The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Wibblers on April 11, 2011, 09:28:55 pm
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Evening all.
Our first post hear although we've been reading a great deal here the last few weeks/months!
We're about to take the plunge and get our first couple of wieners. We've an acre of land to cultivate for veggies, hops etc and they're cheaper than a tractor and we can eat them at the end of the season ;)
Basically we have the choice of either a pair of GOS or a pair of Berkshires. What we'd like is some feedback as to which would be best for us? I gather the GOS's being lop eared should be easier but that the meat could be more fatty than the Berkshires.
Any thoughts gang??
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Both would be suitable. However, I'd go for Berkshires. Easy to handle, reach pork weight by five months old, and very economical to raise. GOS are extremely popular, but friends who have them find them hugely stubborn when it comes to moving them from a to b - e.g. loading them onto the trailer for the abattoir. Also, Berkies won't suffer from sunburn like GOS over the summer months (should we have a summer this year!).
Don't fret over it - choose one breed (flip a coin if you have to), take them to pork weight. Next time, try another. That's the only way to find out what pigs/pork you prefer. Have fun and enjoy your pigs x
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I'd go for GOS, they're wonderful animals and taste absolutely great. We've never had problems with any of ours being stubborn, but then again they will follow food wherever it takes them! ;D
Nice to see you're calling them 'wieners' (instead of 'weaners') - you've got the right idea! ;D
And welcome to the forum! :wave:
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Welcome to the forum :)
I'd say GOS (but then I might be a little biased!). Not too fatty if you feed them properly and maybe a little stubborn......but make them think it was their idea to start with and they will do anything.
Good luck with whichever breed you choose. Let us know how you get on :love: :pig: :love:
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For 'stubborn' read 'laid back' and you begin to see one of the many advantages of GOS.
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Thanks everyone.
Can't believe I wrote 'wieners' lol Thinking of those lovely sausages already mmm.....
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Hi - go for the Berkshires - here are the sausages :yum:
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If someone tells me how to add pictures I'll upload some of our GOS bacon :yum: :yum: :yum:
(We didn't take any photographs of the sausages or burgers, they got eaten too quickly ;D)
Wibblers, you probably already realise we all have our favourite breed! :D Have a look at what's available near you, that might make the decision easier. ;)
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Gosh, you guys are as bad as us brewers when it comes to your favourites!
We've decided on the GOS's (sorry Nelson, Tudful) Them being reared quite literally down the road to us really swung it.
Oh that and the fact my 2 daughters (5 & 8) said they preferred 'pink pigs with black spots' bless 'em!
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Wibblers - no problem - just enjoy your pigs and the yummy meat they produce :yum:
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Welcome to the diverse world of pig keeping, it wont be long before you are as hooked as the rest of us. ;D
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we just got 2 gos weaners...sooo funny, they were having "madpig" this morning, flapping their ears and running round. completely different characters to tamworths (who i adore) like 2 naughty puppies...lol :love: :pig: :wave:
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;D I call mine the pink ones! The only thing that would sway me away from GOS next time is their contsant need for factor 50 in the summer ... they cover their whole body in mud from the wallow and then leave the tops of the ears to burn to a crisp ::)
Also, does anyone keep GOS with any other breed, and have you noticed that they STINK compared to other breeds?! :o
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Yep, ours do the same: the top of their ears would be a fluorescent pink if we were not careful, the rest of their bodies are a uniform brown.
With our GOS, their own bodies don't stink much - unless they've been rolling in a wallow they've just peed in, of course ;) The pooh gets cleaned up every morning and evening, but on a hot day with wee fermenting in a wallow, a gas mask wouldn't be amiss. Every summer there are those few days when you can smell them from a distance. We've resorted to a rotating system for wallows (they dry out so quickly here we need to top them up every day anyway) which helps a great deal.
It's Eau de Porc! ;D
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Also, does anyone keep GOS with any other breed, and have you noticed that they STINK compared to other breeds?! :o
we havent let the meet the tammies yet. im hoping the tammies wont break through the fence when the weaners go outside for the first time... :o
we thought the piggy smell in the stable was really strong too... and theyvonly been here half a week...the tammies dont seem to smell at all, but the yard has def changed scent since our shetland cows arrived last year.
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We keep LBs and have had other breeds prefer GOS to all. I h ave noticed a l ovely curry smell eminates from our Gossies except the boar - he stinks - Digby who is a Large Black doesnt really have an odour, unless he has been indoors when I spray air freshener or more likely now fly repellent.
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Hmm, stinky GOS's that's something we hadn't heard of. Oh joy! :o ;)
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mine are outside now so whiff has gone, tammies werent bothered at all so that was a relief. they are still having "madpig" and theyre ears flap when they run...so funny
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My OSB sow had a really strong curry smell - another reason to get rid of her! I'm glad it wasn't just my imagination!
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Our GOS have a lovely smell, slightly curry, certanly not piggy.
Easiest way to load GOS if you have a trailer available for a few days. Leave feed, bananas apples in a trailer, moving them further towards the back each day. Curiousity and greed will have them walking in quite quickly. On slaughter day just shut the door.
if the ramp is very steep, its easier to load them using straw bales under the ramp. For some reason they dont mind climbing up but dont like a steep walk. ;D
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Ive been saying one of ours smells of curry, but OH can't smell it!
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Perhaps its like boar taint, not everyone can smell it.
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I have to say I have never noticed a curry smell with my OSBs. Their poo smells like pig poo, they themselves don't smell much at all to me. (Ok as a farmer I am pretty inured to smells, but I am usually aware of them - just don't mind them!)
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Our large blacks and other breeds we have had in the past did not have this smell. We first noticed it when Edwina arrived, hence the name, and then with her daughters. As the herd increased so did the smell! Pleasant smell though
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We first noticed it when Edwina arrived, hence the name
Took me a moment ??? but I got it in the end ;D ;D
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We first noticed it when Edwina arrived, hence the name
Took me a moment ??? but I got it in the end ;D ;D
Good one HM ;D ;D ;D
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I just had a friend visit and took her to see Meg. I was telling her that you all have been saying how OSBs smell of curry but I thought Meg just smelled of pig. My friend said she could distinguish a curry smell - not like a plate of curry but like a proper curry paste made by a proper Indian chef. As soon as she said that I could smell it too - so now I suppose Meg will always smell of (high class Indian) curry paste to me too! ::)
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My Kunes definately smell different to the LB - I'm so glad someone else has noticed there are different pig smells, thought it was just me ;D
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Following on from this discussion I got up close and personal with the LB girls and noticed they have a peppery smell, but it is very subtle.
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Okay, so different breeds have different smells ... do the different breeds' meat reflect those scents in different flavours?
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Different breeds do have different flavours, as do pigs which are fed substantially differently. I have never had a curry tasting GOS or a peppery large black yet.