Pigs
Your questions answered
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| Pigs are ideal for getting overgrown vegetation under control |
ADVICE on using pigs in the management of land and where to meet other piggy people.
Q How much land will I need for two saddleback weaners?
A Pigs can get away with very little land. Ideally though, you should be looking at around half an acre at least. This will allow you to raise the pigs in a traditional manner. It would then be a good idea to split the land into two using electric fence, this would allow you to alternate the pigs between the two areas thus giving the ground chance o recover. If you are lucky enough to have some woodland, then try and incorporate this into your half an acre.
Q We live right next to a bridleway and although I am keen to get some weaners, I am worried that the pigs will upset the passing horses. Any suggestions?
A When horses actually live around pigs, there never seems to be a problem between the two. However, I know from past experience with my own horse, that if he passes other unknown pigs, he "loses the plot". We sell signs that warn riders pigs are in the area. They fix quite easily to a fence and our suggestion is that you put the sign a little way off from the pigs and a second one just before the pigs, it gives the rider a chance to prepare herself and the horse for what is coming up.
Q We have an overgrown orchard. Someone suggested putting pigs in there to control the vegetation?
A Pigs are ideal for getting overgrown vegetation under control. On the Isle of Islay the Dunlossit estate uses pigs in the management of their forests with huge success. Other estates in Scotland also use pigs in the war against ivy. So your orchard will certainly benefit from having pigs in there. To enable some sort of control with how the land is managed, I would suggest you section the land off into strips using electric fencing. This will enable you to move the pigs around once they have done the job of getting rid of the overgrown vegetation. It would be a good idea to feed on the ground to encourage rooting. A good website to go to is the www.grazinganimalproject.org.uk for advice on using pigs in the management of land.
Q We have a pedigree GOS gilt that we bought a short while ago. She is coming up to breeding age, we are thinking of buying a boar but don't know where to begin, as we are quite inexperienced?
A First of all, I would not suggest buying in a boar, for two reasons. Boars need to work and one gilt is not going to give the boar enough work. You will end up with a bored boar who could turn nasty through frustration. Secondly, you need to know what you are doing with boars and if this is your first attempt at breeding and you are inexperienced, you could find yourself in a dangerous situation.
I would suggest you either AI or you send her off to stud. Contact the GOS club and see what boars are available to visiting sows in your area. If you go down the AI route, contact Robert Overend at Deerpark Pedigree Pigs in Ireland, for further information, telephone number 02879 386511. You can then either do it yourself, which isn't too difficult as the semen comes with good instructions on how to go about it, or if you don't feel confident, call in your local vet.
Q We have just bought four Large Black weaners. As far as we know there is no-one in the area that has pigs, so we feel very much alone in this. The local farmers are all sheep farmers and think we are just playing at it, which I suppose we are compared to them. I would really like to get to know other piggy people and learn more about pigs
A You do not say where you live, but I would suggest joining the British Pig Association and also the Large Black Breeders' Club. Both of those have lists of breeders. You might be surprised at who is in your area that keeps pigs. We had a situation once in Devon where we were asked to deliver an ark to a customer that lived just half a mile away. He had kept pigs for 10 years and we had absolutely no idea. Pigs can be kept in a relatively small area, so you never know, your neighbour with the large garden may also have pigs. Ask at your local feed merchant if they know of any other pig keepers in the area.
Join a local smallholder group, look at the back of magazines like "Smallholder" for breeders in your area, a bit of leg work is required to source out other nearby pig keepers.
Good Luck!
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CommentPosted by: Ed, durham on 12:27am Sat 26 Jul 08
we are lucky enough to be able to live rural and have kept hens for numerous years however we now have the chance to rent a 3 acre field adjacent to us and where thinking about adding a few pigs to our daily chores. How many pigs could we raise on that sized plot of land and also would it be viable running at maximum levels? We can rent for £6.00 per acre per month. Any advice would be appreciated thank you.
we are lucky enough to be able to live rural and have kept hens for numerous years however we now have the chance to rent a 3 acre field adjacent to us and where thinking about adding a few pigs to our daily chores. How many pigs could we raise on that sized plot of land and also would it be viable running at maximum levels? We can rent for £6.00 per acre per month. Any advice would be appreciated thank you.
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