The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: dysie39 on January 20, 2010, 06:01:15 pm
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today I fed and watered my piggies at 7.30am as usual and they were fine, went back as usual at 4pm and they were gone, light fading fast I took off across the fields and called everyone I know local to help out, and then eventually I got a call from someone to let me know where they were,
I get them safely back to the pen in the field, and settled them down with tea, and only then did I notice that someone had left me a note
It was from the animal welfare officer and he has had a complaint that the pigs were not fed and watered,
I finally got to speak to him and explained that the pigs are very unsettled due to having been attacked by a dog at weekend and people keep letting their dogs run into the field and frightening them,
they are fed twice a day and water is provided but pigs dont save food for later and they nearly always knock their water over between them,
he was ok and we have set up a meeting at the field tomorrow, to go through all the details,
But it really annoys me that I now may have to get rid of them after spending a small fortune on housing and everything else,
anyone have any advice at all please help
or anyone want to buy them and provide a good home
thanks
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They have to respond to calls about cruelty so don't get your back up about it just yet! Some of them can be very helpful.
Don't worry, one look at your pigs will show them they're well looked after!!
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I know that but its the fact that someone has complained, hes seen the pigs today and he says they look really heathy, he seems verry nice, I work locally in animal care and also work at a vets always have so he knows of me,
the trouble is the field is notorious for the neighbours complaining,
why buy a house next to a field if you dont want to see animals in there,
were having a house built next to the field but the neighbours will do their damnedest to stop that if they can,
bunch of sour faced idiots if you ask me
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It's amazing the folk who want to live in the country but dont want to see or smell animals!!
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That's awfull i cant understand why youshould have to get rid of your pigs,
seem's totally ufair to me if you have explained to the welfare officer about
their eating habits and knocking over the water as i know what you are talking about,once again
im shocked, i would'nt let them go without a fight(verbal!) ;) :pig:
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yes ive explained and he agrees with me, hes gonna check all my records tomorrow and ill update on here what happens,
BUT to be honest i dont even want to live near people like that, so all my plans, dreams, and hopes, have been shattered now,
My hubby and 2 sons and I will all have to sit down and have a talk about where we go from here, do we still have the house built or look elsewhere,
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sorry you are having trouble with your pigs. Try not to worry - the welfare man I am sure will find nothing wrong with the way your pigs are kept. Its not right that you are having to change your plans because of neighbours - I would ignore them, build your house, and carry on with your pigs.
Hope all goes well tomorrow for you.
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I'd let it be known that "the field is up for sale because Wimpey are keen to put in social housing here ... "
(nothing against social housing, except that if I had bought a house overlooking a field with a couple of pigs in it, then it was rumoured that it would be covered in small houses I would immediately campaigne to keep the pigs.)
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thanks for your support, the field is greenbelt and can not be built on so while that's a good plan ( Hillary s mum ) they know it would never happen,
trouble is for 2 years there has been nothing on the land and its got overgrown, and the neighbours complained about that too, no pleasing some people,
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I do not think there is any law about not being allowed to have an overgrown field!! In fact, some while ago, people were encoured to set aside land and be paid for it. Incidentally, there are a lot of fields round here that are overgrown and unused .....and have been for years, and no one has been successful in having them tidied up.
Perhaps your neighbours are jealous that you have the field, and thats why they are like this. If its green belt, then surely you will not be allowed to build a house for yourself on it? I know we are in green belt here, and the national park etc. and you cannot even put up a stable, let alone a house.
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don't give up your dreams because of someone. its your Field your animals and if your happy that your doing your best no one will stop you. is this the rspca/sspca or the animal person from the council. most animal protection folks are down to earth. just be friendly once they know your ok they will let you be.
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Some people just aren't happy unless they've got something to complain about :(
It makes them feel as if they're actually doing something with their less than ideal lives ;)
Don't let them get to you - the animal inspector is obviously happy enough and the next time they compain hopefully he'll have enough sense to tell them that you're doing everything correctly and maybe they'll back off.
If not, you could always get 20 or 30 large whites in for 6 months, they'd be more than happy to see the kunes back after that ! ;) ;D ;D ;D
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Sorry to have to say it this way but,,,,,, you are lying down playing dead before you have been shot!!!
Just imagine if these self same people moaned/complained about one of your kids, would you then allow that and give away a child? No of course you wouldnt so dont let these people tell you how to live your life. Fight back girl!!
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Agreed......'Don't let the Ba*tards grind you down'. Get a letter from the animal welfare officer stating that the complaint was frivolous and vexatious. It'll sure help the next time the complain.....if they listen to them the next time.
Morgan
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A friend in UK, has land with a house, never a moments problem, then new people moved nearby with horses. They asked if they could use her footpath to ride their horses across to the adjacent common to avoid a very busy main road. She agreed. Within months they were petitioning for the removal of her pigs because their horses were apt to play up at the smell of the pigs as they rode through her land.
They caused a lot of trouble then offered her a derisory amount to buy her field!
She is still in the same place, they arent. Dont be bullied.
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Hello Dysie
It would be worthwhile to look into having an automatic drinker and/or a heavy cemented in trough that has
a ball cock on and is fed so that it is always full.
I do not know where you are, but here in Ireland you have to provide water for pigs 24 hours per day
seven days per week - this rule was brought in last year because a lot of pigs knock over their water and then
especially in the summer ,spend the rest of the day without a drink.
If you could at least have a plan to do this, on paper, it will help you with the welfare people - they are there to advise
you, not to take your pigs off you, but to help you comply with their rules and regs.
Do not be put off - we have had them check us out too seven years ago, because of a jealous neighbour - do not worry,
see it as a positive step as once they are satisfied there is sod all anyone can do to remove your pigs from your field
Good Luck
Snoopy
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Dysie you could also mention to the welfare people that if there is any more unfounded complaints from the previous people that made the complaint that you will consider it harrassment and take 'appropriate' action.
With any luck that message will get passed back to the complainers and they will stop before you need to take legal action.
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we kept getting visits from the sspca because someone did not like us having ponies. we have 4 males and fillies. the inspector never found anything wrong but each visit was stressful. i would be polite but don't feel bad as others have said they have to visit but it means nothing if your animals are healthy. in the end they will give up and start on someone else.
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even though i have had the all clear from animal welfare and the case is closd, ( i have this in writing )
I went ahead today and let the pigs go, for their own safety,
it took up the whole of the day as they kept escaping and we couldnt get a trailer close enough to the pen to get them into it,
but we ended up letting them go with a very nice chap who lives quite close and will look after them untill we can sell them on,
im going to visit them on weds/thurs this week so ill make sure they have settled in ok
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thats sad, but ultimately your decision so hope you dodnt feel bullied into it by mindless fools...
As you say "life is what you make it" so chin up!
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I would go further - this is absolutely outrageous! You should ask your lawyer to send them a letter advising them that it is your right to have what animals you wish on your own land. They have won this round. Don't let them win the war!!!!
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I'm with you doganjo !
Don't get mad or sad, get revenge!!
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Revenge is good - dump some pig s**t in their garden some dark night! ;)
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Revenge is good - dump some pig s**t in their garden some dark night! ;)
Every contact leaves a trace (forensics)!!
My wife wanted me to sell the pigs....... i've got one wife for sale!!
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My OH would like to echo those sentiments .... :pig:
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I WAS just joking! ::) However, there was one occasion when we got revenge and it didn't backfire. A neighbour used to let his dog poop on our path every night - 11pm every night we heard him whistling down the road and watched him. We got sick of it so one night when he'd gone past, Sandy got a shovel and lifted it, dumped it on our neighbours doorstep then watched for him returning ;D ;D We enjoyed the reaction when he stood in it and saw him glower down at our door - so he knew perfectly well it was us. He never let his dog do that again. ;)
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A few years ago we had a couple who bought the cottage at the bottom of our farm road as a holiday home. He made our life hell all because we would not sell him land. He watched our every move, threatened to kill my cats. Cut down a yew tree and threw bits over into my field beside the horses. Lucky I saw him as I was picking up droppings in the paddocks. I hate to think what I would have come home to if I had been at work. Yew stops the heart in 5 Min's. he tried to tell me he had no idea but I found out that was a lie. the man who cut the tree down for him told him just how dangerous it was and to make sure he took every branch to the skip. He tried to claim rights to our farm road and started planting bushes so we had to prove it was indeed ours. Next he fell out with the local farmers about the mud on the road when they were lifting tatties, complained about muck spreading and kept on at us when were we going to tar our farm road as the dust in the summer made his windows dirty. It would cost £20,000 plus for us to do that so we never have. The whole area was delighted when they moved back to England. At first it did upset me but then I took no notice, once when I was riding past his house he decided to strim the grass verges next to his house. My horse got upset at being hit by flying stones and started jumping about. I just laughed for his face was picture.
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God, some people! My family call those type of people the CocaCola crew - the people who move to the countryside and have no respect for the countryside (dropping Coke cans everywhere)!!
A cheap option that we use for our pigs is an old Belfast sink that we found - can't knock that over! So sorry to hear that the pigs have gone.
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sorry you sold your pigs :'( and sorry for the pressure you felt to need to.
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it works the other way too.
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How do you mean,Paul?
it works the other way too.
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Annie that was my question too ...
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I love you guys - you always cheer me up............... neighbours dog poop deposited on his step.... tee hee
This time of year always makes things seem worse - when its dark and damp and life is difficult. sorry you sold your pigs :'( and sorry for the pressure you felt to need to.
I agree and hope that those interfering busybodies shoot themselves in the foot somehow. Seems to me that what goes round comes round and even though it might take a while you may end up seeing them come a cropper. Folk like that just can't help digging a pit for themselves to fall into.
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John used to say that - if anyone does you wrong don't try to get back at them because somehow fate will do it for you. I'm not 100% convinced though ;D
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if it got up my nose a bit , I would just tell them to f**k off...if it really got my goat I wouldn't try to get them back, I would just smack'em really hard, right on the nose . Instant retribution/satisfaction .... doesn't work for everyone ... but it does for me !!!
cheers
Russ
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That was John's father's attitude I'm afraid - which is why all six kids ran away from home at 15! It is also probably why john didn't often 'deck' people!
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nope, like I said Annie , it doesn't work for everyone . But if all 6 kids left home at 15 , I would think the dad was much different to me . I don't go round bullying or hitting my family. But if someone ( other than family ) interferes in my life and makes my life a misery , or completely stops me from doing what I want , just because they want to , then I will interfere with their life in a way they don't like ....and they will remember it for a long time...
We are all different and deal with situations differently . My way may not be the right way , it is just my way . I wouldn't just hit them without any warning ...I make the situation very clear to them and tell them exactly what I will do, if they do whatever they are about to do .... So if they then go and do it ... tuff !!! I'll hit them .
All I want is a quiet life and to be left alone . Some people won't leave you alone though ... they have to push and keep on pushing .... well so be it ... I can push too ...and will . I make no apologies for it , I am what I am . But I do not go round hitting people willy nilly , nor am I a bully . When I was at school, I stopped the bullying that was going on . The 4th year so called hard nuts , picking on the little 1st year kids . I went and kicked the crap out of all the bullies one by one , and told them every time one of them hit another little 1st year kid I would go round and kick the crap out of them all again....no more little kids got bullied or hit ...Mind you I did have a meeting with a dozen or so of the hard nuts, 12 onto 1 ...real hard cases eh ? . Well I came off worse . A week or so in hospital , and a few cracked ribs and a broken nose and a cracked cheek bone and 30 odd stitches. But these things heal ...and then I gave them what they gave me ...and more ... one by one . They never touched me or anyone else again . I will not be bullied by anyone , nor will I bully anyone . But there are consequences to actions and some people think they can interfere , control and ruin other peoples lives, without consequence ... wrong ... not with me . Like I say , I may not be right , it is just how I am .
cheers
Russ
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Im with you Rusty ;D
We own several properties and if one got taken over by sqatters in between tennants moving in then we aint gonna go to court to remove them.
We do have some very large friends. ;)
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I can understand that. John's father wasn't just a bully, he was a drunk too. I rememebr John and his brother going to see the old man not long before he died, and he came to the door with a beer can in one hand, a whisky glass in the other and told them to B off. Nice! They didn't go again.
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How do you mean,Paul?
it works the other way too.
we were new so we were picked on. speaking to other newish folks they got the same treatment. most folks are fine but it only takes one missrable sod to make your dream a nightmare. in our case we think it was because he wanted our land. it makes you suspect everyone
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Shetland Paul that is awful.
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Not everyone is a bad 'un Paul. You were unlucky.
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no were dead lucky. our neighbors are great. just this one guy. the trouble is even thou were in the wilds each house is in view of others. its just this guy is a window starer.
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Ah, I see! Stare him back! ;D ;D ;D