[Hash Hound]

Hello Everybody,   I appreciate everyone has their preferred breed of pig, but I am in need of some advice as to which pedigree pig(s) to go for as a "first timer" ??    We eat quite a lot of bacon and sausage and I would prefer a more docile breed due to my lack of experience.

I have read various magazines and books and have 2 or 3 different breeds in mind, and although I realise that I may be opening a "can of worms" here, I would appreciate some feedback from members who have lots of experience in these matters.   I will let you know which breed I have chosen once I have taken your advice.   

Hope to hear from you soon......

[Porterlauren]

For me, for a traditional breed which is hardy, docile, looks nice etc etc, it has to be saddle back, followed by OSB. Can either be bred pure of to a terminal sire.

[fsmnutter]

Our first pigs are kune kunes and they are fantastic.
Excellent friendly small pigs, that do well on much less food, including being better at grazing rather than digging up ground. We have sent several to the butcher and they make incredible sweet bacon, ham, sausages and joints. We have been very pleased with deadweights too, they produce a good ratio of meat to liveweight on about 1/4 the food you would have used on 'big pigs'

[oaklandspigs]

Generally go for a lop eared breed - Saddleback, GOS, OSB, Large black etc.

They tend to be more docile, and easier to handle !

[Sasha]

I've got Saddlebacks, Gloucester Old Spots and Middle Whites and the most laid back ones are the Middle Whites without a doubt.  Such a friendly and chilled out breed.  And then after them is the GOS (the Saddlebacks are tear aways!)

[devonlad]

We always stick to lop eared as they're sposed to be more docile. British lop our faves

[CharingPorkPantry]

Go Large Black! Really lovely pigs, beautiful bacon. They are, as has been said, docile due to their lopped ears. My big sow has been in her pen with one strand of electric tape and no energiser for the last month since it broke 

The babies can be mischievous but as soon as they learn about the fence etc. it just stops. I have had most of the rare breeds over the years and they all have their merits. Berkshires are generally pretty laid back guys in my experience. Big diggers though! 

[shotblastuk]

As an old pig farmer said to me once.'If you piss it off it'll have ya.' This was off course refering to any pig.
Pick the breed you like and treat them right. The easiest going sow can change personallities if there's piglets about or being made to do something they don't want to do. Always make sure you have an escape route!!
My preference is the Old Spot. Usually big dosy buggers,good size litters, good doer's outside(mine hate being in) and easy to please!!
Good luck in your venture

[Fowgill Farm]

Agree with shotblast GOS all the time
See www.gospbc.co.uk for more info
Mandy 

[TheSmilingSheep]

We had our first pigs last year - 2 Large Black weaners.  They learnt about the electric fence within 24 hours, and thereafter caused no problems at all.  They had plenty of space.  We took them off at about 23 weeks, and got back lovely meat - not remotely overly fatty (just the right amount of tasty fat!).  Large Blacks renowned as excellent bacon pigs - but everything we ate was fantastic.  This year we had two GOSs - also lovely.  Delicious meat.  Dug up the field a lot more.  Equally easy to handle.
Might be a good idea to see what's around locally, and also check with the breeders when they are likely to be selling (to see if/when it ties in with what you want to do....)
It's a fantastic thing to do - even though the last day is obviously a bit grim.
Good luck

[SallyintNorth]

I'm not hugely experienced with pigs, but have had OSB, OSB x Saddleback and Large Black.  The Large Blacks grew more slowly than the others, but were extremely biddable pigs (partly they'd been very well produced weaners - I got them off Happy Hippy) and, when we did get them away, the taste of the meat and bacon made up for the extra time they took.  Best-tasting sausages we've had from any of them 

In terms of great fun pigs to have around, grow well and taste superb, the OSB would get my vote. But they do test your fencing... whereas the LBs never escaped once.

[nutterly_uts]

I have OSB on my list for the future, they seem to be the right sort of temperament and size (and flavor!) for me They are promoted as an ideal smallholder pig in a lot of places

[RaisinHall Tamworths]

We personally prefer prick eared pigs, the lop eared variety we have had we've found awkward buggers to get anywhere! We have Tamworths, Hampshires and Pietrains. Tamworths are by far the easiest to deal with, ignore anyone who advises you not to get them for a first time pig. The Hampshires arent as easy to handle, they are quite destructive, wouldnt recommend them for first time keeper. Our Pietrain is a lovely pig, very quiet easy to deal with but they dont taste very good as pure so dont recommend them either! Best to go with a breed you like the look of best and go from there 

[hughesy]

When you were little did you have  a set of toy farm animals? What kind of pig was there? Go with that kind. The pigs in my set were Saddlebacks and they've proven to be an excellent choice.

[Greenerlife]

When you were little did you have  a set of toy farm animals? What kind of pig was there? Go with that kind. The pigs in my set were Saddlebacks and they've proven to be an excellent choice.

Ha ha!  That is a blast from the past!  All of them were saddlebacks weren't they?     As a beginner a few years back I went with Saddlebacks, followed by GOS followed by Berkshires.  Found the Berkshires really easy to handle.  The boys are a bit of a handful by the time they meet their maker, so you may prefer to get girls.