| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| gardening-girl |
Berkshire Pigs.Does anyone else keep these?We think that our first two are nearly ready to go.According to our pig tape they are weighing about 60k, is this about right for them? |
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| Nick |
I have two sows, and the pure berkshires I've had from them have always been heavier than that, but also at least fatty enough. So, 60kg is probably fine, but you could easily go bigger. When do you want the pork? | ||||||
| gardening-girl |
No hurry for the pork, just not sure on ideal killing weight. | ||||||
| colour it green |
mine were Berkshires (gilts)
they killed out at 71.2 and 75.6 i think the dead weight is roughly 70% of the liveweight. we did the tape measure thing and it worked out very accurate. to give you an idea of how big that is.. we cut the legs into 2 joints. We cooked one yesterday - and half a leg was 9 lbs in weight. i dunno what ideal is. but thats what we did. |
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| clydesdaleclopper |
Where do you get a pig tape from? We have 3 Berkshires but they are still little. | ||||||
| mochyn |
Ascott smallholding supplies sell them. www.ascott.biz | ||||||
| colour it green |
got mine from the dressmaking box.... I think it came free with in a xmas cracker
then i used this guide why do you need a special tape? |
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| sean |
I was wondering that, but I've never measured a pig so I didn't like to ask. | ||||||
| mochyn |
It's called a weigh band. It's not marked like an ordinary tape: you put it round what I can only describe as the pig's bust and read off the aprox. weight straight from the band rather than havin gto measure the pig from ears to tail and round the bust and doing a calculation! Mine isn't long enough to go right round the sow, though. | ||||||
| colour it green |
oh right.. spose that saves a lot of calculator stabbing. how accurate do you find it? with the sums method we got figures that turned out to be really accurate - just a couple of kilos out. maybe just beginners luck though.. |
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| sean |
Does that mean that your tape's not big enough or that your pig is too fat? |
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| mochyn |
It's certainly accurate enough. If you're looking at a pig and thinking "Is he big enough to eat?" then a quick check is all you need just to reassure yourself. | ||||||
| mochyn |
Part of the problem is I can't even get my arms round her. She's certainly not too fat (cheek!) but I can't see why I'd need to know how much she weighs anyway: she's not going anywhere! (Unless she wants to). |
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| Nick |
Just use a bit of rope and any tape measure. | ||||||
| gardening-girl |
We didn,t buy it, it was one of the useful things left behind when Rosie and co packed up the business.. 
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| GSHP |
We use baler twine tie a knot in it at the right length then measure that on a tape when we get home. We never seem to remember to take the tape or pen and paper with us...baler cord, we always have
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| colour it green |
I said to himself the other day "look! I'm a proper smallholder now!" cos i had several bits of binder twine in both pockets of fleece, along with some fencing staples, pocket knife and the lamb feet trimmers....
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| Shan |
oh dear. I think I may be a carbon copy of you! 
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| Bebo |
I've always got string and a penknife in the pocket of my trousers when I'm at home. And todays gardening / slobbing round the house trousers are even held up by a bit of string around the waist (of the trousers - I dont have one anymore). |
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| bring me sunshine |
My OH despairs whenever I empty my pockets ... knife, string, paper (never a pen though!), straw, bits of grass ...... it all goes everywhere
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| judith |
Yes, where does the grass come from? That's what I want to know. I certainly don't pick handfuls of the stuff and put it in my pockets, yet it is always there when the trousers go in the wash. |
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| colour it green |
hazelnuts.. I'm constantly picking them up. machine washed a few.... | ||||||
| Shan |
Acorns and corn too. | ||||||
| Shan |
Oh and we have had a few eggs go through the wash. 
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| judith |
Oh dearie me! |
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| Faithmead |
Yep - baler twine, nails, screws, staples, hay, straw, shavings....and that's just the pockets  . Cos I'm only short, I have to turn up my trouser leg bottoms.....which means I have two nice little rubbish collectors there too ....and they've been known to have all sorts of unsavoury things in 'em  
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| Faithmead |
....Oh, and getting back to the Berkie thing.....they are a smaller breed anyway, so do take a bit longer to finish. Anything between 55kgs and 65kgs is what we aim for.
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| joy123 |
Hi,
We send our berkshires about 80kilos liveweight, so they come back around 60 kilos dead weight, I think they could do with waiting a little bit longer. |
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| joy123 |
Hi,
We send our berkshires about 80kilos liveweight, so they come back around 60 kilos dead weight, I think they could do with waiting a little bit longer. |
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| sean |
They probably think so too.
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| bring me sunshine |
Sorry to rewaken this tangent but can anyone answer this: how the whatsits did straw turn up under my pillow?!?!?! |
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| colour it green |
ah that's the section of 'now im a proper smallholder', titled things found in hair. Usually find bits of twig in my hair. |