and then we went in to see Edward & Tubbs....
Buddy, what are you after in that midden????!
Consequently, when we got back he had to have a bath - which he absolutely hates, so I'm as wet as him now, trying to dry my kennel trousers as I type. Please don't imagine me sitting here blogging in my undies - it's not a pretty sight.
I went to the farm shop this morning & was discussing with the butcher 'the end'. I think I'm going to try to go to the abattoir - I need to see what it's like. Apparently, it's not as small as I thought it was so I want to make sure it's where I'm going to send them. I know 'the end' is 'the end' no matter where they go, to a certain extent, but it's not to me. I've loved & nurtured this pair of pigs and they've been really happy and I really don't want their last half hour, or however long it'll be from the moment I send them in the truck to the moment they die, to be traumatic. I'd like them to really be none the wiser until the last possible minute. There are a few abattoirs not far from here & I've heard some good things said about a much smaller set-up near Bishop Auckland. I'm going to do some research....
I also had to get some more feed while I was out. I tell you what, I know this was never going to be a money-making experiment, but by the time 'the end' comes, I reckon in total these two will have cost me near on £500 from start to total finish (butchery & all). Not cheap. I can now totally appreciate why it's difficult to get good meat these days. I think if this whole thing goes to plan & I do get a couple more once E&T are gone, I think I'm going to have to start mixing up my own feed. It's surely got to be cheaper than £10 a bag, which is what I'm currently paying for the Allen & Page stuff. I do mix it with some slightly cheaper pellets (still £8.50 a bag though!) and some barley to make it go further - and they obviously get peelings etc as & when I have them, but it's a pretty expensive experiment! I still think I'm going wrong somewhere. Any tips greatly appreciated. Malc, Claire, Fairy?
Well, I'm going to get out there while the sun's still shining. The days are definitely getting longer now, but once it gets to about 3:30, when the sun gets low in the sky, there's a real chill in the air. Jeff's away tonight - I hate it when he's not here. Still, at least I wont have to watch Newsnight - every cloud has a silver lining eh?
Bye for now.
VP x
4 comments:
Ahhh! Lovely photos! Do pigs eat potatoes? I'd love to look after them for you but it's a bit too far to commute. There might be something you can put in their food that will repel Buddy. Ruby used to actually eat her own poo until the vet suggested we put a tiny bit of tinned pineapple in her food. xxxx
Funnily enough, the pigs had some pineapple this morning - Jeff & me had one for our pud last night (and my breakfast this morning) & I gave E&T the peelings & the woody middle bit. Maybe Buddy wasn't after their poo today after all!
I've managed to get John to agree to look after them while I'm away. He wont muck them out or anything (although at the moment there's not really any of that to do since they've been eating & drinking outside), but he'll feed & water them for me. Thanks for the offer though!
And yes, they do eat potatoes. They love them almost as much as they love apples.
I think I remember Rubana Pluplana's poo-eating episode actually! x
£10-a-bag!!?? Hell's teeth, that's pricey. I'm paying £7.50 a bag for sow and weaner pellets and a neighbour sells me bruised barley for £6-hundredweight. The chaps also had a lot of potatoes, but we've run out now. They have them lightly boiled. I'll be ploughing up an acre and planting spuds for later in the year.
We also feed them seaweed, soaked for 24 hours and blanched, which is very good for them and keeps them occupied for a while. I just go and cut it at low tide.
You can mix your own feed using 'straights' (the term for the separate ingredients). Have you got Starting With Pigs by Andy Case? That will tell you what quantities of what you need. A good agricultural merchant should be able to supply you - shop around.
The pellets we have are Dodson and Horrell - the lads always eat them before anything else, even if I mix it up with the barley.
And £500 for two pigs isn't too bad from what I can tell, even if it seems a bit pricey. There's a Berkshire producer here who is advertising half-a-carcass for £150. You might not get quite that price where you are, but it looks as if you'll at least cover your costs and probably end up in the black - happy days!
I'll shut up now. Thanks for listening.
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