikely that a KK could beat a half decent native pig in such circumstances. Think of a class of working hunters with a Shetland pony among them.

Tiva Diva · « **Reply #21 on:** July 22, 2011, 04:20:21 pm »

Point taken, Mr Pig, but if we want to show our mangalitzas we have to enter them in whichever class the show decides, so they may be up against KKs or rarer native British breeds.
And Mandy, I would never claim our mangalitzas are Lincolnshire curly coats, though I do tell the story of the curly coat to the inquisitive visitors the mangalitzas get so they realise how important it is to prevent other native British breeds from becoming extinct. We raise mangalitzas because they make beautiful charcuterie, so they may be novel, but they're not novelty!

Fowgill Farm · « **Reply #22 on:** July 22, 2011, 06:34:12 pm »

Tiva Diva,
well explained and just how it should be but as i said mangas are just not my cup of tea, stroked one of JSP's at the aforementioned show and the feel just put my teeth on edge like chalk squealed down a blackboard! Yuk. My GOS can get very hairy in winter but nothing like that it just gave me the cringes but then i'm the same about things with feathers which is why we don't have hens! Guess i'm just strange.

Each to his own its what makes the world go round

Mandy

robert waddell · « **Reply #23 on:** July 22, 2011, 07:55:11 pm »

fowgill i clicked on the results of driffield and they listed them as coloured pigs white pigs and pure breed pigs
tiva diva one thing explaining the demise of the linconshire curly coats it is wrong for any plonker on the telly passing them of as something they are not anybody got a pure white horse i could cobble a unicorn together

Padge · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2011, 07:47:41 am »

There was a programme on the telly a while back with a Lincolnshire estate i forget which claiming to have the ONLY surviving herd of Lincolnshire curly coat pigs

with visitors flocking to see them etc etc etc

Robert you are doubtless right about the hype and the vulnerability of those less well informed but keen to know