[Cjnewton82]

hello all first time poster here.

I am just in the process of setting up for some pigs oxford sandy and black. now i have been offed two 3 year old sows for free they are fully registered and have all the paper work to back that up there blood lines are Cynthia and Mary.

the only possible problem is that the Mary sow has never had piglets and the Cynthia sow has only ever had 1 litter of 11 that went very well (other than she sat on one!!) so my question is am i likely to have problems getting them in pig or should it be simple??

I have never had pigs before or work on a farm for more than a couple of days so if I'm being a plonker go easy on me!!

[Berkshire Boy]

To be honest if you have no experience of pigs or farming in general don't do it. If you want to try pigs buy a couple of weaners and grow them on for meat and see how you get on. Most people on here who keep pigs will have kept weaners for meat for a few years before getting into breeding.
It is a lot of work and can be very difficult to sell weaners.
 
Have just noticed your other post. If money is tight definitely don't get into breeding. A sow will eat a ton of feed in a year that will cost you at least £300, the piglets and mum will eat about 3/4 ton over 6 weeks for a litter of ten, as you can see its not a cheap exercise.

[Tudful Tamworths]

Hi Chris,
I tend to agree with Berkshire Boy - get used to rearing pigs for meat first before taking on breeding stock, otherwise it can be a huge leap into the unknown and unfair on both you and the pigs.
The added complication with the two free sows (which, I can completely understand, sound like a bargain to you) is their breeding history. Why has the one never farrowed and the other one only farrowed once? Did you ask the breeder? Did the one fail to get in pig, or wasn't she put to the boar? The big problem with sows/gilts is that if they're not bred from regularly, their fertility wanes, and you can have problems getting them into pig. With the one which has never farrowed (technically a gilt, not a sow, as she hasn't farrowed), I'd be very reluctant to take her on. With regard to the other, when was that litter - how long ago and why hasn't she been put to the boar since?
Obviously, I don't know the personal circumstances of the current owner, but I always feel it's a real shame when good, registered stock is not bred from. Such a waste, particularly when there are people out there breeding from real rubbish that shouldn't be put anywhere near a boar.
Good luck with OSBs - but get yourself some weaners and make life easy for yourself to start with. Great choice of pig for meat quality, litter size, and mothering ability (in my experience, that is - others may disagree!).

[Fowgill Farm]

Entirely agree with BB & TT, at 3yrs old fat will have grown around their ovaries and although they may show a season it is very unlikely they will get pregnant, however they will make suitable lovable pets if you can afford to keep them ( we had a GOS live to 7yrs old who never had a litter all her life... Delia..God rest her soul!)
So really you have to decide whats for you, the economics and what you want out of your pig keeping experience.
Mandy

[Hassle]

Sows make good bacon, just saying 

[Tudful Tamworths]

Entirely agree with BB & TT, at 3yrs old fat will have grown around their ovaries and although they may show a season it is very unlikely they will get pregnant, however they will make suitable lovable pets if you can afford to keep them ( we had a GOS live to 7yrs old who never had a litter all her life... Delia..God rest her soul!)
So really you have to decide whats for you, the economics and what you want out of your pig keeping experience.
Mandy

Good point, Mandy. Sometimes we forget it's not all about balancing the books. I often wish I could go back to just having those first two sows which I kept just because I enjoyed having them around.

[pheonix]

Good point, Mandy. Sometimes we forget it's not all about balancing the books. I often wish I could go back to just having those first two sows which I kept just because I enjoyed having them around.

same here - the joy of having just one pig/pony/cow etc is not to under estimated.

[Fowgill Farm]

Good point, Mandy. Sometimes we forget it's not all about balancing the books. I often wish I could go back to just having those first two sows which I kept just because I enjoyed having them around.

same here - the joy of having just one pig/pony/cow etc is not to under estimated.

Sorry Phoenix never one pig on its own thats cruel! They're herd animals and need company of their own kind
Mandy

[Marches Farmer]

Ditto horse, cow, etc.  Any animal that's normally in a flock of its own kind, including all types of poultry, is going to be permanently on yellow alert if not around others.

[Beewyched]

Back to the original post 
I totally agree with all that BB, TT & FF - we keep Kunekunes (for breeding, showing & meat).  We did co-own some GOS - but were part-time owners - where our friends had them on their smallholding & got to do most of the "dirty" work     We have also tried OSB's, but we bought them in as "In-pig-gilts" & found them just too "high spirited" - though it may have been better for us (& them) if we'd managed to get them when they were weaners.  Also, in all honesty after keeping KKs we wouldn't want another breed as "keepers"  (though my OH is thinking of maybe getting a couple of L Black meat weaners later this year    )