[alfie]

First of all the site looks great. We are moving to our new small holding in around 6-8 weeks this is somthing we have wanted to do for years now, but it will all be new to us, we have 2 acers with 5 more available to us as and when we need them. We will want to raise a few weaners, but ultamitly we will want to breed, the British lop is what i fancy but being this is the first time for us and we carnt afford to make huge financial mistakes by getting the wrong breed to start with ,so any advice will be appreaciated, we have 2 acres with another 5 available.
Another thing i would like advice on is fencing best place to buy as none of the land is fenced .

[robert waddell]

hello from central scotland      lops are a fantastic first time pig you will not be making a finnancial mistatake    if you can afford it get a fencing contractor yo do it 

[Rosemary]

Hi and welcome from sunny Carnoustie 

Listen to Lillian - she knows what she's talking about 

Where are you moving to?

[little blue]

hello and welcome

[alfie]

Thanks for the welcome guys, we are moving to a village called Melling on Merseyside, I fancy keeping the British Lop but the wife likes the Mangilitza but we are open to suggestions on the best breed to keep, with breeding in mind.

[Hilarysmum]

Unless you have lots of experience with pigs start with weaners just for rearing to eat.  Buy neutered males if pos. so that you will not be tempted to breed from one.  OUrs are fine with electric fence, (except one escape artist who nothing even Alcatraz could keep in when she has one of her wander lust moments).

Why not try different breeds each time, that way you will find what suits.  I would recommend a lop eared breed like GOS (well they are my favourite and I have had most of the breeds including mangalitsas).  Before you take the plunge into anything like a mangalitsa check with your abattoir that they will take them, also find out the maximum and minimum sizes they take. 

Whatever you decide pigs are addictive so welcome to the wonderful world of smallholding and pigs.

[poppajohn]

Hi Alfie, its nice on here and you soon suss out whos going to chew you out. Good luck with the hogs, Hilarysmums nice and seems to offer grand advice. I belong to a pig club, we always opt for a commercial breed like British White. Weaners are thirty or so quid and they fatten like Vicky Pollard on speed and burgers. Most slaughtermen like them as well and they are simple to butcher. We have had GOS and Tamworths but they are heavy on the pocket and dont finish as quickly. I personally like Boar / Tamworth cross, the meats gamey and fats lean, good all rounder but can be a bugga to handle. No, stick with the advice, start simple and easy then try others until you find a favourite that suits you.
I tasted kune kune last year, the chops were the size of a pea on a bone and I frankly dont see the point of them.
Anyhows, good luck!

[Hilarysmum]

poppajon thank you for the lovely compliment, I cant get my head through the door way now 

[poppajohn]

You are most welcome young lady! 

[Hilarysmum]

YOUNG lady, wow thats the nicest thing anyone has said to me in years and years and years and years and  years

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi and welcome from Sue in Worcestershire   

[lucyandrew]

hi,

pigs are great and seem to be one of the less stressful animals to look after.

We've had 6 saddlebacks so far and about to get another 2 on tuesday.

Fences are important! If you can afford electric fences it does seem to work. we personally haven't had experience of using it but have seen it being used successfully. The advantage of this is it can be easily moved. We use post and sheep wire. It does the job great. For a sty anything can be used that they won't munch on. but remeber they don't like to sleep in a draft or damp. they will huddle so doesn't need to be huge!

Any scrub land you have with brambles etc the pigs will love. Ours cleared a scraggy hedge in a few days. Excellent to turnover a new veg plot too!!

If you are keeping pigs for meat just remember that what goes in does affect what the meat is like. My friend fed junk and any food possible including cheesecake! We only use animal feed, veg peelings and soaked bread and we had half the layer of fat on our pork. This is a must if you are going to be selling your animal as meat.

I am not sure everything I have said is correct but I am just speaking from my experience over the last couple of years and touch wood we have done well. Sauage maker is going to be going in a couple of months! The only thing we have struggled with is curing bacon. Don't have a room cold enough we think.

any questions you know where I am.

[Beewyched]

Hiya & welcome from West Scotland 

Glad to welcome another pig-keeper to the forum.  Any of the traditional breeds or crosses should be fine for you to raise from weaners for meat - hardy & fairly low maintenance, though the lop-eared types are said to be more docile & the Tammys more spirited.

As for fencing - we use both stock fencing & electric tape for dividing the field into paddocks for rotation, but you will need to train the pigs to it for a few days if they're not used to it (or they may just get the shock & run thro it anyway  ) by setting-up the tape inside a well-fenced area.

AND there is nothing wrong with Kune Kunes - very manageable, hardy, cheap to keep & tasty - small is beautiful 

[alfie]

We are going to start with the British lop and see where we go from there, really cart count the weeks down quick enough for the move then i suppose the hard work starts.

[Beewyched]

Keep us posted with regular updates Alfie & good luck with the move