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ONCE you're feeling confident rearing weaners for pork or bacon, with feeding, housing handling and so on, you may want to take the next step and start breeding your own stock. As you would expect, this will open up a whole new set of challenges to the pig-keeper and you need to be sure that you can put in the commitment that is necessary before jumping in.

To explore all the avenues of this complex subject I wanted to talk to a real expert on pig breeding but also someone who has an outlook and experience that are relevant to smallholders.. Fortunately, I know just the right person and I went to visit Lisa Kennedy, who manages the pigs at Home Farm on the Tatton Park Estate, near Knutsford in Cheshire. The estate is owned by the National Trust but financed, administered and maintained by Cheshire county council. I expect most people will be aware of Tatton as the home of the Royal Horticultural Society flower show each July but there's much more to it than you see on the televised reports. The estate stretches over 1,000 acres with a neo-classical mansion at its heart, as well as a Tudor Old Hall, 50 acres of gardens and an award-winning Housekeeper's Shop, which sells produce from the estate and farm.

The pig unit that Lisa runs at Tatton is a highly individual one and, despite its scale, has many features that smallholders will identify with. Its buildings are extensive but date from an era when estates and farm could afford to employ a massive staff and so almost all work there has to be done manually, as few of the buildings will admit a tractor. The stock on the 1930s-style holding are mainly the rare breeds which smallholders tend to keep, Soay sheep, Red Poll cattle, Clydesdales (including a breeding mare) and, of course, the pigs. Here Lisa deliberately aims to have breeding sows of as many of the rare breeds as space permits, Berkshire, Middle White, Large Black, Tamworths (which I know are a particular favourite of hers), Gloucester Old Spot and Saddlebacks. Her commitment to these breeds is such that she's also a member of the local Rare Breeds Survival Trust committee.

Where the enterprise differs from smallholding, of course, is that it's also a visitor attraction, which aims to amuse and educate people from an urban background. This means that a lot of effort goes into activities that will ensure visitors see as much of the stock as is possible. For the pigs that means that they graze in rotation and tend to spend their afternoons (which is when the farm is open to the public) indoors. It also means that there is an active breeding programme. This not only fits with Lisa's intention to support the rare breeds but means that the public get to see sows with piglets often only a few hours old as well as supplying the estate shop with pork from the rare breeds.

I went to talk to Lisa one day, after the regular morning jobs were complete and before the farm opened its doors. After having a look at the pigs, the sows, piglets, weaners and growers in their 1930s Danish-style housing and the Large White and Tamworth boars in their individual loose boxes, we sat down to talk in the farm's brew-room. (As well as the normal animal housing, the farm has a full range of cottages, offices, tack rooms and other specialised buildings all of the same era).

Assuming that you've decided to go ahead and start breeding and also presuming that you've already settled on the breed for you, the first question has got to be: how to chose your breeding sows? Lisa was quite definite on the basics here: "Look for the breed standard." Go through the standard type published by the relevant breed society and choose sows that are as close to that ideal as you can get. Any breeding sow of the rare breeds must also be registered with the British Pig Association. But as well as aiming for the individual breed benchmark, Lisa also had some practical advice that applies to choosing gilts for breeding: firstly they must have an even number of evenly spaced teats, with 14 to 16 being desirable, and there should be no "blind" teats which will not milk. These can be spotted as they have no indentation at their tips. Breeding sows need to have deep bodies with plenty of space for piglets and they should be long in the back (for their breed). Their feet and legs must be sound, their back-end should be square but don't choose anything with its back legs too far apart. As the ligaments slacken off towards farrowing, this can lead to a heavily pregnant sow doing the splits. It may sound humorous but Lisa was adamant that this is a very important aspect of the conformation of a sow, as an in-pig sow going off her legs may well not recover.

So once a gilt has been selected as a good representative of her breed and a likely breeding sow, how does Lisa start ? "When a gilt's about 9 months old, I regularly check for her being in season with the boar." This simply means Lisa walks the gilt past the boar's pen and if it stops then she's "interested" and probably in season. A further indication is that if the gilt is in season she should stand still when pressure is applied to her back. If you don't have your own boar to hand (and not many of us do) then you have to be very observant. Gilts may also show some reddening and swelling of the vulva but an old sow can be much harder to spot and to some extent you may have to rely on the calendar. Lisa simply makes a note of the date and 21 days later, tries the gilt again but this time she increases the amount of food offered to the gilt for about four days on either side of the service. The idea of this is to promote ovulation and increase the gilt's fertility. Lisa follows the same feeding regime with her established sows too, although their seasons are easier to predict. And of course: "As you get to know and understand your own pig's personality, you will find it much easier to detect a heat. There is often a distinct change in behaviour." So the guidance is clear, and to be honest applies to all livestock, spend time watching them - you'll soon learn what is normal and spot when something is out of the ordinary.

As a general guide, the sows will come into season three to five days after their previous litter has been weaned. Lisa tends not to serve the older sows on this first season but waits for the next one in three weeks. However, she does serve the young sows on the first season after weaning. On the other hand, if a sow is in poor condition after weaning then Lisa will delay service until the sow has had time to pick up the necessary condition. As a general rule, Lisa holds that "keeping breeding sows farrowing seems to keep their system working OK. If you stop them breeding for a while it can be hard to re-start it and to get them in-pig again." Once she's sure a gilt or a sow is on heat (and that is a must) then Lisa takes the sow to the boar the next morning. She repeats this for two further services at 12-hour intervals. The actual time of day doesn't really matter but Lisa does avoid the hour or so after feeding times.

When the sow is taken to the boar it's best always to be on hand just in case there should be any aggression towards the sow, and to be sure the essential service happens. Lisa's advice was that you must be patient, be prepared to wait and treat the pigs (particularly the sows) calmly. After the service it's possible that the sow won't want to leave the boar's pen. Remain calm and gently encourage the sow out. If you touch her back she'll probably just stand still - so don't do it! Lisa confesses that she "finds a bit of bribery with apples helps."

Going back to the boars, I asked Lisa how she selected them and how using a boar compared to artificial insemination (AI). She applies the same guidelines to boars as to gilts: "Look for the breed standard". Lisa will start a boar working gently at around nine months providing he's well grown and mature enough and of course sound feet and legs are absolutely vital. The other thing that Lisa recommended was that for at least his first service, it should be with a sow who understands what's happening rather than a gilt. Because of her objective of breeding the rare breeds, Lisa has to use AI, as she simply doesn't have the room for boars of all the breeds. There is usually semen from the full range of breeds available but just occasionally you may find that the exact breed you want isn't available when you need it. In her experience AI can be a more "hit and miss" process. Firstly, you need to have had instruction from an experienced practitioner before you try and administer AI yourself. In addition it simply takes time to order and receive the semen. Once you have a sow or gilt on heat, you need to contact the supplier who will dispatch three doses to you (three services at 12-hour intervals). The simple logistics of getting the bottles delivered can mean that the third service gets missed, as the sow is no longer on heat by then. However, if you want to breed and don't have access to a boar it's an option well worth considering and Lisa has regular litters to show its benefits.

Next month we'll be looking at the care of the pregnant sow, farrowing and rearing.

For information on AI see: http://www.deerpark-pigs.com.

For more details on Tatton Park: see ttp://www.tattonpark.org.uk.

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