Sunday 21 November 2010

Empress of Blanding and ... something or rather


We have two new wee piggies. A Large Whites and a Berkshire. They're about the 6-7 weeks of age and cute as buttons. Though there was a lot of muttering, 'I like suckling pig!' under Trev's breath while we ran hill and dale retrieving the wee buggars from neighbours when we discovered their fence breaching powers. Both gilts. We hope to eventually raise guilt free pork/bacon for Trev and Cal to eat. These two are breeders. They'll largely be fed on whey, comfrey, boiled spuds, windfall apples, carrots, sunflower seeds and food scraps. They're free range so will supplement their diets on grass and bracken fern root while ploughing up areas and fertilzing it for us. Very much looking forward to having them happy to see us and the scrap bucket at the moment it's the sound of stuck pig when we go in for the cuddle. A bit more positive food reinforcement to go yet.

Trev wants to call them the Empress of Blanding and something else even longer as they're references to pigs in PG Wodehouse books, which he loves. My guess is they will end up being Piggy and Wiggy or something less illustrous.

7 comments:

MSadventurer said...

Oh so sweet! This is such a great idea. We have sort of given up on pork in any form because there doesn't seem to be a guilt-free free range option. I bet that when the time comes they taste amazing.

Darren (Green Change) said...

Wow, we're raising pigs for the first time this year too. We've got three boys, almost 4 months old and over 50 kg now. Not long to go until they reach target weight!

Frogdancer said...

No! Don't name them!!!!

You'll never be able to chow down if your bacon is personalised....

Linda Cockburn said...

Well, didn't get around to naming them, and lost one already. They escaped yesterday evening and we couldn't find hide nor hair of them. They busted through a fence. Today we get a call to say one of them has been found chasing cars on the main highway about 2 km away. It was caught and has returned and placed in what seems like solitary confinement after having been with so many family members and now alone. We're hoping her grunts will attract the other wee one (the brown one) and we'll find it here tomorrow morning. It was enormously hot for Tassie today. 33 degrees. So should be becoming more active now it's cooled down.

Some of my home cooked biscuits full of seeds and nuts passed through 'the bars' seems to have appeased this wee one who's now fast asleep after what must have been a fairly busy night and day.

Pig Tip No.1. Chook wire is called chook wire because otherwise it would be called pig and chook wire. Sheep wire is also, likewise singularly named.

Sharon said...

Cute! I would like to get pigs one day, but your comments on the fencing mean that day will be further away. Having enough trouble with the goats!

dixiebelle said...

Too cute! Sorry you lost one, hope it comes home...

frazzledsugarplummum said...

A large white? You are going to have fun when she is full grown. Good job they are fairly even tempered. lol