The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: alfie on April 22, 2011, 07:36:42 pm
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First of all the site looks great. We are moving to our new small holding in around 6-8 weeks this is somthing we have wanted to do for years now, but it will all be new to us, we have 2 acers with 5 more available to us as and when we need them. We will want to raise a few weaners, but ultamitly we will want to breed, the British lop is what i fancy but being this is the first time for us and we carnt afford to make huge financial mistakes by getting the wrong breed to start with ,so any advice will be appreaciated, we have 2 acres with another 5 available.
Another thing i would like advice on is fencing best place to buy as none of the land is fenced .
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hello from central scotland lops are a fantastic first time pig you will not be making a finnancial mistatake if you can afford it get a fencing contractor yo do it :wave: :wave: :wave:
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Hi and welcome from sunny Carnoustie :wave:
Listen to Lillian - she knows what she's talking about ;D
Where are you moving to?
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hello and welcome
:wave:
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Thanks for the welcome guys, we are moving to a village called Melling on Merseyside, I fancy keeping the British Lop but the wife likes the Mangilitza but we are open to suggestions on the best breed to keep, with breeding in mind.
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Unless you have lots of experience with pigs start with weaners just for rearing to eat. Buy neutered males if pos. so that you will not be tempted to breed from one. OUrs are fine with electric fence, (except one escape artist who nothing even Alcatraz could keep in when she has one of her wander lust moments).
Why not try different breeds each time, that way you will find what suits. I would recommend a lop eared breed like GOS (well they are my favourite and I have had most of the breeds including mangalitsas). Before you take the plunge into anything like a mangalitsa check with your abattoir that they will take them, also find out the maximum and minimum sizes they take.
Whatever you decide pigs are addictive so welcome to the wonderful world of smallholding and pigs.
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Hi Alfie, its nice on here and you soon suss out whos going to chew you out. Good luck with the hogs, Hilarysmums nice and seems to offer grand advice. I belong to a pig club, we always opt for a commercial breed like British White. Weaners are thirty or so quid and they fatten like Vicky Pollard on speed and burgers. Most slaughtermen like them as well and they are simple to butcher. We have had GOS and Tamworths but they are heavy on the pocket and dont finish as quickly. I personally like Boar / Tamworth cross, the meats gamey and fats lean, good all rounder but can be a bugga to handle. No, stick with the advice, start simple and easy then try others until you find a favourite that suits you.
I tasted kune kune last year, the chops were the size of a pea on a bone and I frankly dont see the point of them.
Anyhows, good luck!
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poppajon thank you for the lovely compliment, I cant get my head through the door way now ;D ;D
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You are most welcome young lady! :bouquet:
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YOUNG lady, wow thats the nicest thing anyone has said to me in years and years and years and years and years
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Hi and welcome from Sue in Worcestershire :wave:
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hi,
pigs are great and seem to be one of the less stressful animals to look after.
We've had 6 saddlebacks so far and about to get another 2 on tuesday.
Fences are important! If you can afford electric fences it does seem to work. we personally haven't had experience of using it but have seen it being used successfully. The advantage of this is it can be easily moved. We use post and sheep wire. It does the job great. For a sty anything can be used that they won't munch on. but remeber they don't like to sleep in a draft or damp. they will huddle so doesn't need to be huge!
Any scrub land you have with brambles etc the pigs will love. Ours cleared a scraggy hedge in a few days. Excellent to turnover a new veg plot too!!
If you are keeping pigs for meat just remember that what goes in does affect what the meat is like. My friend fed junk and any food possible including cheesecake! We only use animal feed, veg peelings and soaked bread and we had half the layer of fat on our pork. This is a must if you are going to be selling your animal as meat.
I am not sure everything I have said is correct but I am just speaking from my experience over the last couple of years and touch wood we have done well. Sauage maker is going to be going in a couple of months! The only thing we have struggled with is curing bacon. Don't have a room cold enough we think.
any questions you know where I am. :pig: :sheep: :sheep: :chook: :chook:
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Hiya & welcome from West Scotland :wave:
Glad to welcome another pig-keeper to the forum. Any of the traditional breeds or crosses should be fine for you to raise from weaners for meat - hardy & fairly low maintenance, though the lop-eared types are said to be more docile & the Tammys more spirited.
As for fencing - we use both stock fencing & electric tape for dividing the field into paddocks for rotation, but you will need to train the pigs to it for a few days if they're not used to it (or they may just get the shock & run thro it anyway ::) ) by setting-up the tape inside a well-fenced area.
AND there is nothing wrong with Kune Kunes - very manageable, hardy, cheap to keep & tasty - small is beautiful ;)
:love: :pig: :love:
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We are going to start with the British lop and see where we go from there, really cart count the weeks down quick enough for the move then i suppose the hard work starts.
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Keep us posted with regular updates Alfie & good luck with the move :hshoe:
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We Will do, but i am sure we will be asking for more advice soon. Like i said earlier our biggest problem is none of the land is fenced so that will big the fist job to sort although i think we will have to get a contractor in to do most of it.
Light Sussex will be our chosen birds , and then a few sheep not sure which yet so again advice sort on what breed would be best.
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Where abouts are you moving to? many folks on here have used contractors & may be able to make recommendations - mind you most of them will be booked-up over the summer already.
Consider your breed of sheep before you organise your fencing - we are getting some Soays this year - the old native breeds are great jumpers (woolley ones ;) ;D ) & make great escape artists ::) You will need to consider your type of pasture when choosing your breed too.
Light Sussex are lovely chucks - we have Barn e Velders, Cuckoo Marans & Rocks.
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Well we will only want to keep a few for us , so something that is finishes early will be best i think .
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Hi Alfie and welcome from central Scotland! :wave:
One thing I would echo, is getting a fencing contractor in for your fencing. I know it can be expensive if you have a lot of fencing to do, but it is worth it's weight in gold, and not only that but good fencing will last for years and years.
Friends of our took on a 70 acre hill farm in 1989, and not was the house a mess, the fencing was non existent. They bit the bullet and had the whole lot refenced at a huge cost. But- that same fencing is still is great condition today, and thats over 20 years on- so good quality does last.
Good luck with all your plans!
Beth
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Thanks again for all the welcomes, yes we are getting a contractor in to do the fencing as I will still run the business so wont be around full time. and we want to Get stock in as soon as we can.