[Maesgwyn]

My gilt has just given birth to 10 piglets but sadly she is not a birth notified pig so can not register her litter which is so sad, the boar is a freight train and this is also his first litter. I just wondered just how rare are rare breed Berkshires

[HappyHippy]

They are considered 'at risk' by the Rare Breed survival trust (numbers are somewhere between 300-500, though probably closer to 300 than 500) not a lot at all when you consider that there are about 800 Siberian tigers left and everybody knows how rare they are 
 
But there are a few breeds considered to be more vulnerable, such as the British Lop, Large Black and Middle White - all with less than 300 pigs.
 
Unfortunately unless it's a registered pedigree pig it doesn't count towards national herd numbers held by the BPA or RBST   
HTH
Karen 

[Greenerlife]

Gosh!  I feel really guilty for having two in my freezer now!   

[Maesgwyn]

I will end up with 10 going to slaughter! what a great shame, though do have a very young registered gilt who will go to the boar next year so I will do my bit but still need to find homes for these and those not coming up to the breed standards! Think I need to think out of the box as where we live you can pick up a weaner for £5 or less and the meat I have goes up to Huddersfield and over the Fareham where they will pay the going prices, cant give it away here!

[Tudful Tamworths]

The thing, is, a lot of people think they are doing something for rare breeds by buying and keeping them, but, unless they are registered as pedigree stock, they don't count.
 
Okay, so in a small way, you are helping those breeders who do help conserve the breed and bloodlines - because you are buying their unwanted stock which don't come up to the breed standard (and therefore should never be registered). You are also helping to pay their ongoing feed bills (which will be considerable) and helping them keep their respective herds going.
 
However, for those people who care about conservation but who choose to breed from unregistered stock, they might as well be buying cross-bred pigs from the market. That does nothing to help any breed. Ask the British Pig Association says, quite correctly: "A pig without a pedigree is just a pig."

[Berkshire Boy]

Julia, I wouldn't worry too much about producing piglets that don't go in the herd book. My herd is registered but about 95% of the weaners still go off for meat. The most important thing is that people become aware of the breed and the rarity. The trouble with the BPA figures that they give out about the number of pedigree sows is that they are only the ones that belong to members of the BPA. A lot of people don't join for one reason or another but still own registered herds, I wouldn't be supprised if you could double the number.Unfortunately you don't get much for your money where they are concerned but they have you by the proverbials if you want to show or sell registered stock.
Good luck with the gilt and I hope you can find a market for your weaners in your area. If you breed good stock people will travel a long way for the right pig.
 

[Blonde]

My gilt has just given birth to 10 piglets but sadly she is not a birth notified pig so can not register her litter which is so sad, the boar is a freight train and this is also his first litter. I just wondered just how rare are rare breed Berkshires

NO, but you could get it registered.......

[Maesgwyn]

Blonde how can you register a pig that is not birth notified? My other gilt and boar are just this one missed out.

[HappyHippy]

Gosh!  I feel really guilty for having two in my freezer now!   

Please don't Greenerlife ! You're doing a good thing 
 
In every pedigree litter there are pigs which don't make the grade for registering - they might not meet breed standards or be 'mis-marked'. In each litter the breeder might only get one or two that are good enough to register and go on to breed, and the others are sold as weaners for fattening.
If you weren't buying weaners for fattening, the breeder would see that there wasn't a demand for piglets and maybe wouldn't breed another litter. So although it seems a bit mad, the rare breeds DO need folk to buy birth notified pork pigs and eat them, so that there is a need to breed to meet demand - that's what helps boost the numbers. Hope that makes sense ?
 
Just to pick up on Blonde's point - in the UK, if the pigs aren't registered as pedigree pigs with the BPA (or other relevant breed society) then you can't register the offspring as pedigree/birth notified.
HTH
Karen 
 

[robert waddell]

this forum is world wide and  while blonde's view on registering may be appropriate to Australia it is NOT AND CANNOT BE DONE IN THE UK
 
not all piglets from registered stock are suitable for carrying on to the next generation  two if lucky and four would be an exception  but this depends on the breeders viewpoint as it is them that decide what makes it and what does not   taking berkshires as an example they have six white marks on them (breed standard) yet they are shown and sold with less marks and registered with the bpa as well   now either buyer or seller does not know them or the seller is conning people
at least with pedigree and birth notified pigs  you have some comeback if sold a dud
also on this point gos pigs should not be sold as gos unless it has the paperwork to back it up
so if you go to the local pub that are doing a gos roast you can demand to see the paper work relating to that pig  or go to trading standards
at least with pedigree you have a chance of a bit more when you sell them as opposed to the £5 specials on offer at the auctions

[Blinkers]

Blonde how can you register a pig that is not birth notified? My other gilt and boar are just this one missed out.

To be fair Maesgwyn, this pig (along with the other two which you did get to the abattoir  ) were sold to you as MEAT pigs and were never intended as breeding stock.     You now have a weaner gilt that is a well marked, has a good underline and is fully registered AND ear notched....and the Registration document should be with you any day, if its not already. 

[Maesgwyn]

OK folk, all is fine, the sow is a real poppet and nothing could get her into the trailer to go to slaughter so keeping her for meat production pig and a pet lol got all the paper work for the gilt now so can be all official  and I will be very fussy about what I register so no one panic!

[Tudful Tamworths]

Happy for you, Maesgwyn. Just hope she meets the breed standard.
Hope the future offspring meet the criteria, too.
All the best,
Liz