The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Marketplace => Topic started by: green grass on June 23, 2013, 05:30:16 pm
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Hi,as any one got a couple of weaners for sale in the South Yorkshire area :pig: :pig: ....we have a CPH number.Many thanks. :fc:
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I have some micropigs ready in the next couple of weeks, in Goole area. I'm asking £40 for them. They're probably not what you want at all, as they will probably only reach a third of the size of commercial breeds. However, if you are wanting something for your own consumption, they are quite a handy size. You get about the same amount of meat as from a 36kg (liveweight) lamb. So you'd get about 2 dozen chops and some smallish joints, or sausages, and not be snowed under with pork. :pig:
So pm me if interested.
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:excited: Excellent news.
I have a few questions as I have previously reared Berkshires.
Can you tell me if they eat pignuts and, if so, do the quantities raise as with the Berkshires?
How old are they recommended to go to slaughter?
How would you decribe the flavour of the meat? :pig:
Kind regards
Vin
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Right Vin, you'll have to excuse me if I can't give you an exact answer to all your questions as this is my first time with micro pigs.
You'll have seen from other posts that technically "micro pig" is a description rather than a breed. I understand that they have Berkshire in their breeding and have been produced by successively choosing the smallest from each litter. Certainly Kate (my sow) looks like a small Berkshire x Kune Kune. Her parents were small, the boar she was mated to is small, so I've every reason to believe that her piglets will will not grow any bigger than their parents.
So - food:- I feed them on commercial pignuts. Kate has sow nuts and the piglets have just started on milky pellets prior to weaning and took to them immediately. I'm just feeding them ad lib, so obviously as they get bigger, they will eat more.
As to slaughter age - I would say about 6 to 8 months according to how big/fat you want them. I'm shortly going to put them outside to deal with the nettles in our orchard, so I'll be aiming for about 8 months, hoping that the additional vegetation they eat will keep them growing in size without putting excessive fat on. But if they are very fat, it's not unsurmountable as I'm planning on using the front end for sausages, leaving the chops and rear end joints that can be easily trimmed.
Flavour - I am told they are delicious, but again, am going on hearsay. However, as you will know from your Berkshires, and I've raised Saddlebacks, British Lop, and G. O. S., - the flavour and crackling from the traditional breeds is far superior to that from the commercial breeeds, so I've no doubt that these will taste amazing also.