[goodlifer]

Hi all, well we have been on our pig keeping course, fencing all done, arc almost finished now just wondered when we should buy our first weaners. Is it best to wait till the spring so that they have a good 6 months outside or is it better to leave the land to recover over the summer months ?


Thanks 

[oaklandspigs]

either !
Many people start in the spring, and take the pigs over the summer and into the freezer for autumn. 
But pigs don't need to be seasonal, and there is no reason why you shouldn't buy yours now, and take them through the winter. The ground is normally good until the end of November - it is  December and January that are normally the muddy months, but if you have space and use electric to sub-divide, they are quite easy to keep a couple or 4 growers over the winter.
 
When you get into breeding, winter management  takes more effort
 
 
 
 

[Tamsaddle]

For me that decision would depend on whether I had any indoor barn/shed facility I could use when the weather gets really bad in the winter.   If you are entirely outdoors, as we are, and on heavy clay soil, several days of torrential rain can create havoc with your ground if pigs are constantly trampling through it, creating a glutinous slurry that remains months after the rain has stopped.   If you are able to get them inside during the worst rain downpours, the ground gets much less mashed up and can dry out more quickly.   Cold temperatures don't seem to be an issue with pigs, they cope perfectly well with that.  Other reasons I prefer spring/summer pigs are - the grass lasts longer which they nibble at constantly, better digging/rooting conditions, sunbathing, you can walk through the plot and get to the ark without sinking/getting completely stuck in mud, you can choose where to have a wallow instead of the whole plot being one, and generally, you get to see more of the pigs as it's nicer for humans being outside in summer.     


 

[Fowgill Farm]

If you really want to enjoy your first venture into pig keeping, wait until Spring. Like Tamsaddle we are on clay and we have to bring the pigs into the farm buildings over the winter.
See http://www.gospbc.co.uk/so-you-want-to-keep-pigs-part-1/
and http://www.gospbc.co.uk/category/pig-management/
 
HTh
Mandy

[ballingall]

Personally, I get my pigs in September and run them through Autumn and winter. BUT, I do that for very particular reasons which suit me. If I was to make a recommendation, I'd say wait til spring. It's a hard slog looking after them in the winter months- I work full time, so it's feeding them in the dark, and again at night in the dark when we get to December. Breaking water on frozen drinking water, carrying them straw to the ark in the dark through the cold mud, slippy ground, icy rain, snow! Lol sounds awful- why do I do it?!


Wait until April or May and then get them.


Beth

[Cjnewton82]

I have just finished with my first set of pigs.

 I would 100% do through the spring summer i got mine in late April spent loads of time just sitting with them watching and learning there behavior. I to work full time so it was great to feed them in the light at 6.30am and 6.30pm. plus you will spend time fixing the fence and its much nicer doing it in the sunshine

[devonlad]

sorry to be repetitive but for all the reasons stated above i would wait till spring. if like us you have to go work for a living then the misery of trudging through ice cold winter mud, unfreezing pipes for the thirsty little bleeders, worrying becasue their ark isnt warm enough, never seeing them in daylight  etc.etc.etc. just doesn't make sense. Nothing like a batch of shiny new weaners gambolling throught the fresh green grass of spring.

[oaklandspigs]

I think if you're just keeping a few winter is fine if you plan.
Overall if people only keep during the summer months,  then we'll soon not have any pigs left ! 
Pigs need to breed twice a year, so autumn weaners are available as a result of people wanting spring weaners.  But if people don't buy all year round, then the economics for breeders go out of the window, and with current high feed prices likely to remain, we'll lose the few breeders we currently have !
Yes go into it with your eyes open, but don't dismiss year round pig keeping - it's not hard if you plan, and you get year round pork !

[goodlifer]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and experiences. We have decided to wait till spring, if only I was more patient !