[princesspiggy]

i aim to ai 24 hrs after the vulva has swollen up, mine will stand more than normal but not rock solid - dorothy is better tempered when in season so i can lean on her rump without her complaining, whereas on a normal day she'l curse and move away.
 i just feed them. they dont even seem to notice the ai at all. the gos are less obvious when they swell up and more even tempered everyday hence why i get the timing wrong.
much easier having a fulltime boar but he still eats alot!! less worry tho. i wouldnt like the responsibilty of someones elses boar incase something happened to him.
deerpark have delivered ontime every time but sometimes the blasted postman takes the parcel back to the  depot which stuffs it all up, especially if its sat morning...tss

 

[Sylvia]

I've only, until recently, reared bought-in weaners for pork. I don't add up the cost am just thankful for all the "Happy" meat.
Now I have my sows I think, with selling some of the weaners (Kune-Kune) I may be near to breaking even. With the remainder, I have a firm order with a restaurant so may even see, maybe a fiver profit
As to what will become of "the girls" when their breeding days are over I won't think about now. I will, more than likely, keep them 'til it will be kinder to have them P.T.S. I love them

[SallyintNorth]

Thanks pp, very helpful to know someone else's experiences 

We are blessed with helpful sensible posties (unless all the usuals are on hols), thankfully.  Deerpark even sorted me out successfully when I knew I'd need semen between Christmas and New Year! 

[Tamsaddle]

Another thing which is a huge help getting the timing of AI right is to use Boarmate spray on the main day you think they are on heat - ie. swollen vulvas, responding to stimulation, standing or nearly standing still, weird behaviour and manically active ears (particularly Tamworths).   A spot of mucus on or just inside the vulva is an even better sign.    If they are up for it, they respond very noticeably to the spray, either freezing there and then, or showing you excessive attention as if you were the boar.    (At other times when they are not ready for mating they are completely disinterested in the spray.)    We always AI not at feeding time, as they are far too busy rooting around for every last nut, and usually wait for an hour or so when they are no longer hungry and not obsessed with eating.    When you have got the timing just right and spray the Boarmate near their nose, they stand stock still for 10 minutes, like a frozen statue out of Chronicles of Narnia, and do not move a muscle while you are doing the AI, even with very little back pressure.    We always do the three doses, am/pm/am, or pm/am/pm, the first as soon as they respond positively to Boarmate, and often find that by dose 3 they are starting to lose interest and cannot be persuaded to stand still for very long.   So far we have done AI four times and have had four first go successes.   The instructions that come with the Deerpark semen are excellent, and each time we have had a bit of leakage at the end - so obviously this does not affect the end result.   You can get Boarmate spray from Animal Health, address on internet.   We try not to overuse the spray so they don't get too over familiar with it.  HTH Tamsaddle

[robert waddell]

from previous posts we are all for the real McCoy the most obvious is the cost  2 or 3 failed attempts and you are not far short of the price of a boar 4 breeding sows you are not long in eating away at a big chunk of money
hiring a boar    a good one   is easier and not much more than one failed AI session yes you have to feed it and there is collection and all that  our Tamworth boar is still out on his tour of Scotland from last Sept it all down to the individual breeder

[Fowgill Farm]

from previous posts we are all for the real McCoy ........................all down to the individual breeder

Agree with Robert i spent a good couple of hundred quid on AI, got proper pig men in to do it and no luck! Its why i have a boar and to keep him occupied we do sow B&B, this way i know where he is and who's using him, he has a palatial bio-security pad specially for his visiting ladies and touch wood we have had very few problems. He'll be available mid - end of April if anyone's interested, see GOS website for details or message me on here.
Mandy 

[Tamsaddle]

In our set up having our own boars wouldn't work at all.   To start with we have 2 Tamworths sows and  2 Saddlebacks only and don't want to cross breed, so 2 different boars would be needed with absolutely impenetrable fencing to prevent accidents happening with the wrong pigs.   In the last month our two younger gilts have been serviced directly as AI was impossible (the only Deepark semen available is that of their respective sires), one going off to a boar a 2 hour drive away, and the other boar visiting us.   What with the hire charge, cost of feed and fuel getting there and back twice, the cost for each one was about £80, as oppose to £28 from Deerpark including the postage.    Another big problem is finding suitable boars for hire, the right size, the right bloodline, and a holding which is open to visiting pigs - most places near us are entirely closed and do not want to run the risk of any unknown diseases or 21 day standstills.    Tamsaddle

[robert waddell]

a boar does not suit every situation or breeder  and it is not just a simple case of any female will do you have to forward plan the lines that both are from and what other breeders there are with the same breed  it will get to saturation point when your lines have to be changed or there is inbreeding
when we started with Tammie's dreamboy was the boar line we used and most of the Tammie's that are pedigree can be traced back to our breeding in Scotland   there have been others that have imported other lines to Scotland since but mainly female
welsh pigs there are only two herds in Scotland
lops there are lops on an island and we have one and there may be one other herd up north
Duroc only males in Scotland
Hampshire only two herds and they are closely related
gos breeders have to go down south to get quality and not always with results
potential breeding problems for a shed load of breeders that deerpark cant solve
as to shutdown  i cant hammer this enough every breeder should have isolation facility's proper registered ones

[Fowgill Farm]

as to shutdown  i cant hammer this enough every breeder should have isolation facility's proper registered ones

I echo this, its easy to get an isolation unit checked out speak to your vet, they assess your set up and then put in a report to your nearest AH and they issue your certificate. Google isolation unit defra for info on the set up required. We use our unit both for visiting ladies to our boar and thro' out the show season. Takes a lot of juggling sometimes but generally we manage. Big wall chart, coloured pens and head scratching!
Mandy 

[princesspiggy]

if planning on using an isolation pen for showing, is a separate paddock enough with respect to show preparation etc.
we have a little paddock and sty that is suitable for isolation etc as easy access and not near our other pigs. but couldnt see a clean show pig coming out of there. we have a concrete courtyard that would be better with showing in mind but wouldnt be suitable for covering visiting sows. do AH let u have 2 separate isolation pens? and do they charge you when applying?
ta

[robert waddell]

isolation means just that isolated      you can have one in the middle of a field if you want it just has to be double fenced a specified distance apart and no possibility of any animal touching noses
two isolation facility's would require two applications or at least two acceptances from AH
the animals go into isolation for 6 days before mixing with the rest of the herd  show grounds are treated as isolation facility's and theoretically you can move from one isolation unit to another without triggering a standstill period     free in Scotland   in England your vet has to come and see the isolation facility's so that would incur a cost    better to wash them before leaving then it is only a tidy up at the show and there is always a Que to get to the wash facility's  not in Scotland we don't have any

[Berkshire Boy]

What you have no wash facilities in Scotland Robert. Not invented taps yet.

[robert waddell]

just wait till  the English government see sense and have a pipline for water to irrigate the deserts of eastern England     you will know all about taps and faucets then

[princesspiggy]

isolation means just that isolated      you can have one in the middle of a field if you want it just has to be double fenced a specified distance apart and no possibility of any animal touching noses

touching noses with other pigs? or other animals?
my little paddock is away from the pigs but bordered by sheep, ponies and cows. is electric acceptable fencing to be approved?

[Fowgill Farm]

PP try this link its from the berkshire pig club but they won't mind should have al the info you need.

http://www.berkshirepigs.org.uk/conditions.htm
also

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/movements/documents/livestock_movement_controls-review.pdf
Find page 37 annex d
HTH
Mandy