The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Jode on August 27, 2019, 07:37:14 pm
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Hi all. We have a smallholding in Buckinghamshire and bred pigs for a couple of years, mainly Berkshire and Berkshire crosses. We are currently having a year off from pigs and I miss them! I would like to have a couple of pet pigs next year rather than meat pigs. We have visitors to our farm to walk alpacas and we have some friendly Greyface Dartmoor sheep and goats who love some attention and I would like to add pigs to the mix. Am thinking kune kune or mangalitsa. Does anyone have any experience of these breeds? Or I would like to rehome some. Are there any breeds of pigs that graze more than they root? Our Berkshires were pretty destructive!
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Apparently all pigs root, but some like Kune Kune, less than others. If you look on Preloved there's usually some free to good home, from people who didn't realise how much food even a small pig eats. I got some small pigs free a few years ago (and yes - they really were small although I daren't use the word micro!) After a while their cuteness took second place to the food bill and the sausages are still in my freezer. But at least you've kept pigs, so know what you're getting into.
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I keep kune kune and breed them for meat and the pet market.
They are very friendly pigs, a pleasure to keep, and most will graze rather than root if given enough space, and hard standing/indoor space when it's very wet and muddy.
The bkkps website will show you breeders and litters available near you, they also have a Facebook page where people post litters or older stock available.
Hope that helps