[Tamsaddle]

Does anyone else watch Downton Abbey?   There has been a storyline for weeks about "getting some Tamworths" and the estate starting up with pigs again.    Although a small pen of Tamworth weaners was visible in the background, all the action took place in a pen with a large number of OSBs, most of which looked about 4 months old - odd for newly bought pigs, I would have expected them to be no older than 10-12 weeks.   Also, in the 1920's I thought OSBs numbers were meant to be really low, or have I got that wrong?  The pig which had become de-hydrated looked like a wild boar/Kune kune cross, and the rest of the OSBs (definitely not Tamworths) who were allegedly dehydrated too looked absolutely fine and were charging about as normal.   Last week the actors walked through a pen of young large black weaners before stopping to admire the OSBs again, with just a glimpse of the famous Tamworths in the far background.   


Would have thought the directors/producers could have managed to get their facts about pig breeds and ages better sorted out than this.



 

[danconfessed]

Thank god someone else thought the same.  Its been driving me nuts for weeks!!!  I know its just a TV programme and that its the storyline rather than the finer details but they should have just said "pigs".  When you say "Tamworths" we expected......Tamworths!!

I actually didnt think I see a Tamworth at all.  My partner thought it hilarious that I was getting in such a pickle over it but I had visions of people at home saying how lovely the spotted Tamworths are.

Rant over and glad you brought it up Tamsaddle 

[Bionic]

I thought the same and it was ridiculous that they got dehydrated to the point of death so very quickly. They were only delivered that day and had been given water when they arrived, albeit that since they had kicked over their water trough.
Tamsaddle perhaps you should write to points of view, or is that just for BBC progs?

[Rosemary]

I noticed too - nice wee Large Blacks though  Unusual for a drama like this to be so lax about the detail though.

[NicAlford1234]

Got to remember that it is a tv show!  But do see where you're coming from... Takes business away from me as an OSB breeder as people will now be looking for tamworths!
The age isn't particularly an issue as they could be bought at age, perhaps a nearby farm decided that they didn't want these weaners anymore!
Got to question your judgement on the dehydration aspect, because it's all well and good an actor pretending that he's thirsty, however it's cruel to make a pig dehydrated purely for the enjoyment of viewers!
Interesting discussion

[Rosemary]

Got to question your judgement on the dehydration aspect, because it's all well and good an actor pretending that he's thirsty, however it's cruel to make a pig dehydrated purely for the enjoyment of viewers!
Interesting discussion

I'm pretty sure no animal would have suffered distress for the making of the programme.

[NicAlford1234]

Yes, that's my point. Tamsaddle said that the OSBs "absolutely fine and were charging around as normal". That's all I was commenting on.

[thenovice]

It bugged me too!    Thought I saw some little Berkshires last night!

[mushambi]

Dehydrating pigs until they die for the fun of viewers....I am really shocked.As a small holder I feel the fun should be in the eating.That was really cruel...I dont watch the programme anyway but I am really touched.How do you feel when butchering a pig?

[Tamsaddle]

I don't think the pig on the TV show was dehydrated at all - it was shown lying down for about 3 seconds, whilst all around the others looked perfectly normal.   That was really the point of this post - the storyline was absurd, quite apart from the wrong breed issue.  Pigs everywhere kick their water troughs over and survive quite well until they are filled up again later in the day/next morning when they get fed, and these particular pigs were meant to have only just arrived at their new holding (they also have a full time pig man to attend to them).    It was really a mechanism for Lady Mary and her beau, wearing their smart evening kit, to get plastered in mud.   If they had bothered to consult anyone who knew anything about pigs at all they should have been able to concoct something much more realistic, mud after all is an everyday feature of life with pigs, and I can think of dozens of other (unavoidable) ways of getting myself covered in the stuff!

[Berkshire Boy]

No one has dehydrated a pig for tv. Sometimes I can't believe what I read on here.

[NicAlford1234]

I don't think anybody is saying that the pig was dehydrated, all I'm saying is that it sounded like Tamsaddle was saying that the pig should have been dehydrated, which is clearly wrong. But that may have just been the way I read it and so apologies if that is not the case.

[shygirl]

and how come the pigs in emmerdale have a tiny paddock and its not muddy, and neither do they squeal blue murder at the sight of a human?

[john and helen]

Don't believe everything you see on TV, half of what you see is actually shot in a big studio, with big green screens
things are added after 

with the right editing gear , they could change any of the pigs to a different colour,size or position  let alone background..

the real interesting thing is… how the viewer responds 

[thenovice]

and how come the pigs in emmerdale have a tiny paddock and its not muddy, and neither do they squeal blue murder at the sight of a human?

Sssshhhh, Don't tell anyone, but emmerdale isn't real!