Author Topic: Getting started (Read 2990 times)

reedos · « **on:** October 28, 2011, 06:44:29 pm »

The goats arrive tomorrow, the chickens are already here - now it's onto the pigs.

What I'm after is tip top tips.

What mistakes did you make and want to tell me about so I don't make the same?

I've never had pigs before - haven't built their enclosure yet and haven't quite decided on a "pig plan" yet. But am thinking of maybe getting a couple of weaners just for meat to begin with and then see where we go from there. Would quite like to have rare breeds of well all our livestock really ultimately. So over to you

oaklandspigs · « **Reply #1 on:** October 28, 2011, 07:56:13 pm »

Reedos,

Great that you're doing the research first !

Starting with a couple is a good idea, pigs need company of their own kind, and if you buy lots of weaners to start with, they are all ready at the same time, so meat overload! Two will sort the first without the problems of the second.

Breed wise, every breed society will tell you that there's is the best, so go with what you like the look of, and of course crossbreds (from two pure parents of different breeds) can have the benefit of hybrid vigour ie grow faster, so don't cross them off your list automatically. Pigs with lop ears - ears going downward such as Gloucester Old Spot, British Saddleback, Oxford Sandy & Black, Large Black, rather than sticking up ear breeds eg Middle White, Tamworth) tend in our view to be more docile so make better pigs for first timers. But the Tamworth fans on this site (our breeeding tamworth Tabatha is a fantastic pig) will tell you that many first timers get them and don't regret it.

Top tip from me would be to buy our book which you can buy from our website, which covers everyting you need to know about getting, housing, feeding, caring, and the regulations, through to when to take for meat, what you get, and leading into breeding and selling weaners. Ok advert over

and other pig books are available - the Haynes Pig Manual by our friend Liz Shankland is another you could buy !!

You will enjoy both keeping pigs, and the fantastic meat that they produce.

So research and have fun with pigs

HappyHippy · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2011, 09:31:26 pm »

Ditto everything Oaklands says - start with something you like the look of, as long as your fencing's good you'll be fine with Tamworths

But they are more 'inquisitive' than lop eared breeds - make sure they don't see where the food is stored

For 2 or 3 weaners you'd be looking at 20m x 20m as a minimum up to around half to a third of an acre. How you fence it depends on your plans. If you're going to rotate them to a new patch each time (handy for ground clearing and minimising the time it takes for the ground to recover once the pigs are off it) then electric fencing will probably be the most flexible. If they come from a place where they've not had electric fencing you'll need to rig up a small 'training' area - just something solid behind the electric fence, so that when they get their first shock they have to go backwards away from it and not forwards through it or you can hold them and touch their snout to the wire (giving yourself a shock in the process

) But if they're having a permanent pen (bearing in mind what your soil is like - heavy clay and lots of rain means regular rotating of paddocks

) then stock fencing with a strand of barbed wire at the bottom works. Post and rail is another good, strong option (a wee bit more pricey) but again a strand of barbed wire round the bottom will stop them rooting under it

Whatever fencing you choose have a small area next to their arc where you can contain them for the first week or so - until they get used to you and associate you with the food bucket, this makes it so much easier to gain their trust and get them to follow you (or more precisely, the bucket

) if they ever need moved (or happen to escape

)
For your first pigs it's always worth buying them from a local, friendly breeder - one who is happy to give you advice and show you round - this means you have a local point of contact if you run into any difficulties.
As for the rare breed part - pretty much all the pig breeds are on the RBST watchlist. But Large Black & Berkshire are the rarest, so if you want to help a rare breed these would be the one's I'd advise (and I'm not biased in the slightest cos I've got Tamworths, Oxford Sandy & Blacks and Kune Kunes too

) but if you do want to ensure you're helping the breed - try to make sure it's birth notified weaners you buy, as cross breeds and offspring from unregistered pigs don't count towards the breed numbers.
I'm sure there's more I've missed, but I'm just back from a Brownie Halloween party and my head is pounding lol! I'll add any other bits when I remember them

HTH
Karen

cuckoo · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2011, 09:46:29 pm »

All good advice - we started with keeping a couple of weaners now 4 years later we have 2 sows and a boar. We like Oxford Sandy and Blacks but I must say I saw some Berkshire at Temple Newsam Farm, Leeds recently as I would be really tempted with them if we had more land etc.

Starting with Pigs by Andy Case is really useful - reasonable price and also contains all you need at the start.

Good Luck - but unless your ground is really free draining maybe best to get some in the spring!

Bioman · « **Reply #4 on:** October 29, 2011, 08:34:36 am »

I disagree with cuckoo on books, I have Andy Cases book and to say it lacks much useful detail, I would recommend you get it but also get a range of other books as they all are slightly different and more info. is definitely more!

OSB's are the first pig to have I can't recommend the breed more.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2011, 08:55:18 am »

I'm afraid I refer to the Andy Case book as 'the useless Andy Case book'. Having said which, it's a good overview for getting the idea before you start - but as soon as you actually have any pigs, get a better one.

The guides on this site are helpful - and at the bottom of the page there'll be some book recommendations, some of which will have comments against them made by the folks on this forum.

http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/pigs/

I love OSBs so that's what I have and am very happy with. I've crossed her with a Saddleback this time (due problems getting OSB semen) and the piglets are fabulous fit healthy active little bruisers who are growing like I can't believe!

Yes, a couple of weaners to start with is absolutely the way to begin.

As to top tips - well, actually I have found them a delight to keep and not at all difficult so far. (Fingers crossed I don't have to eat my words really soon!) The main tip is to be very careful not to overfeed them, or you will have pork that's all fat and not enough meat. I've been quite surprised at how well they grow on what doesn't look like a great deal of feed.

And as others have said, make sure they'll run to you / your bucket before you let 'em loose where, when they escape, they could be a danger to themselves or others. And it is when they escape - when they're small, it doesn't take much of a gap for them to squeeze through. They rootle for a living, so gaps will occur.

Bless 'em.

Have fun researching and deciding - and tell us what you get and when, with pictures!

robert waddell · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2011, 09:50:19 am »

every previous poster has made good comments and sound advice the only point to raise is the eventual breeding as with all decisions the choice is yours but please try to stay away from breedingpigs either pedigree or mongrel ones at least till the market for them improves
the volume of weaners that is being offloaded is unreal and the cast sow/boar market is overwhelmed with people reducing
i will refuse to be drawn on the book subject as my comments will offend

manian · « **Reply #7 on:** October 29, 2011, 09:53:13 am »

Quote from: oaklandspigs on October 28, 2011, 07:56:13 pm

Top tip from me would be to buy our book which you can buy from our website, which covers everyting you need to know about getting, housing, feeding, caring, and the regulations, through to when to take for meat, what you get, and leading into breeding and selling weaners. Ok advert over and other pig books are available - the Haynes Pig Manual by our friend Liz Shankland is another you could buy !!

we brought oaklands book and has proved very good

liz's book look good too but wasn't ready when we had our first batch.
either way ..... still have a steep learning curve when you get them but itsbrill

ramblerskitchen · « **Reply #8 on:** October 29, 2011, 10:05:17 am »

As always very good advise. The only thing that I would add, and I wish we had done this.
If you are building a permanent sty make sure that it is accessible from all the paddocks you have, but also designed so that you can shut off the area's you want to rest, so you are able to rotate the ground for your pigs but still have direct access to the sty.

Don't underestimate how much mess even 2 pigs will cause to land, and they so love being moved into a new area where the are able to root and turn over plants.

ambriel · « **Reply #9 on:** October 29, 2011, 10:20:42 am »

We got three Kune piglets at the beginning of the year and have had a great time getting to know them and learning about how to look after them. In fact I've just remembered that it's their birthday today!

Kunes are one of the smaller breeds and so a bit easier to handle than some of the others. They're prick-eared, very intelligent, and can be very naughty but they're also very rewarding and fun to be with.

We'll be sending one of ours off to slaughter soon and am anticipating a lot of very tasty pork.

HappyHippy · « **Reply #10 on:** October 29, 2011, 01:01:16 pm »

Kune Kuness are also much easier on your land, fences and arks too, mainly grazing rather than rooting and they require less hard feed (but more grass - half an acre for 2 as a minimum) they're slower growing but so much easier to handle than any other pig I've had. So often ruled out as a pork producer but they do definately provide fantastic pork and are well worth considering for first pigs

Karen (shameless Kune Kune addict

)