suzidfloosey
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The Girls have arrived!!!
Oh the offspring would definately be edible and v.desirable meat being free range the flavour would be better and the meat more lean (the indoor pigs tend to put down fat rather than muscle as they don't get to move much). Generally pigs for pork are slaughtered at around 6-8mths old depending on sex (the males are done earlier) and on weight. Then if you want bacon products (ie smoked meats for boiling /frying) that is done with an older animal around 2-3yrs old. That meat would be cured for weeks before eating. Our girls are 3yrs old so could be killed for bacon but we won't be doing that as they are good sows for breeding.
Hubby decided to leave Selma to another day or so as they were a bit jittery after the first one was done. Hopefully he will get her done shortly. Boy you should see how deep their nest is with rushes - amazing sight to see. They like to nap a few times a day and tend to go to bed then just before sundown.
Re. insemination, we're not sure yet, i certainly don't want a full grown boar on the land full time at the moment, not safe with the kids so we'll probably look at AI initially. Hubby wants to cross them with an older breed so we'll see. I'd imagine it won't be easy here and we may just be able to get just bog standard boar for crossing. Ideally we'd like to have the older breeds of pigs like tamworths (they are red-haired!) and old gloucester (black patches) as they are more sturdy for outdoor living. But I guess we'll see what comes along. it may mean having a boar here for a few weeks to run with them (they go into heat every 21 days) and then removing him or else AI. Either way we've a lot of research to do before we get them fertilised re. finding a good butcher etc. etc. Ideally we'd like a butcher to come out and slaughter them here and then butcher them back at his premises, less anxiety for the animal so better meat. we'll see...
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Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Oscar Wilde
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Sep/23/2007, 7:21 am
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1lost1
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Re: The Girls have arrived!!!
quote:
they go into heat every 21 days
I wondered about that. I could kind of tell from the way you mentioned it, heat must be more frequent than I thought.
I have never seen tamsworth that I know of. Red would be neat. We just saw the gloucester's at the fair this summer. At least they had black patches on fair skin.
We had to miss our local Farm Show ~ it rained every single day of the week but one and I knew the mud would be difficult to push Livy in a stroller or have her walk. She wouldn't have enjoyed being carried.
Who do you think gets the biggest kick out of the girls?
I also didn't realize a butcher would travel to the farm. I would think that makes it easier on all involved. Also thinking we probably have that option here it's just not something I know about. We lived on 100 acres at Grandma's but never raised livestock for personal use. The neighbor raised his calves for 4 H and we had a horse named Taffy, but during my childhood that was about it.
Fun learning about stuff like this.
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Mayhem of Motherhood
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Sep/23/2007, 8:34 am
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suzidfloosey
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The Girls have arrived!!!
Well hopefully we can find a butcher, it'll be a search - it would be the ideal alright. Wow - 100 acres - that's some plot! must've been lovely.
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Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Oscar Wilde
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Sep/23/2007, 3:18 pm
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1lost1
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The Girls have arrived!!!
When I was out there today I actually thought about the girls and thought why on earth did you move away from this. It was pure bliss. Grandma just asked today if I would consider building out there ~ which obviously I would ~ I consider it just about every day... it's one of those things I know its there and know I could pack us up tonight and be there. I think that's what allows me to stay in town closer to work where the kids have other children to interact with. I also know I will be out there again.
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Sep/23/2007, 8:17 pm
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suzidfloosey
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The Girls have arrived!!!
Wow - what a back up to have. I see the advantages of town, we spend our lives driving the kids here and there cause we are about 8miles from our nearest town also we can't exactly run out of milk! So from that point of view i'd love to be able to walk to a local shop. we have a small village about 3.5 miles away but that's our closest outlet. Isn't it lovely for you tho' to have that waiting for you!
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Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Oscar Wilde
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Sep/24/2007, 3:56 am
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1lost1
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The Girls have arrived!!!
Just wondering how the girls are doing and what their latest adventures have been. Anything exciting happen lately?
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Oct/2/2007, 3:54 pm
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suzidfloosey
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The Girls have arrived!!!
Oh Lordie.....well....has anyone here ever experienced a 300lb sow in heat (gentlemen be polite please).....well my DH was chased by an amorous sow and when she got nothing outta him she ran after me!! LOL! She was also trying to feed from her fellow sister (great says DH, lesbian sows).....we've marked it on the calendar and will keep track, all is calm again today. Seems like it lasts 3-4 days....now we have me, 2 daughters getting near hormonal stuff and 2 sows.....our house gets madder by the minute 
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Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Oscar Wilde
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Oct/2/2007, 4:43 pm
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1lost1
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Re: The Girls have arrived!!!
Oh my ~ what a trip ~ after everyone was safe from the chase
 
At least it isn't boring around your homestead 
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Oct/2/2007, 7:07 pm
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suzidfloosey
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The Girls have arrived!!!
No, definately not boring!! They weren't aggressive thankfully just very keen to be near us and wanting to be rubbed/back massaged!! Still we didn't allow the kids in the enclosure for those few days. It's great they are here beside us as we see them several times a day so if there is a change we spot it immediately. Funny things!
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Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
Oscar Wilde
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Oct/3/2007, 2:45 am
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1lost1
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The Girls have arrived!!!
I am completely envious. I mentioned to Grandma this weekend how you had gotten them and how cool they were. My grandparents at this stage of life couldn't possibly take care of them. But we talked about the different animals they had through the years and all the funny stories that go along with. And we also talked about how someday there will be animals there again and more memories to be made. It was both sad and nice all in on fell swoop.
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Oct/3/2007, 9:39 am
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