Pig keeping is definitely not to be gone into on a whim. think long and hard as they are quite a committment, and demand lot's of looking after. I had some experience with pigs, working on local farms as a youth, but still needed to do a course to bring me up to speed on all the new regulations. once done, however, and all the infrastructure in place ( pig proof fencing, ark, troughs and a supply of feed stored safely) it has been a joy to keep such noble beast. Their welfare has to be the priority, last night for instance, as it was going to be frosty, I was piling more straw into the ark. The pigs thought it was great, pulling the straw back out, and ripping my waterproofs to shreds as I tried to put more in. I also spent a while on the phone organising logistics for next weeks despatch of same, much loved pigs. Abattoir booked(£20 per pig) butcher organised ( £50 per pig to include all work, packing and sausage making), freezer organised ( some pork and lamb still in there allocated to willing volunteers), paperwork ready, tattoo stuff sterilised and ear tags ready.
They are powerfull and clever and can be quite destructive to land and trees etc. The old breeds, free ranged, are the way to go for us part time smallholders.As fowgill farmer states, do your homework and don't exceed your abillity to cope,better to keep a small number of well looked after pigs than let any suffer. Cute weaners soon grow to sofa size and take some effort to move when going in the direction they have decided on.