The Poultry Keeper

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 479 Location: gwent

the more people we have mentioned we may get a few pigs to locally have all asked are we going to breed them etc at first we just was thinking of using them to help clear the ground i have never been too keen on hurting animals etc but i guess if it was to earn us a living i could come round to breeding pigs to sell for meat i was reading about sending them to slaughter in the smallholding mag this morning but it does not go too much into what is involved .i was told the other day if we were to get pigs they should be pedigree and was told that saddle backs are good for up rooting ground but what about for meat?where would we begin and how can we find out where we would send them to be slaughtered would it involve more paperwork?and is it worthwhile doing?would it generate a small income?

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1351 Location: Leicestershire

You need to find a small butcher locally and ask where he gets his stuff slaughtered, some butchers just buy in meat but others source their meat from local farmers and they will advertise that fact. It isn't cheap to have anything slaughtered and then you need a good butcher to do the jointing and preparing for you and that doesn't come cheap either. You need a holding number from DEFRA to keep pigs, sheep, cattle etc and there will be paperwork but I don't know how much. Breeding isn't an easy option as you have to get your pig pregnant, that means either keeping a boar or using AI, when the sow farrows you will need to keep a warm spot for the piglets to get to out of mums way. Maybe you ought to buy in a couple of weaners and see how you get on with it, learn to walk first. If you enjoy doing it then you can look to trying your hand at breeding. As for earning any money at it - well you should cover your costs especially if you market it well, and you may get yourselves a few free joints of meat, but I doubt if you'll make any money Confused

Sorry

Itsybitsy