The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Bodger on April 11, 2013, 02:26:09 pm
-
I don't live in a piggy area. By that I mean that not many farmers keep them around here .That, has a lot to do with how far away the nearest slaughter house that will deal with pigs is.
At the beginning of this week I left a hand writen notice in my local agricultural supplies depot on the off chance that someone might have a second hand pig ark to sell. Well I kid you not, the phone has hardly stopped ringing. Over the last few days I've had at least six phone calls from ex pig farmers who were only too keen to sell me their redundant pig arks. I quite literally have a choice of dozens to choose from and as I say, i don't live in a piggy area.
-
Its a real shame but I guess its good news for you
-
Lucky you we couldn't find any here so are having to build one.
-
I'm going to look at a £50 special this evening and I've already agreed to buy an absolute belter for £180. The second one is a humungus size and at that price, I reckon that it will do for my flock of laying ducks to go into safely each night.
-
Difficult to make pigs pay with the price of feed and the distance you have to go for killing round here. Our breeding stock are coming to the end of their useful lives and probably won't be replaced.
Will go back to buying in weaners for home consumption. At least that is another person I can add to the list of potential weaner suppliers.
-
:wave:
We both saw how cheaply weaners went at last Octobers Brycir rare breed sale. A fiver for coloured weaners. :o
-
Are you North Wales over the gate? Lu have a surpless!?? We made a straw bale sty last time which was fab, but ready for something that will last us now? Cheers, Fi
-
The pigs might have been cheap, however the chickens made decent prices in that sale. :innocent:
-
It was on Farming Today on R4 this morning. Pigs down from 60K in Wales to 20K in the last 10 years or so. The bottom has fallen out of the market for cheap, mass produced pork products from this country due to cheaper imports but this may represent an opportunity for the smallholder.
My concern would be lack of rare breeding stock and weaners for bringing on. I like to do a few pigs every alternate year but wouldn't want to get into breeding them
-
It's such a shame pigs are such great animals and get so much meat from one animal but the feed costs don't add up I reared 4 weaners and it cost me £10-£19 a weeks from 8 weeks to feed....you can buy a full comercial pig for £90 now :/
-
Azzdodd you are missing the point, you can't compare a rare breed with a commercial. If you want cheap pork don't buy rare breed if you want great tasting pork do buy rare breed.
-
Are you North Wales over the gate? Lu have a surpless!?? We made a straw bale sty last time which was fab, but ready for something that will last us now? Cheers, Fi
About seven miles from Pwllheli
-
Incidentally, that £50 special was a hunk of junk. I wouldn't have given him 50 pence for it, let alone fifty quid.
-
Incidentally, that £50 special was a hunk of junk. I wouldn't have given him 50 pence for it, let alone fifty quid.
:roflanim: :roflanim: :roflanim: Laughing at your comment, not the dashing of your hopes by the way. ;)
-
In the Daily Post yesterday, our N. Wales regional paper, was a story about a pig producer here on Anglesey who's about to invest 400 grand on a new pig shed. It also states that they are currently getting £1.55 a kilo for the pigs they produce. Now if they can stump up 400 grand on a supposedly loss making business either the pig industry doom sayers are telling porkies or their accountant has been at the wacky baccy. Not relevant I know as none of us on here are in the position where we need to shift 100 odd porkers a week, but it makes you think a bit.
-
we have 600 sow unit starting up here soon.
-
400 grand .... sounds like someone is telling porkies!! :roflanim: sorry couldn't resist!!
-
I think that they must be basing their investment on the basis of last man standing wins.
-
In the Daily Post yesterday, our N. Wales regional paper, was a story about a pig producer here on Anglesey who's about to invest 400 grand on a new pig shed. It also states that they are currently getting £1.55 a kilo for the pigs they produce. Now if they can stump up 400 grand on a supposedly loss making business either the pig industry doom sayers are telling porkies or their accountant has been at the wacky baccy. Not relevant I know as none of us on here are in the position where we need to shift 100 odd porkers a week, but it makes you think a bit.
Could be a pig in a poke :roflanim:
-
Berkshire boy I completly agree but all I'm saying is people would rather go buy a full pig at £90 and have loads of pink pork than buy a rare breed pork for £200....so all the rare breeders can't make ends meat and In turn most breeding stock is turned into sausages....unless the price off feed drops the pink pig will wipe out rare breeds in 20 years I sold 2 full pigs for £180 eac cause I just didn't have freezer space I lost money on them....
-
Incidentally, that £50 special was a hunk of junk. I wouldn't have given him 50 pence for it, let alone fifty quid.
You don't get owt for nowt ;) :farmer:
-
well 18,000 pigs a week go into 3 plants for morrisons
-
Here's the pig ark that I collected this morning.
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2137.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2137.jpg.html)
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2136.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2136.jpg.html)
Here's the gateway to my super duper pig enclosure that my pig ark is to wide to go through :idea: :roflanim: :roflanim: :roflanim:
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2138.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2138.jpg.html)
-
Woopsie !
That'll be an up and over the fence type job then ;)
Looks a good, solid arc though :thumbsup:
-
Looks a great set-up you have there - just wondered though if it is OK to have pigs that close to a residential area?
Donna
-
Ooops. :roflanim: we did the same with the poultry coop but it has a roof :innocent:
Such a PIA but will be worth it, a super size :thumbsup:
-
Donna they are pigs not Lions. :roflanim:
-
Donna they are pigs not Lions. :roflanim:
:roflanim: I was thinking about 'moaners' who will complain about the smell and anything else they can think of!!
-
Pigs don't smell it's the stuff they leave for the roses :bouquet:
-
I've just got back but the trailer didn't make it home. :scratch: As I got to Trawsfynnd, i heard a noise from the trailer and thank God I slowed down, because just after that, the trailer wheel over took me. :shock: Fortunately I was right opposite the only laybuy for miles and I was able to pull into it. I retrieved the wheel and all the studs were in place, the actual hub had sheared clean off. I was very lucky.
I'd nearly made it home but fell about 25 miles short. My good mate Hawkeye and his wife turned out with a second livestock trailer and my own trailer is now residing in a kindly farmers yard awaiting a new hub.
I'm glad to be home I can tell you. Thanks Dave and Victoria.:thumbup:
Prudence slept through everything and heres she is safely at home. She had 12 piglets taken off her yesterday and give her a few weeks and i'm sure she'll be a picture. :thumbup:
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2141.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2141.jpg.html)
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2140.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2140.jpg.html)
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2139.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2139.jpg.html)
-
Looks a great set-up you have there - just wondered though if it is OK to have pigs that close to a residential area?
Donna
Our farm has been here since before 1733, so I hope so.
-
Looks a great set-up you have there - just wondered though if it is OK to have pigs that close to a residential area?
Donna
Our farm has been here since before 1733, so I hope so.
:-J I'll keep my mouth shut in future. She looks fab by the way
-
Looks lovely I'm sure she enjoyed those peelings you made in the shed :wave:
-
She sure did. ::)
-
Well she certainly doesn't look any the worse following the long journey and the "hiccup" with the trailer. She'll sleep very soundly tonight as I suspect you will too :thumbsup:
Mx
-
Last night was awful here, the winds were horrendous and as well as one of the chicken sheds having blown over in the night, more importantly, the mains electric fencing unit keeping Prudence the pig in where she should be, had stopped working. The plug was warm to touch but the there wasn't a flashing light on the unit. More to the point, Pru was climbing all over the fence.
I fed her some food and while she was scoffing it, I connected the pig enclosure up to the main unit that we use for the horses. She got a couple of belts off it and now she knows that she missed her chance to get out.
I'll have to get someone to have a look at the defunct unit.
Later on in the morning I watched her inspecting the newly hooked up fence and watched her. She came up to the fence and got a right belt but instead of jumping backwards, she squealed and jumped forwards, clearing the fence. She soon went back into the enclosure for some food and I've since put an extra strand up. She's still in there at the moment.
On the down side, one of my Light Sussex is injured after her chicken shed blew over.
-
Hehehe sounds like Pru is going to keep you busy ;) ;D
Hope your wee Light Sussex pulls through :fc:
-
I'm off on my travels again tomorrow. I'm fetching Pru a GOS boyfriend. :excited: I don't mean to put the Kybosh on the relationship, but I'm rather hoping that he'll love her and leave her. :roflanim:
-
I'm off on my travels again tomorrow. I'm fetching Pru a GOS boyfriend. :excited: I don't mean to put the Kybosh on the relationship, but I'm rather hoping that he'll love her and leave her. :roflanim:
There's a name for people like you ........pimp :roflanim: :roflanim: :roflanim:
-
There are pigs and then there are pigs, but then, there's Patrick. He's safely at home and I think its safe to say that he's truly humungus! He's definately a big pig and thankfully, he's extremely friendly. :nwink:
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2205.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2205.jpg.html)
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2204.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2204.jpg.html)
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/farmyard2201.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/farmyard2201.jpg.html)
There was another bonus for me today too. I went all the way to Shropshire and heard my first cuckoo for a couple of years. Many thanks to Julie Shrops. :trophy:
-
Well done John - that's gonna be an excellent litter out of those two. For info, I've just registered two of Pru's last litter - excellent underlines (one with 14 and one with 16 even teats) and well marked :thumbsup: .
-
Keep your fingers crossed, Pru made a scrape in the ground for herself last night and slept out in the open rather than share the pig ark with Patrick. We felt quite sorry for her, she doesn't like him yet and it must have been chilly outside last night.
-
Keep your fingers crossed, Pru made a scrape in the ground for herself last night and slept out in the open rather than share the pig ark with Patrick. We felt quite sorry for her, she doesn't like him yet and it must have been chilly outside last night.
Love is such a fickle thing :love: he's gorgeous. She'll be so in love with him in a day or two, ahh.
We just had two patrick litters and there are some stunners in the litters which we'll be bringing to the 3counties show in June.
mandy :pig:
-
Fingers crossed that in a few months time you GOS people will be looking at photos to try and help me decide which piglets to keep and which ones to eat. :fc:
-
Generally you need to be a bigger farm to make something off it. I know feed is dear but there is cheaper feed around just have to look for it....... and buy in bulk rather than in bag..... that is also a rather costly way to buy feed. buy in 56 ton lots makes it a cheaper commodity all round. buy your minerals in in tonnage and mix your own feed. Not practical for you small people.....and besides you are right rare breeds are dying out and it is a pity, as the basis of breeding started with these guys in the first place. Most white pigs on the commercial line were crosses that eventually were registered as true breeds in their own right....... but may be rare breeds till have potential to breed a new breed....there is still work to be done for breeding. I am sure.