Sold piglets - a happy day!
Jan 9, 2015 8:43:38 GMT -5
simplynaturalfarm, hoperefuge, and 1 more like this
Post by robynsa on Jan 9, 2015 8:43:38 GMT -5
We sold two of Munsie's piglets to another small farmer two weeks ago, and today loaded up the remaining 5 (we're keeping the two biggest sows - Melissa 
)
Drove off to the auction and they were closed. Sigh. What to do. Called my pig farmer friend, and he said he'd take them for what I would have gotten at auction. So I took them off to him, and when he saw them, he immediately said he was paying me more, and that he was making them his own special project! So I not only got my price, but more, plus he thinks they are superb quality, and he is going to be using one or two of them in his breeding programme PLUS they have been put in their own area, and he is raising the rest as pure artisanal pork. He's also asked the buy all future litters from the pairing. And he threw in a grassfed beef lunch - rump and fillet which was DELICIOUS.
I'm very proud of Munsie and Kevin Bacon! They did good, again!
They are 7 weeks old tomorrow and all of them are over 10kgs, with the biggest a touch heavier (the ones were are keeping are significantly bigger than the rest of the litter, so likely around 13kgs each). I'm so pleased with this litter, they hit the ground running and have done so well on minimal supplementation - literally the catchings from their mum's mouth. Munsie still FULL of milk and holding her condition well, so we'll leave the other two on her until she kicks them off, then they'll go to their own camp near the barn, and Munsie will undoubtedly break out and demand that Kevin does his thing again.
The other "good" news is that my friend's hubby will be coming to dispatch the potbellies. He is a professional hunter and I trust his aim implicitly. So that will be done in the next month or so (they live 6 hours away, so we'll need to tie it in with another visit). One will go to the staff, and we're sharing the other one half and half with my friend. I know it seems like a lot to give away, but we have NO other option to dispatch them, and that's what I'd like to do. They are potbelly x commercial pigs, so around 80kgs each live weight, so I should be able to make some hams and other cured/smoked items.
Piglets waiting to go this morning - the ones at the ends will be the breeders:
)Drove off to the auction and they were closed. Sigh. What to do. Called my pig farmer friend, and he said he'd take them for what I would have gotten at auction. So I took them off to him, and when he saw them, he immediately said he was paying me more, and that he was making them his own special project! So I not only got my price, but more, plus he thinks they are superb quality, and he is going to be using one or two of them in his breeding programme PLUS they have been put in their own area, and he is raising the rest as pure artisanal pork. He's also asked the buy all future litters from the pairing. And he threw in a grassfed beef lunch - rump and fillet which was DELICIOUS.
I'm very proud of Munsie and Kevin Bacon! They did good, again!
They are 7 weeks old tomorrow and all of them are over 10kgs, with the biggest a touch heavier (the ones were are keeping are significantly bigger than the rest of the litter, so likely around 13kgs each). I'm so pleased with this litter, they hit the ground running and have done so well on minimal supplementation - literally the catchings from their mum's mouth. Munsie still FULL of milk and holding her condition well, so we'll leave the other two on her until she kicks them off, then they'll go to their own camp near the barn, and Munsie will undoubtedly break out and demand that Kevin does his thing again.
The other "good" news is that my friend's hubby will be coming to dispatch the potbellies. He is a professional hunter and I trust his aim implicitly. So that will be done in the next month or so (they live 6 hours away, so we'll need to tie it in with another visit). One will go to the staff, and we're sharing the other one half and half with my friend. I know it seems like a lot to give away, but we have NO other option to dispatch them, and that's what I'd like to do. They are potbelly x commercial pigs, so around 80kgs each live weight, so I should be able to make some hams and other cured/smoked items.
Piglets waiting to go this morning - the ones at the ends will be the breeders:
