Micro Pig

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Micro Pig
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The sow

Joined: 15 Jan 2009
Posts: 27
Location: Lanarkshire in Scotland

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 8:12 am Post subject:

Unfortunately, they may be gone tomorrow, but we are left with the fallout of unwanted pigs, just like the pot bellies. Don't confuse the german micro pig with these fashion accessories. Certainly these micro pigs that are being bred and have been in the news recently are being produced by breeding runt to runt. As we all know, if it isn't an established breed, you will get throwbacks, therefore there is no guarantee that a micro pig will not grow bigger. A fact that perticular breeders fail to mention!!! These micro pigs are being bred from GOS, tamwoth and KK.

Last edited by The sow on Sat Nov 07, 09 10:04 am; edited 2 times in total

chicken feed

Joined: 27 Aug 2009
Posts: 435
Location: the fens cambs

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 8:26 am Post subject:
i do understand that these micro pigs have kk, gos,etc in the breeding as well as vpb i live less than 15 miles from little pig farm i have some contact with the couple so i do know what i am saying.

bring me sunshine

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 1929
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 8:34 am Post subject:

Going back to the original question, one of my friends recently posted on her Facebook page that she "really wants a miniature pet pig". She's lovely but is a ditzy, flighty city-dweller who, thankfully, later conceded that while she loves the idea of a cute pig running about her London apartment the idea is preferable to the reality.

But how many will confuse the appeal of the idea with the reality?

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 2884
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 9:13 am Post subject:
I suppose the upside is when they get tired of them or realise they are not a practical pet for an inner city appartment they are just the right size for the barby.

bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 6704

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 9:17 am Post subject:

The Sow.
I see that you describe yourself as being a free lance journalist but from your signature, its also apparent that you are connected with a fairly well known 'piggy' company.
I might be being cynical here but you have already named and shamed two people in these pages who are not in a position to defend themselves. Are you quite sure that your motive in starting this post isn't just to gain ammunition inorder to have a side swipe at a group of people who are your rivals in what you consider to be your niche market.
Its unfortunate if this offends but it is how it comes across to both myself and to other people.

The sow

Joined: 15 Jan 2009
Posts: 27
Location: Lanarkshire in Scotland

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 9:45 am Post subject:

Sorry, I don't mean to offend. I have for some time been working as a journalist as well as owning Bidgiemire, many of my articles appear in the smallholding magazines as well as glossy magazines and I don't just write on pigs. I feel very strongly about this and just because I am writing an article does not mean that I can't pass my opinion which is separate to the article. The article will be factual and unbiased where these posts are emotional and how I feel. I decided to write an article after talking to other poeple who were keen to have the other side of the story told. The micro pig breeders are in no way our rivals. There are not in our niche market which is traditional breeds. So our paths would never cross unless of course they wanted an ark

I would never consider selling micro pigs, as you know we sell arks and the larger proper pigs

I have connections with people rescuing these pigs and therefore I am hearing first hand what is going on with these poor pigs,I am hearing that these micro pigs are ending up in terrible places so I think everyone who is connected with pigs should be concerned and worried.

That aside, in my research for this article. I have found out from RPA that you can obtain a CPA number even if you live in a flat. Surely this is worrying because it means that these pigs can end up in a flat as indeed they have done.

Bodger, it is not only me who questions the selling of these pigs, it is quite a major worry amongst breed societies and of course the sanctuaries who are already seeing them ending up there.

chicken feed

Joined: 27 Aug 2009
Posts: 435
Location: the fens cambs

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 10:40 am Post subject:
i would have thought you would have known how easy it is to obtain a cph being a campaigner for urban pig keeping so why the surprise

The sow

Joined: 15 Jan 2009
Posts: 27
Location: Lanarkshire in Scotland

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 10:44 am Post subject:
No there would be no reason to know that as we never sell to usuitable places, like a flat. This has been a surprise as I am sure it is to most people

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 16741
Location: York

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:01 pm Post subject:

'Landless' smallholdings are nothing to be alarmed about- I had one for years and many people do. I also know of plenty of 'farms' that don't have land. Abattoirs, markets and collection centres are all 'holdings', so for all these reasons you can't practically exclude people from getting holding numbers, but at least when they have a number they can be inspected.

Back to micro-pigs though, I'm suprised once-bred gilts have not been mentioned. Once it was thought that this would be the future of commercial pig production- breeding a gilt once and then sending her for bacon. The problem came when weights started to drop progressively with the generations and the idea was dropped (I don't know of anyone doing it now, anyway). Has the once-bred gilts system been revived for micro breeders? If not, they're missing a trick there.

ruby09

Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 2
Location: Devon

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:05 pm Post subject:

I watch this forum regularly although because I don't have any animals yet I feel unable to contribute in a worthwhile way. However I want to tell you a story about a micro pig that I had the misfortune to come across. The pig had been bought from a person who breeds them (I daren't say the name) but they have been in the media quite alot recently. Anyway the pig was sold as a micro pig to a family with young children, they lived in an urban area although they did have a garden. They got a cph but didn't I learned later, knew about getting herd numbers, they weren't told apparentely. They kept the pig for two years in which time it grew and it grew until this micro pig was as big as a big kune kune. In the meantime, it destroyed their garden and bit their youngest child twice and generally made a nuisance of itself. When they bought this pig, they were told a) it would stay small b)at no time were they encouraged to buy two even though pigs need to be with at least one other, and c) the money had to be paid before they saw the pig. Now I am no expert but in my opinion this micro pig thing has totally got out of hand and I feel that the only reason for breeding these is for the money. You tell me how someone can charge over £600 for these pigs when pigs that provide meat and have a reason for being bred sell for I believe around £60. This is pure greed and these people who sell these pigs can dress it up all they want, it is a load of rubbish, greed and that is the only reason. Is there anyone here that agrees with puppy farms, well to any sane person, its the same. Breed them as fast as you can, and sell them as fast as you can to line your pockets. All the fancy websites in the world for these pigs don't dress up the fact that this is a form of puppy farming. I personally think we should all make it our business to stamp on this once and for all. The BPA have a hard job as it is educating people on keeping pigs. I should think this is their worst nightmare come true. Oh and the pig that grew and grew ended up at a sanctuary along with 7 other micro pigs that had been abandoned. Their story needs to be told.

Jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 18730
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:13 pm Post subject:
Thanks for signing up to join in Ruby. I'm sure the Sow will be very interested in your story. I hope you'll hang around and join in some of the other threads too.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 16741
Location: York

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:17 pm Post subject:

Jools wrote:

At the age of 11 back in 1974, a friend and myself decided to try being veggie for a weekend for ethical reasons, ie, we didn't feel it was right to kill an animal for food when you could get all your nutrients elsewhere. We had no idea about the ethics other than that at that time.

I was vegetarian for two years but stopped when I was about 10 because I didn't like to think that an animal had given its life to feed me. Then when I thought about it (being from two farming families) it didn't add up. I liked keeping animals, and without eating them I couldn't afford to keep them, so that left crops [and I was never going to make an arable farmer; when about the only crop I was interested in growing was... grass]. I also realised that animals don't stop being killed when we stop eating them- the chemicals, poisons and other vermin controls are all about killing and are central to almost every vegetarians diet [and since then I have realised that producing meat from grass involves a lot less killing than growing the equivalent protein in a field pulse crop, it's just that the bigger the animal, the more easily you can look it in the face & feel guilty]. At that point I had to concede that being vegetarian was pointless, and I started off on the route I have taken since, i.e. producing good food with benefits for all stakeholders in the foodchain.

The sow

Joined: 15 Jan 2009
Posts: 27
Location: Lanarkshire in Scotland

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:17 pm Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

I am like you Rob, although as you say there are holding numbers for abattoirs etc, I would have thought when it is obvious that a pig is going to be kept for a length of time then the minimal welfare requirements for that pig eg garden, two pigs rather than one are adhered to. If an owner feels it is ok to keep a pig on its own in a house, then I worrry as do other breeders, they will feel it is ok to give it meat etc. Although we can't blame pet owners for starting foot and mouth, I feel there is clearly a risk potential .

ruby09

Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 2
Location: Devon

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:25 pm Post subject:
Thanks Jamanda, I see you are in North Devon, I'm in Devon. I would like to join in but as I have no animals, I feel it is only my humble opinion. I will be pming the sow if I can work it out

Nat S

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 3609
Location: York

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 09 12:42 pm Post subject:

The sow wrote:

Rob R wrote:

But you can have a holding number for a flat or as was my case, a terraced property in town, and then keep your livestock on land down the road, which doesn't belong to you and doesn't have an address in it's own right. Stopping giving holding numbers to landless properties would be a disaster for some.

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