Author Topic: New to nottingham -new to pig keeping (Read 4552 times)

pinkylol · « **on:** April 09, 2009, 12:51:52 pm »

Hi im lorraine and me and my husband phil have a small farm/smallholding in tythby-nottingham.
We breed sadleback pigs (4 sows) and have a fantastic boar called Berti who is the royal show runner up 2007.

We have 3 horses,4 ducks,2 geese,2 dogs,3 cats and 2 month old baby so we have our hands full!!!!!

We would love to exchange idears with other about feeding pigs-we like to give ours lots of veg eg carrots,parsnips,sugar beet and a feed called cheap feed which is 14% protien but it can vary.We are trying to strike a balance between what a pig would naturaly eat,good protein content,so the meat tastes good and as ever cost!!!!.We have sold the majority of our weaners this spring but could have sold them 4 times over!!! and have had excelent feed back on our meat.

We are new to smallholing and pigs so any advice is welcome also we are new to the area so would love to hear from people in the nottingham/derby areas.
Im thinking of getting chickens -what the best ones to start with and how many?

thanks Lorraine

HappyHippy · « **Reply #1 on:** April 09, 2009, 01:43:37 pm »

Hello Lorraine, welcome to the forum from South Lanarkshire!
For smallholding advice I can only suggest looking through old posts - there are plenty to keep you going for a while and if anything's not covered then just post a question and you'll get plenty of good advice

As for chickens

- if it's only to supply you, hubby and babe (when they're old enough) then 2 would probably suffice. But if you've got a bit of space and any chance of a market for the eggs - get more. I don't have chickens myself (yet!!!) but they seem to be incredibly addictive, so it's probably worth getting the biggest house & run you can afford/accommodate, starting off with a couple and gradually expanding once you find your feet, as it were.

As for breeds - I'm no expert I can't recommend anything, but it might be worth thinking about ex-battery rescue hens. One of the old threads in the poultry section has a link to the website - but I can't remember which one - sorry.
Good luck and keep us up to date with your expliots

Karen

Rosemary · « **Reply #2 on:** April 09, 2009, 07:32:42 pm »

Hi and welcome.

www.bhwt.org.uk is the address for ex battery hens. Start with three - then if one dies, you have breathing space to restock without having a lonesome hen!

doganjo · « **Reply #3 on:** April 09, 2009, 09:47:38 pm »

I started with 20 the first time, but they were already an established flock. When i moved here I got 2 Light Sussex, then another 2, then 6 ex batts - the LS and ex batts are presently in separate runs. One of the LS turned out to be Jamie who may not stay if he ever tries to get at me again. I don't think he'll try though as he got picked up and stared at while I did some chores then thrown down to the ground. He ran to the shed. I did that with a previous cockerel too, and he was Ok, so I hope it worked with Jamie. I intend giving him the ex batts to play with too. Does anyone know whether that will make him aggressive? or will it not change anything? They are very friendly but the LS girls keep their distance.

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2009, 09:18:51 am »

Hi nice to "meet" a fellow pig keeper. We have hens, started with 6 when we first came here now have around 30 and 30 odd ducks (we only had 3 a few months ago). If you want eggs then ex bats are great. We have brahmas and like everything else they soon become a passion and are very addicitive.

MiriMaran · « **Reply #5 on:** April 10, 2009, 09:43:35 pm »

Hi Pinkylol, I'm just north of Derby in Milford. In the next couple of weeks I am hoping to get 2 weaners either GOS or British Saddlebacks, but am struggling to find anyone local to buy from!!

I also keep 20 chickens and can give you the number of a farmer in Sutton-on-the-hill who sells chickens. I bought 2 White Leghorns (lay white eggs), 2 Speckledies (speckled eggs), 2 Black Rocks, and 2 Cream Legbars (Blue eggs) from him. I like my egg boxes to have a nice variety of eggs in them! If you want the number PM me! He sells POL hens and also chicks at varying ages and prices. I also have 8 ex-batts, which although are amazing to watch them adapt to a natural environment have caused us more problems and anxieties than the farm hens.

If you know of anyone seeling weaners please let me know!

BillyBerridge · « **Reply #6 on:** April 11, 2009, 11:21:21 am »

Hello from nottingham!

I am i right in thinking tythby, is near cropwell bishop? I'm just down the road at farnsfield.

We also breed, currently we have gos,lb, and osb/gos crosses.

Nice to see a local on here!

BB

carole · « **Reply #7 on:** April 12, 2009, 03:33:17 pm »

Hi

Welcome from me as well, as far as ex batts go, you will not go far wrong, reliable layers and you will be saving them from terrible conditions. LACEF has just begun to support rehoming of these birds and in just a few weeks has rehomed approx 80 of them!!!
www.lacef.fr has details in the smallholders section of what conditions these birds live in.

Carole

doganjo · « **Reply #8 on:** April 12, 2009, 06:10:06 pm »

I had ex batts before I moved down here and re-homed them to friends, then I got 6 more in September - they are so friendly compared to my pedigree birds. Admittedly they don't all lay every day - but so what - they give me pleasure in other ways too.