From weaner to freezer.

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
preppingsu

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by preppingsu »

Pig Update:
They have now been here 17 days and are doing realy well. They are certainly 'natures ploughers'. In the first few days they rooted and dug in the grassy area near their ark and its now mud.
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They have ventured further ito their area and have started to clear in the undergrowth. They have grown and are recognising that we are not a threat so come running when called 'Here piggy, piggies'. They follow us around as well. 2 of them like being scratched but the others are still a bit skitish.
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preppingsu

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by preppingsu »

It's now been just over a month since the pigs arrived and they have certainly made themselves at home. They hear us walking up to them and can be found at the gate, wating. They then follow us along the enclosure fence, around to their trough because they always think we are bringing them food!
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They don't mind being scratched behind the ears and are quite tame. The weather has caused their enclosure to be very muddy, especially around their trough where they have been trotter deep in water. However, it's much drier today,
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We have increased their food this week. We have doubled the amount and give half in the morning and half in the evening. This means we are now going through a bag of pig food each week. A bag costs £8.50 from the local feed merchant. This is still less than the books tell you to give as we are using the natural environment as their main source of food.

They did escape a few days ago. They had rooted around so much near the electric fence they had pushed soil onto the lower wire and shorted the system. Our neigbour found them near the goats and sheep. However, he called them and they trotted back and followed him into the enclosure.
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Somebody asked us if we would keep them as pets. That is a big NO. However, tame and friendly they are they, will still be filling my freezer in the autumn!
i_am_jim

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by i_am_jim »

they all look very happy and healthy, and i am sure they will taste fantastic. I am a vegetarian have been for fourteen years only because i used to work in abbatoir and it was what they did to the meat during the production process, i'm suprised more people don't get food poisoning to be honest saw a lot of bad practices. if tshtf i have no qualms about eating meat again as a food source. i don't eat it now just because it full of chemicals and drugs that are no good for you, and what happens to it before it gets on your plate. i look forward to seeing more pics of the pigs from paddock to plate. I would like to have some of my own oneday and a few other animals. i wish you good luck with your piggy adventures.
moocher

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by moocher »

thats a lot of pork on the trotter :lol:
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PreppingPingu
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Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:10 pm
Location: Surrey/Hampshire

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by PreppingPingu »

How exciting! Good luck and thanks for sharing this venture - look forward to following it through the year :)
"Today is the tomorrow that you worrried about yesterday" - unknown
"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast" - Red Dwarf
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preppingsu

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by preppingsu »

moocher wrote:thats a lot of pork on the trotter :lol:
Only one will end up in my freezer. 2 are belong to other members of my family, they pay for them, we do the day to day looking after. 2 belong to my neighbour whose land we are using to keep them on.

As this is out first year of doing this I didn't want to overload us with meat as I want to try cold smoking, curing and sausgae making, not just chucking everything in the freezer.
Alleycat

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by Alleycat »

They look great! Lovely set up you have there :)
preppingsu

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by preppingsu »

Nothing much to report but I thought you might like a picture of a happy feeding time :D
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buttystella

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by buttystella »

brilliant the way you have all got together for this project, i hope you have some good meals from the porkers. That old saying comes to mind: we feed them then they feed us.
preppingsu

Re: From weaner to freezer.

Post by preppingsu »

Working on a project like this with our neighbours is great because they have the land. However they are not the most organised of people. It was decided that they would buy the sacks of food as they pass a local feed merchant on a daily basis and they are cheaper than countrywide.
But at 9.15pm on Saturday night we get a phone call to say the food had run out so the pigs would have none for the morning. It's a good job that as Preppers we have a spare couple of bags stashed away!!! S the pigs got their breakfast.

So the downside is things, although agreed, don't always get down and it's hard to rely on other people.
It would be nice to do this with just us!