silver pigeon 3 Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 I am just sitting back having a beer after re stocking our smallholding over the last few days. Sunday saw us bring in this years lambs, 9 in total and a real mixed bunch of different breeds and crosses. They are all orphan lambs so the down side is that they will take a while longer to bring on to slaughter but the upside is that they are already really tame as they were bottle fed from birth. Tonight i was out collecting the 1st lot of pigs, we couldn't get hold of our usual Glos old spots so after a bit of researching we managed to get hold of 4 Saddleback's they made the hour journey tonight and are currently settling in to there new larger enclosure. First impression are good and they seem nice pigs. I will post some pictures of the new stock in the next day or so for any one that is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peskyfoxs Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 I have 8 acres behind the house and think we need some sheep but found spare lambs hard to find this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Lambs we were ok with as we take all the orphans from one farmer, Pigs however are incredibly hard to find unless you want to pay £70 a weaner!! Our regular supplier has some more for us in about 10 weeks though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secretagentmole Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Instead of Old Spots, why not try Oxford Sandy and Black also known as the Plum Pudding Pig? Very similar to Old Spot, but fat tends to be a little less and meat a little more! Probably a bit harder to get hold of which explains why not.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 We were all set to take some sandy blacks but were let down last minute. The next lot we take will be old spot x Tamworths, the tamworth in there just leans them out a little while still retaining the size and meat quality of the spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Commenting to see the pics. Tasty! Wish I had the space... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave TS Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Our lambs are fattening nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Commenting to see the pics. Tasty! Wish I had the space... will put the pics on later, it is something i had wanted to do for years and a chance meeting with another chap in the local who also wanted to do it prompted us to go out and search for some land to rent. We now lease an old orchard of just over 2 acres for £36 a month, this includes all the fruit from the trees. Last year we picked it all and had it juiced and bottled there was over 100 bottles of 75cl and that was from a bad crop, by the sales of this alone it covered about half the years rent. We are now starting to look for more grazing as the next move is 2 smaller breed beef cattle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Sounds good to me. A chap down this way wanted £20 per visit just for me to shoot targets in his old quarry! One day I'll move somewhere with a bit of land for shooting, logs, a smallholding etc... Do you let the pigs graze the windfalls? Mmm, apple fed pigs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) Yeah the pigs are fed the windfalls and they love them, i reckon it does play a part in how great they taste along with the fact we bring them on quite slowly so they develop a good flavour unlike most of the shop bought pork which are slaughtered at roughly 4-5 months. Ours wont go to slaughter until about 7 months or when they are about 80kg+ Edited June 27, 2013 by silver pigeon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secretagentmole Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Old Spots and Sandy and Blacks are orchard pigs, they will appreciate the windfalls. I like real pork, not the cardboard commonly found in butchers or notsosupermarkets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 It's a great set-up (I've seen it), I'll bring the boy up again for some pig-ticking soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the pigeon man Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Lambs we were ok with as we take all the orphans from one farmer, Pigs however are incredibly hard to find unless you want to pay £70 a weaner!! Our regular supplier has some more for us in about 10 weeks though. 70 Jesus Christ ha I get them at 20-30 quid for saddle backs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) 70 Jesus Christ ha I get them at 20-30 quid for saddle backs The normal price round here is about £40 a weaner for rare breeds down to £20 for generic white pigs, we just paid £45 a pig for 16 week old as like i said there is nothing about unless you want to pay silly money! It's a great set-up (I've seen it), I'll bring the boy up again for some pig-ticking soon... You are welcome any time mate. Here are the photos of the new stock. [/url] Edited June 27, 2013 by silver pigeon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the pigeon man Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 They 2 Jacobs you got there ?? I have a flock of Jacobs lovely sheep :goo: They 2 Jacobs you got there ?? I have a flock of Jacobs lovely sheep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 They 2 Jacobs you got there ?? I have a flock of Jacobs lovely sheep :goo: They 2 Jacobs you got there ?? I have a flock of Jacobs lovely sheep Yes mate 2 Jacobs and a jacobs cross (the solid black one ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Brilliant, H will love it! I'll give you a buzz soon mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peskyfoxs Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 What state is the field in after the pigs have been on ? Do you find they completely turn it over or just make a few wallow spots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2013 What state is the field in after the pigs have been on ? Do you find they completely turn it over or just make a few wallow spots? They normalley just make a few wallow spots, but we do move them around as they grow to give the field chance to recover, the Tamworth crosses do dig more than the old spots though. If it was/is a problem you can ring there noses to keep digging to a minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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