Don't worry, I meant that they're picked up from the abattoir within a few days, and then they go to the butcher who'll hang them for another few days (the two butchers involved in ours this year both said that our half pigs would have to hang until a week after killing as they were so fresh).
So after a week or so the butchers start their work, which is done in between their work in their shops, so that took a few days as well. All in all, nearly a fortnight of tortuous waiting, dreamily oiling your roasting tins
The pigs do get really big but they're friendly giants - you'll just suffer from the infamous Flat Leg Syndrome when they come and sit on your lap for a cuddle with their full 90 kilo's!
They can be boisterous, but again in a friendly way. We didn't train ours to sit by their trough at feeding time, so had to push our way through them - next year we might just succeed in teaching them some table manners!
Our pigs (all uncastrated boars) happily let a 7-year old sit on their backs while she was brushing their hair - one of them pretty much laid down as soon as he saw her coming!
If they're biting, give them a tap on the side of the nose (not hard! just unpleasant) immediately, or tap sideways with your shoe when they nibble your toes. They bite out of optimism, not because they're nasty - they just always wonder if what's in front of them is edible!
Do this from when they're little - usually you have to do it twice in a row, and then you see them thinking: "Hmmm, food isn't supposed to react like that" (honestly, you can tell when they're trying to use their brain!). They're like children, so you'll need to repeat it every now and then.
As for pigs escaping: when you get next year's pigs, use a particular call every time you arrive at their pen and feed them. I just call out in a high pitch "piggy piggy piggy piggy piggyyyyyyyyy". Within a few meals they'll recognise your call.
Some of our weaners escaped this year when the electric wire malfunctioned. When they arrived on day 1, they were overwhelmed because of all the space they had compared to where they came from (Can I keep on walking here? Really? Can I keep on walking here?). But it didn't take them long to get used to the great outdoors - 5 days to be precise! We arrived in the evening to find 3 weaners missing. Needless to say, I nearly died!! Hubby found them on the other side of the farm, just about to break into the farmer's wife's garden. The enormous relief of them not being down the lane, getting run over by a car, was quickly followed by "how on earth are we going to catch them??". Then I called out "piggy piggy piggy piggy piggyyyyyyyyy" and... they straight away ran towards me! I ran over the fields towards the pen and they just followed! They were soooo cute, running like little puppy dogs with their chubby bottoms going up and down and ears flapping!! As soon as we saw how quickly they came back, I gave my mobile to hubby who filmed me running over the field with my spotted little darlings following me, soooo funny!
And as Hilarysmum says: your own pork will taste divine - the bacon is the best ever!!!
Hubby needed bacon a few weeks ago and bought Waitrose's best - it smells fine but it's like biting into water! And yes, get pigs with floppy ears - they can't see that well where they're going!
Don't worry about the tag being upside down, but take the tags and pliers with you in case some tags fall off during the night.
Good luck - and don't forget your feeding bucket!
Eve
