The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: dyedinthewool on June 24, 2012, 10:49:39 pm
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Anyone know the meaning for a 'pig in a poke'
The two little loveable piglets that could be carrried when we first had them are now TWO BIG 80kg PLUS!!! girls....
I'm now thinking of HOW do 'we' (OH has to be roped in for this ) get them from their pen - which with the wet we've had lately is an absolute quagmire - into our trailer. Not a conventional full height horse trailer, it's a 8' x 4' trailer with a 'made up' roof ( about 4' height) OH bolts on when we need to move the lambs to market. So far we have backed the trailer up to the gate with the ramp down - put galvanise on two hurdles and fixed them either side, with the raides fixed to the hurdles to make an alley for them - plenty of straw in the trailer with a load of their mucky straw on the ramp. I've strewn pig nuts in the straw and they have gone in and eaten- though a bit tentativly.
My problem will be if it gets wet again (and the abbatoir wants them clean) I'll have to move them into the barn which is about 50yds away. If I DO get them in the trailer and move them to the barn will it upset them big-time and then I'll not get then into the trailer again...? Unlike sheep you can't bully a pig into going were she doesn't want to go...
How do you all get about it?
They are due to go on the 11th July. It will be an early start so can't afford to spend too much time in the morning cajoling them into the trailer, I'd rather get it organised before than find they won't go in at all.
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hi,im not a real expert yet but i usually get the trailer in the field a day or 2 before and feed them in the trailer and then if they are filthy i feed them in there the night before with straw in there then close them in the trailer over night put some water in there and then uaually by mornuing they are cleaner,hope this is of some help,GOOD LUCK
Matt
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I find that once they've been into a trailer once they will go straight in next time if they think there's food in there.
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all mine will follow me anywhere with a bucket, but our first pigs, who had always stayed in the one field would refuse to walk on chuckies and so wouldnt go thru the gate!
the tricky part is loading a few at the same time....
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We had 2 go yesterday and it went like a dream
We led. Them in with a bucket of nuts. 10 Mins from getting the trailer to the gate to getting them in
We have however been putting the trailer full of straw in the gateway and shutting the hatches to the pens for a few hours twice a week so they got used to using it as a bed
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In your case, i would keep feeding them in the trailer for a few days longer til they get used to it, and as long as you can get away with leaving the trailer there. Then a few days before you want them to go, feed as usual but shut them in. Drive gently to the barn and release. If you can then back the trailer to the barn, you could carry this on.
Sokel's trick of making the trailer their "ark" by shutting of the rak works really well, and as hughsey says, once they are use to the trailer, and probiding the first jopurney was gentle, they should re-load ok.
A few other pints with trailers
Load with as gentle ramp angle as possible - park downhill rather than uphill to make slope less.
Load from dark to light - we clip an inspection lamp onto the inside of the trailer if loading early.
Pigs don't like "checkerboard" metal ramps, so use something to make slope more friendly - carpet, horsemat, or similar.
Make transition from ground to ramp less obvious - starw at the bottom can help
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Anyone know the meaning for a 'pig in a poke'
the saying comes from medieavel times when a young pig would be sold in a sack, unseen. 'poke' is a form of todays 'pocket'. hth. :)
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no poke has three meanings at least depends on dialect central Scotland poke =a bag northern ireland poke = an ice cream Geordie land poke = sex
the original is meant to signify as being sold unseen :farmer:
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thats what i said. :wave:
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nd let the cat out of the bag, it when u open the poke and realise u havemt bought a pig at all but a flaming cat!
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nd let the cat out of the bag, it when u open the poke and realise u havemt bought a pig at all but a flaming cat!
;D
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The scheme entailed the sale of a suckling pig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig) or pup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy) in a poke (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poke) (bag). The bag would actually contain a cat or dog (not particularly prized as a source of meat), which was sold to the victim in an unopened bag. The French idiom acheter (un) chat en poche (to buy a cat in a bag) refers to an actual sale of this nature, as do many European equivalents, while the English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language) expression refers to the appearance of the trick.[5]
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pig_in_a_poke&action=edit§ion=2)] Relation to other idioms and expressions The common English colloquial expressions such as turn out to be a pig in a poke or buy a pig in a poke mean that something is sold or bought without the buyer knowing its true nature or value, especially when buying without inspecting the item beforehand. The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of its basis. Similar expressions exist in other European languages, most of them referring to the purchase of a cat in a bag, with some exceptions:
'Don't buy a pig in a poke' might seem odd and archaic language. It's true that the phrase is very old, but actually it can be taken quite literally and remains good advice.
The advice being given is 'don't buy a pig until you have seen it'. This is enshrined in British commercial law as 'caveat emptor' - Latin for 'let the buyer beware'. This remains the guiding principle of commerce in many countries and, in essence, supports the view that if you buy something you take responsibility to make sure it is what you intended to buy.
A poke is a sack or bag. It has a French origin as 'poque' and, like several other French words, its diminutive is formed by adding 'ette' or 'et' - hence 'pocket' began life with the meaning 'small bag'. Poke is still in use in several English-speaking countries, notably Scotland and the USA, and describes just the sort of bag that would be useful for carrying a piglet to market.
A pig that's in a poke might turn out to be no pig at all. If a merchant tried to cheat by substituting a lower value animal, the trick could be uncovered by letting the cat out of the bag. Many other European languages have a version of this phrase - most of them translating into English as a warning not to 'buy a cat in a bag'. The advice has stood the test of time and people have been repeating it in one form or the other for getting on for five hundred years, maybe longer.
No straw, lure them in with a bucket of food, shut doors, hose them off, then throw straw in for a dry off.
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This is what i wrote about a pig in the poke for a smallholder article last christmas
The popular saying "Don’t buy a pig in a poke?" refers to 17th century England, when it was common for customers who were looking to buy a suckling pig, to be tricked into taking home instead a cat in a sack (poke). Once home the unsuspecting customer would open the sack and see he had been cheated.
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:wave: I had the same dilemna at the weekend! Tammy's were in the far paddock, Charlotte was in the foaling stable. Charlotte was going back up to the back paddock with her piglets (she's been drying off in the stable), so she had to get out of the stable, I needed to clean it and the two Tams come down.
Fed charlotte on my front lawn, enticed the two tams down to the foaling stable with a bucket, distracted the sheep from taking an interest in the tams (they have to walk through their field) with food, charlotte then started nosing at the foaling stable and seeing that these strange boars were in it, distracted her with...... food and led her up to her babies again.
There were so many ways this could have gone wrong which could have led to tamworths running down the road or fighting with Charlotte..... but I must have been a good girl all year cos...... 10 minutes and some nuts and it was all accomplished..... all I have to do now is back the trailer far enough to feed them into on Thursday.....
Getting animals loaded.... each time its own adventure :wave: ;D :innocent: :fc:
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I have an old piece of carpet kept especially for loading the pigs ::) It's the right width for the trailer ramp and we just pull it out the way after the pigs are on, if you cover it with a bit of straw they never seem to notice the transition from concrete or grass onto the carpet as much as they do going onto the metal :thumbsup:
But then.........there's always one to make a liar out of you ::) ;D ;D ;D
Karen :wave:
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I always seem to have one who hangs back until the others are in then sounds the alarm and they all rush out again. It's one of those jobs that can take 2 minutes or 2 hours. ::)
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Well...!!!!!
After all that worring about how to get them in the trailer... ::) ::) in the end we had to KEEP them out the trailer. It has a normal Ifor Williams metal base sides and ramp but we put a 'made up' plywood top on when we need to take lambs to market - you can guess what I'm going to say - YES they decided to chew a hole in the ply side. OH had to get some tin and pot-rivet all round the inside.
Due to the bad weather - pen is like the Somme, I kept them shut in the shed for the last two days. Plenty of straw to hopefully clean the mud off - gave them a brushing with a bristle scrubbing brush - which they thought was marvelous. Did the Slap marker on Sunday - just hope I've done it hard enough, had a practise on a joint of pork (Morrisons) on a box about :pig: height.
Tonight put a load of straw in the trailer and some nuts and apples, opened their door rattled a bucket and they followed (pen still muddy and they now have black boots) straight into the trailer, did the rades and ramp up. we're off to Tregaron early in the morning... :( :(
They've been a lot of fun despite the weather - who said have your weaners in the summer - I've worn my wet weather gear more in the last two months than I did all winter.
Next task will be getting the pen back into some sort off order, cleaning their shed and then enjoying the joint of pork for dinner :yum: :yum:
Thanks to Blinkers for all her help and advice and especially for her two :pig: :pig: GOS girls. :trophy:
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Its a pleasure DITW.....and good luck for tomorrow :thumbsup: We get as much enjoyment out of new pig keepers enjoying rearing their own pigs first time around, as we do keeping and rearing our own. Everyone starts somewhere and its always a learning curve....if only the pigs would read the manual too ;D :-J ...it would all be so much easier...but no where NEAR as much fun. Well done you especially in the difficult weather conditions we've had this year. NEXT year it'll be a doddle :innocent: ;)
xx
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Okay.....!!!***
An early start - no breakfast, not good :'( apparently Prince Charles and Camilla were visiting Tregaron - Neil wanted to get slaughtering done as early as possible so could we get there earlier than 9-45 - rushed round opening up the hen sheds and checking the broody with her 1 little chick.
Made sure all the sheep had four legs each.
Piggies quiet as mice in the trailer so gave them a couple of apples as a 'last' treat.
We left at 7-19 am got to Tregaron 9-15 not a bad run despite all the twisty roads.
All went well until we got to the abbatoir then the girls refused to come out... ::) ::) no amount of coaxing- (should have remembered to take their bucket with some nuts in)in the end a guy also waiting to unload a pig and one of the abbatoir guys gave us a hand one pushed and one pulled and finally persuaded them to get out - if that guy is a TAS forumer then Thanks very much...
No hassel from Neil because we were having problems. I was very concerned we would be told to take them home.
How do you all get your piggies to leave their trailers. Dummy :dunce: :-[ that I am I thought they would just be pleased to get out after the journey.
Seemed weird tonight when doing the feeding round, no piggy girls charging round their pen 'barking',grunting and rushing into their shed to wait for their tea. :( :(
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Well done :thumbsup: it must have been a stressful situation. A one I've not been in as not had any livestock ( yet ) . It's something I would not have thought about either, somebody will give good advice soon I'm sure.
Again well done, and look forward to your comments on the return of the harvest from your work :thumbsup:
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Thanks for reminding me ditw - that's the exact same problem I had. Taking bucket to abattoir is definitely a good plan :thumbsup: