The Rare Breed Survival Trust is an excellent organisation for people who want to concentrate on traditional pig breeds
Useful Pig Keeping Links
The Pig Breeders Association can offer help and advice for small holders and pig farmers
Piggybank Farm
What are you looking for ?
'Will it live with my Rottweiler ?' is not a good way to begin a conversation with a concerned pig breeder ! This is a true quote from a conversation that Faye had with a chap on the telephone. Sufficing to say we did not sell a weaner to him !
On the one hand it's quite humorous but on the other there is a very serious concern underlying this snippet of conversation. When you go to buy your first pig it does help to have decided some essential questions in your mind before you begin.
Why do I want this animal ?
Pets
Pigs make very large pets ! I have heard of people keeping pigs purely as pets. If you are happy keeping 100kg + of adult pig in your semi detached please make sure that you are happy having no garden.. it will get ploughed up very quickly, plus you will need a large piece of ground to accommodate your pig's appetite for rooting and snuffling!
Similarly, you will require something resembling the size of a flat bed trailer for a litter tray because when a pig has a mind to, boy can it produce manure !
Finally make sure that your furniture is nailed firmly to the floor.
Your pet pig has a nose like a fork lift truck and may quite happily trash your living room in it's attempt to find that last bit of biscuit !
Please accept these comments in the 'tongue in cheek' manner in which they are intended. I don't want to offend anybody's beautifully trained Pot belly or Kune Kune (as you can see from the photo above)
Have a look at our photo album and you'll find that despite my comments, we did not practise what we are preaching. For the first 6 months of her life our Kune Kune Bradshaw, lived in our conservatory !... and yes, you will see photos of her having a shower in the bath... and yes it is her looking smug whilst sitting on my sisters knee... but back to the preaching, it is better to build a beautifully snug house for your pig rather than allow it indoors.
If he or she is not to be a pet, then are you going to buy you pig for breeding, showing (or dare I say roasting)
Showing
If you have alot of patience, a good eye for breed characteristics, quite alot of cash, a big trailer, lots of annual leave from work and are happy to gain experience through lots of trial and error.. then showing pigs is for you.
Showing does have it's advantages. It's great fun, very sociable, good for making contacts and good for showing the pig community what you can do !
However it could be argued that show and sales are not the best way to get a premium price for your pigs.. although they will undoubtedly get you a better price than your local livestock market.
Before you select a pig to train for showing you should consult with the breed society so that you know what the breed standards are. The British Rare breed pig keeping societies are listed on this web site.
Prize winning pigs do not win shows by accident. You should ring up some of the breeders and discuss with them about the sort of animal that you are looking for.
Remember: It is vital that you select you pig according to which class you are going to show in for example:
Turnout i.e. how well you and your animal are presented to the judge
Breed Standard how well the animal conforms to it's pedigree standard (usually awarded on a points basis)
Confirmation i.e. The potential in the class for the best meat animal
In general
A few suggestions that we have found useful:
Look for a good underline ( whether the pigs belly is straight)
Look for evenly matched 'buttons' ( a pigs teats are in pairs which ideally should line up together 10-16 buttons is good (although Kune Kune's may well have less 8-14)
Look for straight not 'ten to three' feet
If the pig is a pork pig it should be well built and muscular ( in very general terms) whilst Bacon pigs will tend to be long and lean. With the commercial Landrace, both of these qualities are sort after. What you do not want is an overly skinny or indeed fat pig.
The pig should look healthy, alert, and have a glossy coat
Breeding
Mostly, we have chosen our stock for this purpose. A breeding sow will have to work hard during her lifetime so make sure you buy a fit, healthy, hardy breed of pig.
We have found Gloucester Old Spots and Middle Whites to be extremely durable during the winter months which is important if you want your pigs to be outdoors in arks over winter.
British Rare Breeds do have a reputation for being that little bit hardier than the commercial Large Whites although out of the 7 rare breeds we have been advised to buy Saddlebacks if you want prolific breeders but Berkshires if you want responsive but easy going temperaments.
From my comments so far you can see that there are several factors that you might like to consider when buying breeding stock:
Temperament
Do you mind whether your pig is placid, docile, etc. In fairness, this will depend to a large extent on how you treat the pig but we have found that different breeds do exhibit different characteristics.
One myth in our experience has been that Tamworth's are terribly hard to look after. We have found them to be lovely in general although quite vocal when on heat !
Hardiness
Where do you intend keeping your pigs ? By far the most hardy pig breed that we have come across is the Kune Kune. Although they are small and often dismissed they are tough little chaps and very gentle to boot !
Numbers of offspring. If you are breeding purely for meat this may be an major factor in your decision making. Be aware that in our discussions with other pig keepers we have always been advised that in this respect, commercial breeds will win out by far.
Quality of the meat
For us this is also vitally important. We have found that the best pork that we have tasted has come from Berkshires.
Gloucester's give a more textured meat but personally we prefer our Berkshires for this purpose.
Finally it is worth mentioning whilst on this point that Tamworths are recognised as excellent bacon pigs which we can personally endorse. Similarly the Middle White produces excellent meat and matures early and are therefore ready for slaughter that little bit earlier. For some meat breeders with rising feed costs this is worth bearing in mind.
Personal Health Warning !
I am sure that there are breeders out there who violently disagree with our particular piggy preferences. However, please do not sharpen your meat cleavers just yet, I must emphasise that this whole section is highly subjective and these views are only our opinion . If our observations can be of help to new pig owners then this section is worth while.
Breed Quality:
I take my hat off to the dedicated breeders who buy pigs to sell as pedigree weaners. I find it quite amazing listening to conversations about crossing bloodlines and breeding qualities in or out. I wouldn't dream of offering comment about this skilled and most dedicated form of pig breeding but I would commend this area of pig keeping to you as a fascinating and very rewarding pastime.
Where are you going to keep it ?
When you have finally waded through back issues of Farmers Weekly, Country Smallholder, The Ark, The NFU 'Countryside' magazine and others and read all the pig articles that you can lay your hand on, next you need to decide how much land you have available.
The D.E.F.R.A.'s Guidelines recommends a maximum of 10 pigs to an acre. In reality 10 pigs will turn you acre into something resembling the Somme if you don't manage the land properly.
Necessities include good housing and good fencing and there are numerous books that will help you to select the correct items for the job. Beware that an electrocuted pig may not decide to back away from an electric fence and end up taking the lot with it. If you are going to use electric do so whilst your pigs are young
One massive plus for Kune Kune's is that they eat grass and tend not to root. Having said this, our Kune's have all been through awkward adolescent phases and have managed to do a good impression of rooting.. but they grow out of it.
So, after all of this discussion can we recommend a particular pig breed ?
The answer is simply, no. The reason for this ultimately, is that what ever we suggest, the pig you buy is the one you fall in love with. Just take time before you decide and don't be rushed or fobbed off.
What should I pay ?
For a pedigree British Rare breed weaner we could expect to pay anything up to £60.00. You can buy for less, but paying that bit more from a quality breeder will be money well spent. Considering the fact that you would have no qualms about paying 3 times that price for a pedigree dog and I think that puts it into perspective.
If your weaner turns out to be a good sow she will pay for herself very quickly and be worth every
penny. If you wish to buy a Kune Kune you can expect to pay up to £300.00 for a Gilt and £200.00 for a Boar.
Some Do's and Don'ts
Do be fussy about the conditions that your perspective pig is being kept in. Pigs enjoy mud but they are not filthy animals. A pig farm will not be spotless but it should not be disgusting either
Do insist on time. If your vendor cannot make time for your purchase of 1 or 2 pigs then I would suggest that you will think twice about buying 20 from him in the
future. Good client service is essential no matter what business you are
running. A cup of tea is also very nice after a long drive.
Do ensure that your pig is healthy. A dry cough might just be the first sign of worms, especially in piglets, but it might also be the first signs of more sinister conditions. Your pig should have a glossy coat, be alert and especially in the case of piglets, be with the others. Be aware of a pig who is shunned by the others in the litter.. he or she might be unwell. If you have any doubts take a vet or another smallholder with you when you buy your pigs.
Do ensure that the vendor can produce all of the relevant documentation. You will require a Ministry Of Agriculture Movement Licence and if your pig is a pedigree, proof of the parents bloodlines. In the case of weaners, your vendor should ask you whether you want the piglet to be 'birth notified'. . If you are intending to keep the pig for breeding or showing, this must be done soon after birth
Do make sure that you have a suitable vehicle of transporting livestock. The police might not be too keen on seeing your newly acquired weaners in the boot of your car.
Some Don'ts
Don't let the vendor try to 'blind you with science' insist that he or she keeps it simple and dot let anybody intimidate you into feeling silly because you dot know it all.. dot forget you have come to them for their help and advice and they should be pleased to receive it.
Don't be frightened to say that you dot understand if there is any terminology that is flying over your head. Your vendor may be telling you a vital piece of jargon !
Don't just accept the first you see. If you dot find what you are looking for then go onto the next vendor there will always be more.
Don't buy any animal that looks as though it has been ill treated whether this be down to unexplained bruises or lack of bedding in the ark you must be able to have confidence that should you have problems you should be able to ring up your vendor for help and advice, knowing that your pig has been well treated before you bought
Finally: Happy Pig Keeping!!
