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Author Topic: weaners  (Read 8483 times)

melodrama

  • Joined Jun 2011
  • Forfar
weaners
« on: June 19, 2011, 03:44:56 pm »
Hi - I got two weaners yesterday and had asked for and been assured I had received 2 gilts but sods law determines that one is actually male!!!!!  I plan on fattening them up and putting them in the freezer in the latter part of the year - will I have problems because they are not both gilts - don't really want any piglets.  This is our first time and we were so excited to get them that we never thought to double check when we got them as we saw the breeder checking and advising us they were boths gilts.  Please help - any advice appreciated.

Melanie x x

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: weaners
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2011, 04:25:37 pm »
all i can say is one you are wrong        if it is a male and intact yes they will mate      depends on the breed kunes start riding at three months old other breeds can be five to six months old before they start and also depends on how long you are going to keep them :farmer:

TheCaptain

  • Joined May 2010
Re: weaners
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2011, 04:33:26 pm »
What breed?  We kept two GOS weaners, male and female, to 7 months and she only had her first heat two weeks before she went to the big pig sty in the sky.  I'm not quite sure what Robert is on, but I don't believe that you are in the wrong here - it is the breeder who obviously wanted to get rid of a boar and has preyed on your inexperience.  If it was me I'd name and shame the breeder on here so we can all avoid in future and I'd demand at least part of your money back.

Every cloud though - the male will be larger when he goes to slaughter so you'll be able to have a mix of joints as the smaller ones are good for some joints and the larger for others - again depending on the breed, our male went for some lovely bacon and massive hams!

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: weaners
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2011, 04:41:51 pm »
not on anything captain        they have been misled either intentionaly or otherwise      just because they are a breeder does not mean they are infalable :farmer:

southwestpoultry

  • Joined Jun 2011
Re: weaners
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2011, 04:43:43 pm »
We agree with the captain, surely if you bought 2 gilts you should have received 2 gilts.
We suspect by your initial post that you did not buy pedigree weaners otherwise the paperwork would be incorrect along with the ear tags (If they are fitted with any).

Just our observations.

Regards
Robert & Sarah.

lill

  • Joined May 2011
Re: weaners
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2011, 04:53:41 pm »
I would certainly be getting in contact with the breeder and getting the male exchanged, for afterall you did request 2 females. I as a pedigree breeder for the last 10 years and my reputation relies on my honesty and I can certainly tell the difference between the males and the females, my opinion is this breeder wanted to pap you off with the male and hoped you did not notice till much later. Get in contact with the breeder and get your money back as males are not worth as much as females. :pig: :pig:

oaklandspigs

  • Joined Nov 2009
  • East Sussex
    • OaklandsPigs
Re: weaners
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2011, 05:10:22 pm »
I would certinaly go back to the breeder and arrange a swap - any good breeder should do this, and I would hope that the wrong sex would be entirely unintentional.

We sell both sexes for the same money, and boars do grow faster, but you asked for gilts and that is what you should get !!

www.Oaklandspigs.co.uk
"Perfect Pigs" the complete guide to keeping pigs; One Day Pig Courses in South East;
Weaners for sale - Visit our site for details

lisanic

  • Joined May 2011
  • Yorkshire, England
Re: weaners
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2011, 06:32:25 pm »
Really feel for you...I know how excited you must have been to be getting your first pigs. I have been breeding pigs now for over a year and cannot see how mistake was made accidentally...you dont need a degree in biology to tell the boys from the girls!!!! In my experience , if you are just fattening up for freezer it is not that big a deal and as has already been said the boar should grow bigger than the gilt giving you lots of lovely meat. However, you are quite within your rights to demand an exchange as you asked for two girls. Dont let this put you off though...you will come across lots of obstacles on the way but end result is well worth it...just had a lovely leg of pork for Fathers Day tea...delicious!! Let us know what you decide to do.

melodrama

  • Joined Jun 2011
  • Forfar
Re: weaners
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2011, 11:09:12 pm »
thank you all so much for the helpful advice.  I am going to contact the breeder tomorrow and explain the situation.  Whilst I don't want to give the boar up, I don't want to risk more little piggies at this stage of my love pig relationship.  We have enough space that we could seperate them if we needed to.  Just not sure what age they reached sexual maturity.  It is saddlebacks that we have btw.  Would they be unhappy if they were separated and living beside one another but alone?????

P.S. Robert, I know I am new to both pigs and this forum but to tell me that I am wrong when I am immediately seeking to remedy the problem and looking for advice from those more experienced than myself is, in my opinion, a bit mean and unnecessary.  However, I appreciate your input.
Melanie x x

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: weaners
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2011, 08:45:12 am »
cant do right for doing wrong        it is blindingly obvious somebody cant tell the diffferance     and to launch straight in and tell a newbie to the forum that they have been done i tried to avoid
i dont do tea and sympathy       never have and never will                     it simply comes down to either a genuine mistake or you were intentional  done         the solution is in your hands           advice yes     but will it tie in with what you see as a solution to your problem

Sylvia

  • Joined Aug 2009
Re: weaners
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2011, 08:53:16 am »
Would the poor old boar be kept on his own if separated? If you intend them for meat would it matter if you had a replacement gilt? Why do you not want to give the boar up?

melodrama

  • Joined Jun 2011
  • Forfar
Re: weaners
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2011, 10:09:14 am »
Robert, I appreciate that there was a mistake made here and that I am partially responsible for that, that is why I came on the forum to ask advice - and why I thanked you for giving it in your own unique way!  Sylvia - If its at all possible to keep both the pigs that I bought, learn from my mistake and rear them both to the freezer without them mating then I would rather do that than exchange because of all the red tape we would need to go through.  I believed that saddlebacks didn't reach sexual maturity until between 7-9 months and that would potentially not cause a problem.  As I said, I am new to all this and was looking for advice on whether or not it was possible to keep them together until slaughter and then I will learn to check for myself in the future thus avoiding the same problem happening again. If the advice is no - that is not a good idea, get the boar swapped if possible then that is what I will do.  Many thanks again to everyone for your input.

melanie x

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: weaners
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2011, 11:07:26 am »
melanie   it is a case of try it and see      there are a lot of factors to be considered         do you want light carcasses or heavy    light =60 kilos heavy=120 kilos    a light weight you have a slim to none chance of mating  the heavy weight there is a greater chance of mating
then you can just keep them to they become active and slaughter then
your feeding the weather and how good they are  have to be taken into consideration (they grow more in warm weather than cold  if outside reared) a well fed pig grows quicker than one that has to forrage :farmer:

OhLaLa

  • Joined Sep 2010
Re: weaners
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2011, 11:25:34 am »
My twopenneth:

Don't worry yourself with this any more - take the pig back and get it swapped for a female.

Look at the paperwork the pigs came with. Make sure the eartag numbers tie up with the pigs, and then check to see if the paperwork says male or female for the pig concerned. Next check your payment receipt to check it says 2 females.

Then telephone the person who sold them to you and explain (firmly but nicely) what they have done, and say that as you purchased two females you will be going back to swap the male as per the agreed purchase.

Make the appointment straight away.

.....and please let us know how you get on.  :pig:

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: weaners
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2011, 12:31:02 pm »
oh la la it is not as straight forward as you have written
first melodramas premises are shut down for 20 days  unless any animal is going to slaughter
second if the first is ignored the sellers premises will be shut down on the boars return
third it has been discussed on other threads that pigs under one year old can be moved without tags and if tags are applied the new owner has to tag them to identify that pig with there holding
fourth   payment receipt       the majority of these transactions are cash without the paper trail
IT IS A VERY GOOD SITUATION TO BE DEBATED AND JUST HOW IT WILL BE RESOLVED       AND I AM SURE HAS HAPPENED BEFORE :farmer:

 

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