I'm still at the dreaming and planning stage of getting a small holding, trying to save up the money and find somewhere suitable. While that's going on, I've been pondering what I would like to do with the land, and wondering just how feasible what I have in my mind is.
The basic plan is to have a pair of sows, from which we produce a litter of piglets each year, raise most of these, maybe sell a few as weaners. Keep the meat from a few of these, and sell the rest (either to friends & family or other suitable outlet). Obviously 2 sows can produce a lot of piglets. But to have less than 2 sows that over winter seems unfair upon them. Is this a reasonable basic plan?
Can you have two sows with piglets in the same field, or do they need a separate enclosure each? How do you calculate the area needed for two pigs plus their offspring?
Is AI a plausible option for such small scale or would I need to consider a boar?
Thanks
Julia