The Pigs

We have a small herd of about a dozen sows and one or two boars. We favour the old fashioned traditional breeds, as we do with all our animals. We use the Saddleback and Oxford Sandy and Black breeds.

These breeds were bred at a time when quality of meat was far more important than growth rates, fat levels and food conversion. Suffice to say they take their time to mature and fatten, unlike the hybrid bred pork you find commercially, but the best things come to those who wait!

They all live outside in paddocks with small shelters to sleep in and have their piglets. It’s a bit like a holiday park, although there are fewer complaints about the shower facilities!

We move them every year or so, to help prevent build up of disease in the pasture, but also because pigs love to dig. They completely destroy the pasture in pretty much record times, digging for roots and grubs. This all adds to a happy life for them but does create a bit of a mud bath in the winter for us.
We allow the sows to make their own nests before they ‘farrow’ (give birth), and they are never restricted in their movement.

They are left to do it as nature intended. That in mind we also leave the piglets with their mums until they are 8 weeks old, the more intensive timeframe is as little as 17 days. Our method is the traditional one, much fairer on the pigs and the babies. Sows are ‘in pig’ for 3 months 3 weeks 3 days. We can expect the sows to have two litters a year, hopefully with 10 piglets, although they can have anything from 2 to 16 piglets, nothing is ever easy!

The pigs are fattened at 20-22 weeks old, which results in amazing pork. Its mature, full of flavour and has wonderful crackling. We also cure some of it with salt, herbs, cider and molasses to make our gammons and bacon. As with all we do, it takes time, but when you eat it, you know you have got something a bit different and just that little bit special.

Read about our;
ducks & guinea fowl | cattle | sheep | table poultry | egg layers | turkeys & geese