Let's Hope The Big Bad Wolf Doesn't Hear About This

Sunday 11th December 2016
Not that it is a very hierarchical group, but Mick is pretty much the main man at Cambridgeshire Self-Sufficiency Group. He is running a Pig Club whereby a group of people share a couple of piglets. We were in a similar pig co-op last year, as pigs need to be kept at least in two's but two pigs is rather a lot to go in the freezer so sharing makes sense.
Sue and I are not in the Pig Club but decided to go along and help with some fencing and building a temporary house so that the piglets could come outside.
It's something that happens to all of us. The animals (or in some cases plants) don't stop growing, but we have not managed to get their new home ready in time.

The fencing was merely a matter of screwing planks into existing fence posts, just at ground level to prevent the pigs nuzzling the stock fence out of shape and escaping. I did manage to find a very good source of classy new planks

The house was to be made of straw, despite me reminding Mick about the famous story. He felt that the local wolves would not have enough huff and puff to blow this house down!

Mick's plan was very similar to something I had been planning, basically just walls made of straw bales and a corrugated roof laid onto a frame to cover the whole. I was keen to see how it would actually work in practice.

Two happy piglets, one happy Mick

Well, as you can see the house worked out well. With a race of hurdles to coax them in the right direction, moving the piglets from their indoor home to their new outdoor home was pretty easy. The piglets were very happy with the new set up and set about chasing each other around excitedly before they settled down and started digging around with their snouts.
We were home just in time to witness a stunning sunset. I went straight onto the internet as Mick had recommended an old book about smallholding and I was keen to find it. I was delighted to find a used copy on Amazon for 1p plus postage. Now that I've got mine ordered, I can tell you it is called Fieldcraft and Farmyard by Val Porter. I'll let you know what I think of it once it's arrived.

Catching up with the pigs

It's not often that I laugh out loud (and shoot me dead if I ever abbreviate it. lol!)

But the other day I stood by the polytunnel chuckling away to myself. For I could hear the piglets barking -  they more often make this sound than an oink - and I could see them haring around in circles, chasing the guineafowl! The guineas have clockwork legs which carry them with surprising speed, but they were still getting a good run for their money. It took them a while and a good amount of protestation and indignation before they thought to take flight and perch on the fence, continuing to complain in the loudest way possible.

Anyway, this reminded me that before my recent technological meltdown the pigs were still in their stables. But I did manage to take some nice piccies when they finally got to see the big outside.

Thankfully the pig enclosure has dried out significantly since then.

The boy has gone off too. Boy pigs face a tricky choice, either to have their bits chopped off or to head to the butchers before their six months birthday. Otherwise their developing hormones taint the taste of their meat. This boy did get one extra week in this world, thanks to a bank holiday. It doesn't seem to have affected the meat, which is selling very well.

Girl, girl, girl...BOY!!!

See if you can work out what's going on with this picture.

On November 5th Daisy gave birth to 11 spotty piglets. I eventually managed to count 7 girls and 4 boys - a bit of a result. So far I've sold the 4 boys and one of the girls, until today when a couple of new pig keepers turned up to collect their two girls.

These piglets are the friendliest I have ever raised, maybe because they've been bought up in the stables and get more human contact. So catching them is not too much of a problem. Just put down a handful of food to stop them nibbling my wellies then grab the desired piglet by the back legs and carry to the waiting car. They squeal loudly at first, as their feet leave the ground, and wriggle a bit - they are surprisingly strong, even at this age - but this is the best way to pick them up and they soon settle down in the back of the car.

After sorting out the relevant paperwork (all on-line now) we headed off to the stable and it wasn't long before I had the first piglet dangling by the back legs.
But boy was I in for a surprise. For I was holding a boy!!

I don't know how this happened.
All I can think is that they did keep moving about a lot when I originally counted them. Since then, without marking them, it's not been possible to get them all in a line, facing the right way to easily tell boys from girls.

Anyway, I now have three girls and a boy left. Not a disaster.

These ones get to stay at Swallow Farm.

To celebrate the successful completion of Operation Shiftapig, we ate our first ever duck eggs (yes,that's plural as there was another one waiting for us this morning).

And delicious they were too!

Daisy. No Daisy. Daisy. No Daisy.

I remember in my childhood plucking the petals off a daisy one by one. "She loves me, she loves me not".
In a cruel play on words, I now find myself virtually flipping a coin over the continued existence of a pig called Daisy.

Daisy, our sow.
She has reason to look so worried.

Here's the story behind it.


A couple of months ago I was offered two breeding sows for nothing...and I turned them down.
If I was more cold-hearted I could have taken them straight to the butcher for sausages. But then so could the person who was offering them to me. That's not what small scale pig-keeping is about.

But the economics of keeping and rearing pigs are becoming harsh. For in the two years we've been here, animal food costs have gone up by 50%. I can not put the price of my pork up by that much.

But, more seriously, the price of weaners has plummeted. I hear tales of them selling for £1 each at market. Nobody can afford to feed them up any more.

Surely worth more than £1 each at market.

Daisy with the baconers.

In the past, the cost of feeding and maintaining a sow, plus getting the boar in, would be offset by the sale of maybe half the piglets. The rest of the pigs could then be brought up to slaughter weight. In fact, I'd worked out a system whereby a couple of boys would go at 6 months, the girls a couple of months later, and a couple would be kept till the ripe old age of one year as baconers.

Daisy looking very skinny at the moment.
Well, she has only just finished feeding eleven piglets.

But when the price of feeding up your own pigs is going up and up, the last thing you need is to be stuck with eleven - and that's if you only breed the sow once a year.
I am too small scale to be able to deal with the meat from that many pigs, let alone the cost of getting them there.



So I have come to a very difficult decision. Daisy has to go. I was speaking to my animal feed supplier yesterday who was agreeing that this is such a shame, as Daisy is a good mum, a healthy pig and has a lovely temperament. She would not be easy to replace further down the line.
But, at the same time, I cannot justify keeping her just as a pet.

Besides, it would be so much more convenient just to buy in weaners as and when I wanted them. That way I could much more easily respond to customer demand. I could plan for periods when the ground could be rested and Sue and I could have more freedom to spend time together away from the farm.
And I could try different breeds of pig. Maybe Tamworths or Large Blacks, curly Mangalitsas or even those Iron Age pigs. What's more, the weaners cost next to nothing at the moment. My very problem could be turned to my advantage.

So, as you can see, it has taken a while, but I have come to a very difficult decision. Daisy has to go. (If I keep saying it, it will get easier). Daisy has to go. Daisy has to go.

That was it...till today. When things got a bit more complicated again. And now I just don't know. I am genuinely torn. I can see all the advantages of going over to buying in weaners. But breeding pigs has been such a fantastic thing to do and Daisy is such a lovely pig. But then she will have to go eventually, and the longer we have her the harder it will be.

So what happened today to make the decision harder.
First, this...

Lured by food, the three in the cage
at the back were not difficult to catch.

A smallholder friend of mine took THREE piglets off my hands. I didn't even charge him. More of a favour between friends. He has already given me a whole load of electric fencing to use when I strip graze my sheep next year.

Now, I was expecting him to take two anyway, so three did little to change my mind. But he does know somebody who may take the other two boys. Right now, I'm not even worried about getting anything for them. It just saves me money in food bills every time one moves out.

But then, not half an hour after he had gone, I sold another TWO. A couple from just down the road who want to try their hand at pigs. They won't be going just yet, as a few arrangements have to be made. I have even offered to take them back if it does not work out, and to help with the first few bags of food. And to help out when the time comes to send them off.
For things would have been so much less stressful when we started out if that level of support had been there for us.

Irresistible

So we're now down to six piglets left, two boys and four girls. And we may even get down to just the four girls. That would be ideal. I never wanted to be spending all my time trying to sell. We would have enough for our own needs and some left for a few regular customers.

All I need to decide now is... Does this mean Daisy stays???    I really don't know. It's on a knife-edge.

...   ...   ...

I don't believe it! I've just left composing this blog post to answer the door. Somebody else interested in buying a piglet.

But I still think Daisy will have to go... Just keep saying it.

Still Here (and rejuvenated)

 

Even the Huffington Post got it wrong!
For I am still here. More importantly, so is this... the sun... and... the world



Wednesday 26th December 2012
Boxing Day

The first proper sunrise for quite some time and it did a lot to lift my spirits.
You may remember a couple of weeks ago I alluded to having man flu. Well, it's bugged me ever since. Clearly a severe case, as even Sue has got it now, and she never gets ill. So all our plans to get on with the house while the builder takes a break have been scuppered as neither of us has had an ounce of energy.
Even getting up for the sunrise, late as it is at the moment, has proved a challenge. Yesterday was a very subdued Christmas day, though we did treat ourselves to an untraditional leg of lamb which was absolutely mouth-watering. I guess we're not really breaking with tradition, as we couldn't have chosen anything more special than a leg of our very own reared lamb. I think it was a front leg, though I didn't check if it was left or right. And no idea whether it came from Number Ten or Number Eighteen.

Getting back to the matter, touch wood I finally felt better today and got myself busy catching up with things. The water has receded a little, though the rain returned with vigour this afternoon.

First job was to plant a few cheap fruit trees I picked up a while ago. Not for the orchard these ones, but dotted around the more permanent beds in the veg plot and the soft fruit area. Just a couple of apples, pears, a plum and an apricot.

Next on the agenda - get the Piglets For Sale sign up. We've almost certainly shifted four or five of them, but nothing is signed and sealed yet. It hardly seems like seven weeks ago that I witnessed Daisy's third litter being born.









And so to the next job - clearing a room in the stables so we can separate Daisy from her litter. They've pretty much weaned themselves anyway and Daisy gets most grumpy when they steal all her food, then try to suckle from her as well! I'll bring the two baconers in to keep Daisy company. They've had enough of wallowing around in liquid mud and the ground needs time to recover.

 

Last job on the list was to begin rehousing the poultry.

The guinea fowl have, for some unknown reason, moved roost fences. I so wish they could discover that the Ash trees would afford them much better protection.

 

So I had a little move around of the houses. One of the old enclosures got dismantled so that the chickens now have a door straight through to the orchard. The duck house got moved to make way for the blue house which will become the new home for the Cream Legbar trio. Elvis has well and truly moved on from her ten chicks now and has gone back to old habits, spending most of her time sat on eggs clucking broodily. So as soon as the young Legbars start laying Elvis will be most grateful for some eggs to tend. I await our first blue egg with anticipation.

The ducks' house may have been moved today, but as soon as I have fixed on a new door they will be getting a brand new home. And they will be moved into the veg garden to start attacking the slugs. This will stop them muddying the chickens' drinking water too.

 

While I've got the woodwork gear out, I'll build a shelter for the chickens, somewhere dry for them to hang out. The gang led by the Welsummer cockerels have discovered the dry stables, but the others continue to get soggier and soggier!

 

And I have plans for the geese too. I have hopefully sourced four females to keep the boys company. The gander who lost his mate will be offered out, since the other two do pick on him and he genuinely seems very lonely.

 

 

So you'll see I am back in the swing of things. I'm looking forward to the final five sunrises of the year, hoping they are a bit better than yesterday's.

 

Tuesday 25th December 2012

And then, on January 1st, a sleep-in...Probably not!

 

Just no more crazy resolutions for next year.

 

 

Indoor Pigs, Outdoor Pigs

Saturday 15th December 2012
A warmer morning, and not raining.

Daisy and her new family are doing very well indeed. And so they should be, for the little ones have been pampered for their whole lives so far, kept in a stable lined with fresh straw and sheltered from the worst that winter can throw at them.
I prefer to keep pigs outside, for they are intelligent creatures who appreciate a rich environment. However, at this time of year the health of mum and family have to be considered. Daisy is beginning to lose some weight now, so it is a good thing that she'll only be feeding the piglets for another fortnight or so. After this, we'll give her a rest from having babies for a while so that she can get back into good condition.

Meanwhile, down in the pig pen, the last two survivors from the previous litter wallow around contentedly in the mud. They are an altogether different sight, but equally happy with their lot. They have a choice of two shelters (though they are gradually destroying one of them), each chosen according to wind direction it seems. And if they tire of wallowing up and down in the mud, almost belly deep in places, they can always head down the land to drier areas where they can still nuzzle around on solid ground.

It won't be long before they move onto the veg plot to root out any unharvested potatoes. They will be delighted to find a patch of mangel wurzels still in the ground too. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that the pigs should be very suspicious of such treats. For this move to a more decadent lifestyle is aimed at improving the taste of the meat.
Some time in the new year these two will become sausages and a good job too, as we have now completely run out of sausages for sale from their sisters who went off a while ago now. I am having to turn customers away and plenty of them are licking their lips in anticipation at these two going on their final journey!

Pulled Pork

Friday 30th November 2012
Woodpigeons flight at dawn

When it's cold, snuggle in close.

Daisy and the piglets are doing very well indeed. Despite the cold, all eleven are growing fast and have become real little chubsters.
But before you get too googly eyed over them, we must remember that they are not pets. So meanwhile, pork sales trundle along at a steady pace. This is important as Daisy's life depends on it! We have run out of sausages again, but there are still plenty of chops and leg joints left in the freezer.

We continue to try out new ideas for cooking pork, and today's little project was pulled pork. I started by taking the skin off a small shoulder joint, seasoning it and browning it. Then a long, slow cook at 160 in milk with added herbs and lemon slices.

I was not convinced by this recipe, as the lemon would surely curdle the milk. And it did, a little. But all those fresh, zingy, herby flavours actually percolated nicely into the pork. After cooling a little I took two forks to it and shredded it. The succulent meat fell apart.

Along with a few knobs of crackling I had made from the skin and a good, hearty chunk of seedy wholemeal bread, we had a very simple, very tasty meal.

Piglets' progress

Hiding in the straw.
How many can you see in this picture?

Wednesday 28th November 2012

  

It's amazing how quickly piglets grow.
I estimate they double in size every week.

And with it grow their characters. In the early days they are helpless little bundles of wrinkled skin, totally dependent upon their mother. But it's not long before these intelligent creatures begin to wander and investigate.

Next comes playfulness, spurts of energy and a natural wariness.
But Daisy knows me well now and is happy for me to spend time with her young family. The initial bolting and yelping when I appear at the door are quickly replaced by a line of inquisitive noses all edging closer to nudge my hand. Then there are those that prefer to creep round the back, nibbling at my trainers or tugging at my back pocket flaps as if they were mum's teats.




If, like me, you are looking at these cute little piglets and thinking sausages, chops and slow-roast shoulder, then they will be for sale in about a month's time. Girls are £45 each, boys just £35.

 

Just call me to reserve one.

 

Or you could sponsor one of them. If taking on a pig is too daunting, I'll look after it, feed it and raise it for you until it's ready to go on its final journey. But you'll be missing out on a whole lot of fun.

Piglets growing fast

The piglets have got through that vulnerable stage where they are either suckling or huddled together in a shivering ball.

Now they are inquisitive, mobile and playful.




Monday 12th November 2012

 

I often spend time just watching them and being with them. They do that thing that pigs do when they all play statues for a few seconds and then continue as if nothing had happened. Then there's the little bursts of energy, a sudden skip of the heels and twizzling round in circles. Games of piggyback too, and chasing.
Potatoes are fun to nuzzle around, but too big to nibble yet. And look! I can snout around in the straw just like mum.

I'll shut up and just let you oooooh and aaaaah at the pictures!