[Pinno]

I am new to pigkeeping and having followed all the procedures I am now up and ready to get some pigs!

I live on an arable farm and have two plots of woodland which I have identified as my pig paddocks!

I am unable to decide which Rare breed to get.

Which are the hardiest breeds most adept to living in woodland.

I am planning to start small with just 4 sows and I am in the process of making two wooden pig arcs to house them.

Any help is welcomed!

Pinno

[robert waddell]

any of the breeds will fit in
small start 4 sows  that will produce forty piglets and before they are ready to go you will have another forty
try weaners first before delving into breeding

[Bionic]

Pinno,
I am new to pig keeping myself. Having bought 2 weaners at the beginning of May I would agree with Robert that weaners would be best as a starter.
I have learnt a lot from my 2 girls (and a pig keeping course) and continue to learn every day but there is no way I would feel ready for breeding. Mine are destined to go on their one way journey mid Sept.
Sally

[HappyHippy]

Hi Pinno & welcome to TAS 
 
Do you plan to start breeding straight away ? 'Sow' normally refers to a breeding pig after she's had her first litter and if you mean young females it's normally 'gilt'.
I would really suggest you start by raising a few batches of weaners for the freezer first, for a number of reasons...
1) You'll get to 'practice' your husbandry skills (jagging, tagging, loading) and build your confidence
2) You can try out all the different breeds to see which suits you best in terms of temprament and style/ease of management and how they impact on your ground, fences, lifestyle  .
And lastly,
3) You'll only need the one house cos weaners will usually all sleep together happily 
 
The other thing to consider, depending on where in the UK you are is how available and accesible the breeds are that you fancy actually are. In terms of 'most rare' you're looking at British Lop, Middlewhite, Berkshire, Large Black and Large White's (think probably in that order too)
 
HTH
Karen 

[oaklandspigs]

Would echo others on starting with weaners, and think that's probably what you meant.
 
On breeed, you'll find no concensus of opinion on which breed - we all have our favorites.
 
We would generally suggest you start with a "lop eared" breed, that is one with the ears pointed down - eg saddleback, large black, OSB, Welsh etc.  The prick eared breeds (eg tamworth, middlewhite, berkshire) can see more, and can be a bit more of an escape artists.  But there are no hard and fast rules.
 
In the end, go for what you like the look of !

[sokel]

I have finished  2 tamworths , just got meat back from 2 middle whites and have 5 GOS weaners at the moment , I have to admit out of all of them i found the tamworths more fun, yes they did escape twice but thats part of the fun  and thed did come running as soon as i shouted 

[HappyHippy]

I have finished  2 tamworths , just got meat back from 2 middle whites and have 5 GOS weaners at the moment , I have to admit out of all of them i found the tamworths more fun, yes they did escape twice but thats part of the fun  and thed did come running as soon as i shouted 

Yeah, it's not great at the time though, especially if it's 3 black pigs gone walkabout in the middle of a dark, cold, rainy night    AND you're 8 and a half months pregnant at the time       but it gives you some great stories to tell and is really just part and parcel of keeping animals (cos it's not just pigs who do it  )
Karen 

[sokel]

 And here is me thinking it was only us that was mad  we have had a few animals go awol over the years !
From goats deciding the farmers fields are much better to horses that think its terrifying to walk through a ford in water about 6" deep with someone on its back but its great fun to jump off the river bank into 2ft of water to eat a weed on the other side even though its own field is full of grass

[Beewyched]

Agree with all the above - except for wandering about in the night at 8 & a half months pregnant Karen     
I would always recommend Kune Kune for 1st-time pigs - but then, I would (as the folks on here know) I started with KKs & I don't want to move-on to any bigger breeds - but it is a case of each to their own.
All pigs will love woodland, so that shouldn't affect your choice.  Not sure if I would advise starting with sows as your 1st pigs - they can be fixed in their ways & may not handle well for you.  Try & get around to some of your local pig keeping TASers & see their set-ups & stock - they may be able to help supply you with youngsters this time of year & you will be reassured with plenty of ongoing support.
 

[TheCaptain]

Yeah, it's not great at the time though, especially if it's 3 black pigs gone walkabout in the middle of a dark, cold, rainy night    AND you're 8 and a half months pregnant at the time       but it gives you some great stories to tell and is really just part and parcel of keeping animals (cos it's not just pigs who do it  )
Karen 

My wife can reate to that when I went windsurfing in egypt a coupe of years ago leaving her with a four year old, a two year old and 7 months pregnant to battle with the mud and rain in February looking after my two weaners. I wasn't massively popular...

[robert waddell]

your wife might just not have been up to the windsurfing so you were better doing that

[sabrina]

have you gone into all your cost, is their a market in your area for weaners. At the last rare breed sale at Thainstone weaners were selling for £5 which was less than some chickens.

[princesspiggy]

have you gone into all your cost, is their a market in your area for weaners. At the last rare breed sale at Thainstone weaners were selling for £5 which was less than some chickens.

were they? ouch.
if u go for breeding gilts, i find ur relation with them is much better if u have raised them from birth/weaners, and they fit in with ur place and working style much better .

[Beewyched]

have you gone into all your cost, is their a market in your area for weaners. At the last rare breed sale at Thainstone weaners were selling for £5 which was less than some chickens.

were they? ouch.
if u go for breeding gilts, i find ur relation with them is much better if u have raised them from birth/weaners, and they fit in with ur place and working style much better .

Totally agree with you Julia - it's soooo much easier if they've grown up with you. 
 
 

[princesspiggy]

 
Totally agree with you Julia - it's soooo much easier if they've grown up with you. 
 
 

an example.
our pigs are used to dogs and as i always have 2 dogs following me everywhere since the pigs were weaners/born, i just took it for granted.
a 2 yr old sow we bought in, actively hates them and will put up a good 10m chase and start a fight.
the problem being is the dogs hide behind me and i got a nasty bite in the thigh last week when she tried to bite the labrador and got me instead. shes no better after 6 mths yet all the babies raised here dont bat an eyelid. shes away next week, 200kg of rage isnt much fun.