[mistryer]

Hi everyone    We live in France, and are just starting out in the world of small holding, and self sufficiency. We would like to get a coulple of weaners to fatten for the freezer, just to start with, before we commit ourselves to a breeding pair. Is there any difference in a male and a female, in terms of production, taste etc? I am presuming I would need to buy castrated males, if choosing males. Any help gratefully received 

[nelson]

  Hello Mistryer we live in France too.

Good idea to start with some fatteners. Not sure where you are but you might find some good local outdoor pigs to fatten. Try not to be tempted to buy the rejects from the porc elevage as you will get the toothless;tailess and hairless pink; balless pig which will really not do well outside. 

We have Berkshires, GOS and OSBs. You may be able to source some French breeds such as Gascon ,Culnoir etc.

Difference between our Berkshire and male and female:  all delicious and extremely exceptional premium pork.

Personally from observation I find that the castrated Berkshire male is a slower grower than the intact. (This maybe the case with other old breeds but cannot comment).  We only have the piglets castrated by the vet if there is a medical problem i.e hernia otherwise we take intact males to slaughter (24 weeks  approx for Berkshires)  weight and have experienced no boar taint. They have also been extremely easy to handle.

Breeding in the future: The French prefer a larger white pig (depending where you live) so when breeding think about the type of pig for you and your market.
 
When raising your fatteners be aware of what has been on your smallholding previously - there is a lot of tetanus here and we have experienced this - so if you castrate be mindful.  We vaccinate our piglets at an early age for this. 

In terms of attitude: we find our Berkshire females are just a little bossy - and the chaps just love their belly's rubbed. it really depends where you buy your pigs from. Look for good weaners who have been well socialised and ready to go at around 8-10 weeks and ask all the relevant questions. Hope this helps

[mistryer]

Hi nelson - good to hear from a fellow france explorer!! We are midway between Bergerac and Perigueux, in the Dordogne. Where are you? Thank you for your kind advice. When we moved here, 3 years ago, we purchased 10 acres of woodland and prarie, and included just short of an acre grassland on which to build. We spent the first year clearing and tidying, plus planning what we wanted to build house wise, and started building our house 2 years ago, which has been our main focus, as we currently live in  a mobile home, and with a HUGE 15 year old boy, and lively labrador, we NEED to get into the house by this winter. Hence, we have put our small holding dreams on hold until we sort our house out. I am now researching the animals we would like to keep, which will suit or needs, and help us achieve as near self sufficiency as we can, and although we will keep poultry and sheep for our own production, on the pig front, I decided it might be better just to rear a couple of weaners to start with. I would probably like something highly recommended for a decent amount of meat, taste, and good to handle, so more than likely an older breed, like GOS. We will not be looking to sell meat out, so I am not too worried about what the french prefer  There has been no previous pig production on this land before (yey) so blank canvas there, and thank you for informing me that entire males are fine to rear to slaughter, without leaving a taint in the meat - I did presume they would have needed to be castrated before fattening, so dont have to worry now. I think english breed keeping is becoming a bit more popular here now - I think our tastes differ somewhat to what the french seem to like, so will hopefully find someone to supply me with a couple of youngsters, when the time comes 

[suziequeue]

Hi mistryer

We are now on our second lot of pigs for fattening and both times we have had a pair of entire boars. The second lot just arrived today :-D

We decided to go for entire pedigree Tamworth unregistered boars as - realistically - they have no future expect for bacon. They are unregistered, therefore not for breeding and they are boars - and therefore there's no temptation to get a litter out of them.

We found they put on weight and grew fast. They were well mannered but got quite....... familiar...... towards the end. There was no boar taint. We called one sausage and the other bacon.

This pair are called the "Boys of Boden" (after our local DIY merchant - NOT because they are middle class boars who wear overpriced camisole tops and Capri pants!)

[MAK]

We are in the Limousin and I butchered our first 2 pigs last week. The male was a Duroc ( spelling?) - he had not been castrated but the sow (Culn Nor) was definitely the more vigorous feeder.  The old boy who slaughtered the animals was concerned that we could have Boar Taint so he castrated him after the stun gun but before bleeding him.
The meat was fine.
The meat and fat distribution was very different with the boar having a very thick neck and large shoulder joints. The hams from the Culn Noir were more rounded and large. Saucisson not ready yet but the bacon and ham is great. Boudin Noir and Toulouse sausage as well as UK types.

Keeping pigs over winter at -20 for days on end is not great and was expensive. We had a cellar full of apples, butternuts, pumpkins and spuds but bought in food too - beware of over wintering them.

We collect our next 2 pigs in a week or so and they will be ready after the Walnut,Chestnut and Acorn season.

Heh - good luck Mistryer and I do hope that you get into the house soon before it gets too hot.
Martin

[mistryer]

 Thanks guys n galls - some sound advice there. Will let you know how I get on. Looking forward to getting stuck into something other than building now!!  Best of luck with all your new piggies too