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Final batch of pigs leave the croft

12 November, 2012 by Stonehead 2 Comments

We took our last two Berkshire pigs to the abattoir today, a job made more complicated by the death of one of the porkers, a last-minute change of abattoir and a last-minute change of butcher. Still, we got everything organised in the end and were up early to load the pigs today.

Berkshire pigs, Crofting, Farming & Smallholding

Abattoir, Agriculture and Forestry, Berkshire pigs, Crofting, Livestock, Pigs, porkers, postaweek2012, Smallholding

Two gilts, at a normal size for their age.

Growing well

30 August, 2012 by Stonehead 2 Comments

Our final three Berkshire porkers are growing well. Or rather, the two gilts are growing well. The boar, on the large side since farrowing, is growing extremely well and looks several weeks older than his littermates. The back-end view shows the massive difference between the boar and the gilts. He’s likely to be finished at […]

Berkshire pigs

Berkshire pigs, Crofting, Farming, Pigs, Pork, porkers, postaweek2012, Smallholding

A Berkshire boar snuffling in the grass and mud.

Culling our Berkshire pigs

6 August, 2012 by Stonehead 91 Comments

The combination of ever rising costs and customer expectations of ever falling prices means we’ve started culling our herd of Berkshire pigs. Prices were up again when I paid the bill at the feed merchants today, necessitating a dip into our household savings and that’s unacceptable even though we have three porkers going through at […]

Berkshire pigs, Pigs

Abattoir, Agriculture and Forestry, cull, knacker, Livestock, pig, Pork, postaweek2012, Slaughter

Grim times as our boar goes lame

3 July, 2012 by Stonehead 14 Comments

As I was feeding the pigs this evening, I noticed our Berkshire boar, Gus, had a slightly humped spine just above his hams. I spent some time watching Gus walking around, noting other indications that all is not well with him. His back legs are straight, instead of having good angulation between the femur, fibula […]

Berkshire pigs

Animal Health, Berkshire pigs, Crofting, Livestock, Pigs, postaweek2012, Smallholding

Delilah, one of our Berkshire sows, calls for her litter of just weaned piglets.

Where’s my piglets?

17 June, 2012 by Stonehead 7 Comments

We took Delilah’s litter of eight-week-old Berkshire piglets away from her today. She wasn’t best pleased, pacing up and down, calling for piglets. But to no avail. No, not because we’d moved them far away but because they were far too busy… We moved the piglets into a pen that’s stood empty for a year. […]

Berkshire pigs

Berkshire pigs, Crofting, Livestock, piglets, Pigs, postaweek2012, Smallholding, weaning

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