[Alan and Astrid]

I am putting a plan in place to set up a livestock smallholding, revolving around rare breed pigs reared in woodland. My intension is to get a rich game flavour and believe this will be best achieved by these means.

However I'm not sure and was hoping you could,answer a few questions on taste and quality of the meat.

If you eat pedigree rare breed pork -

Can you tell the difference in taste and quality of pedigree or are you rearing them for other reasons?

If matured meat tastes more 'gamey' was it the meat was hung for longer or the weener was raised / lived longer?

What age and weight would you recommend to finish tamworths for optimum taste & quality?
Does freezing reduce the flavour as well as the quality?

If pigs are outdoor reared can I expect a reduction in their feed, due to foraging?

What do you feed you pigs?

What is an average litter size?

Are you achieving 2 litters per year from a breeding sow?


I'm aware I'm bombarding the forum with questions but these are the last details that I hope to check off before diving in at the deep end.

Alan and Astrid

[HappyHippy]

Hiya & welcome to TAS 
Your questions.......
The difference between outdoor and indoor is the most obvious, it's not gamey so much, more that it's just full of flavour. If you're looking for 'gamieness' in the pork look to Iron age or Wild boar - but see my notes* below
Tamworths around 85Kg liveweight would be the 'optimal' time to slaughter (it's usually around 6 months, but many things can affect it - so go by weight rather than age) after 85Kg they don't convert the food as efficiently.
You can't reduce feeding by much, even if they are outside - hunger would be a contributing factor to breakouts and possibly result in a bit of fighting over food  You're far better to stick to a pound per month of age daily (or what they can eat in 15 minutes) up to a maximum of 6lbs and just keep an eye on their condition - you may be able to reduce it a bit, but you'd have to see how they got on.
I feed pig nuts or rolls - it's easier and less hassle than getting licences and having storage for mixing your own, but there are one or two folk on here who do mix their own I think, so they'll be able to advise on that  You have to be very careful with regard to not feeding anything which has been in a kitchen - completely illegal.
Litter size will vary with age of pig, breed of pig, boar used, condition & health status of both and can be helped by you with good provision of post farrowing care - probably around 8 would be average. And yes, most folk will be aiming to get 2 litters a year to keep conception rates and litter size high (they'll drop a wee bit if you're only having one litter a year)

I'm aware I'm bombarding the forum with questions but these are the last details that I hope to check off before diving in at the deep end.

I would advise against diving straight in  Not to put you off, but there's lots to learn before you start breeding. I'd advise raising a few batches of weaners first to make sure you enjoy keeping pigs and allow you to get to grips with the husbandry side and decide if you really want to go down the breeding route.

* Wild boar - NOT a starter's breed unfortuately, and you'll need a dangerous animal licence and all that goes with that to keep them. Iron age are a cross with WB and Tamworth, and don't require the dangerous animal licence but again, not really a breed for your first venture into pig keeping. Start off with something lop eared and a bit easier to manage 

Have a read back through the pig section on the forum - loads of good advice there too 
HTH
Karen 

[chickenfeed]

good advice from HH.

i would also start with weaners through to killing weights,when we started out with pigs we knew we did not want commercials LW, LR etc (my parents had done this large scale in upto the 80's so we opted for BL's then tried most rare breeds we found we enjoyed the lops so when we decided to breed we opted for them the pork and bacon is fab and the pigs are a joy to be around.

[Fowgill Farm]

Taste
Yes you can taste the difference between free range rare breed pork compared to commercially raised pork and most of us raise our own because we want to know where pur meat comes from and that it was raised ethically
Longer growing hanging etc
In my opinion pork shouldn't taste gamey to me that means its off or got taint but if you want stronger flavoured pork you're probably best with a cross breed which then you can't classify as rare breed
Optimum time 24 weeks to butchers for porkers 40" round chest measured
Freezing No not in my opinion

Cut feed in lieu of foraging No already said by HH

FeedingSow nuts, surplus garden fruit & veg, sugar beet in winter

Average litter sizeHow long is a piece of string would guess at 8 - 10 but we've had 6 & 17 

2 litters per year?Yes but you must keep them in tip top condition no shortcuts on husbandry and feeding


Hope what i've inserted above is some help. From reading your post i take it you're looking at this as a business enterprise, take it cautiously, there are a lot of herds for sale at present with people getting too big too quickly and things then going tits up, food & straw costs have risen drastically in the past few years and it has caught a few people out.
Read all you can, look at keeping pigs & getting started on GOS website www.oldpspots.org.uk and on there you'll also find some members lists, find someone near you and ask to go and see them for some hands on advice and info. Most of the other breed societies have this too. Its just i keep GOS in North Yorkshire so am biased to them!
Theres also loads of info on TAS, most of us on here are 'hobby' pig keepers raising for our own needs. Don't have your ideas coloured by the likes of Jimmy's Farm etc as remember they had loads of tv money behind them! Its not all roses and pretty piglets. Not trying toput you off just to make you think realistically about the committment involved in keeping pigs.
HTH
Mandy 

[robert waddell]

a lot of questions  so you have not done a lot of research yet
first the gamey flavour are you referring to the Italian ham market or gamey like pheasant
taste and quality some on here will tell you there is a difference but nobody has reared pedigree in commercial conditions and done a comparison equally nobody has reared commercial pigs in a pedigree environment and done a comparison
age to slaughter that is another big grey area the breed and individuals within that breed feeding housing conditions and where in the world you are everybody goes on at length about this magic six months the first consideration is what is the max weight your preferred slaughter house will take the last 20 kilos is easier to put on than the first and cheaper
forraging again nobody had done any research into what a pig gets from foraging it is down to your skills as a stockperson to feed and maintain them
breeding it is all good and well aiming for the optimum but pigs have a habit of telling you to sod off
litter size is dependent on a lot of factors all dependent on the skills of the pig keeper and not all pigs are prolific anyway
start with buying in weaners and do keep a record of costs just to see if it is financially of benefit to you
and do buy pedigree you have a better marketing for them than something that looks like a tammie

[FiB]

Well we ate our first home reared pork chop the night before last and it was ABSOLUTELY delicious!!!  Outdoor reared (fresh pasture every 3 or 4 weeks), Saddlebacks, 2 boys 2 girls, killled at 6 months, a bigger than desirable (by the butcher) layer of fat due to co-operative member feeding TWICE what she was supposed to on her feeds  (dont go there - thats another story!!), hung for a week by butcher.  Yet to get ham and bacon back, but VERY VERY happy with the pork!  As said above, not gamey or strong - just delicious!  Will post costs when I get a mo.

[princesspiggy]

if find tamworth meat is more richer and succulent in flavour, whereas GOS is more cleaner, less fatty and more delicate in flavour.
the breeds are different characters to, so its important to experiment with which ones you enjoy looking after - before you get any breeding stock. you'l spend more time looking after them than eating them lol   

[skidley]

It sounds silly to say it but Free Range Rare Breed Pork tastes really porky nothing like the insipid stuff you get in the supermarkets.

I finish my Tams at between 6-7 months for pork and 10mths for bacon.

I agree in starting off with raising weaners before jumping into breeding, keeping them for 6months is hugely different to having them 12 months of the year. But there is no reason why you have to start off with a lop eared pig. If your set up is right then Tamworths are no more trouble than a lop eared pig!! The Tamworth two weren't even Tamworths!

[Anke]

You can feed milk (goats or cows) produced on your own holding without an additional licence, and with a licence if brought in from a dairy (I think same goes for whey).

Makes a really good pork, and the pigs go crazy for the milk! Also very good to bring condition onto sows after farrowing and weaning.

Cheesemaking dairies always used to feed up some pigs on the surplus whey.

[Tudful Tamworths]

Hello Alan and Astrid.

Replied to the email you sent me with similar questions. Hope you got the answers and that they were of use.
Liz