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Bodger	Contingency Plan. I think I mentioned that we've been struggling to get Pru the GOS sow back into pig after her last litter. Well if she doesn't oblige, we now have a contingency plan. When we picked up the porkers from the slaughterhouse yesterday, I found out that they kill cull sows there and that they will also turn them into sausages for you. I didn't ask the price but the butcher said that a 200kg sow will produce about a 100kg of meat that's suitable for sausages. Now we do enjoy making our own sausages but we've never attempted anything like that amount in one go, so if the worst comes to the worst and Pru doesn't get back into the family way, its definitely something that we'll look further into. As a matter of interest, the slaughterhouse that we used, is in the North Wales town of Denbigh. They are a very friendly and helpful business with a good traditional family butchers attached to it. Now here's a bit of history for you. We've been to the Saint Fagans museum on a few occasions and they have this cockpit there and it once stood in Denbigh. The museum removed it brick by brick and reconstructed it on the museum site. When its original use fell out of favour, the cockpit was used for a number of years as the towns slaughterhouse. Thankfully, the one that I went to yesterday, I'm pleased to say, is somewhat more modern. Here are the pictures from our last visit to St Fagans. I'm not sure how they would have worked it as a slaughterhouse but interesting all the same. I took these pictures at St Fagans. A fantastic building but built in an era that has thankfully long since gone. The roof structure was amazing. A brief history of the building and its varied uses.
Ty Gwyn	I`d say your sow is to fat,that`s the problem.
Bodger	Actually, she had a rough time of it after farrowing last time and I've noticed that she has a little bit of discharge.
Ty Gwyn	So you know the reason she is not taking.
Bodger	I knew that before but I've got to give her a try. If she's going to miss for a second time, she'll be back in season in a weeks time. She'll have one more chance after that and if things are still not working, then I'm afraid its sausage time.
Nicky cigreen	sounds like a good plan Bodger - I hope she takes but if not sausages seems a logical step and you have new stock to try. If you end up that way you could consider having the minced meat made but left at that - and freeze it in manageable portions and you could still make some of your own sausages to your own recipe when time allowed, and also do other things like pies etc?
Ty Gwyn	Sorry butty,but if you knew it before,why did`nt you sort it, That`s what keeping stock involves.
Bodger	How would you have set about sorting it? She farrowed her last litter five and a half months ago and has had the discharge for just over a week. Even for an expert like yourself, long distance diagnosis is very difficult. My original post was about what I might do if the sow remained barren and not about what might or might not be wrong with her. I'm well aware of the responsibility that stock keeping involves.
Ty Gwyn	Point being,until you sort out the discharge,she will continue to be barren.
Bodger	Give it a rest.
Ty Gwyn	Some people never learn.
Bodger	You know Sweet Fanny Adams about myself, or my pig keeping, so how can you come to the conclusion that I might be one of those people 'who never learn?' I apologise for having had the temerity to post on a subject that you obviously consider to be your own field of expertise but unfortunately, you don't have a monopoly on it and you must come to terms with the fact that other people do keep pigs. As can be seen by my willingness to post pictures of my pig keeping activities, I keep my pigs very well and have absolutely nothing to hide. I'm sure that you'll feel the need to have the last word on this thread but anyone reading this will know exactly what you are up to. Maybe you should post a little more about your own pig keeping? At least you wouldn't have a Ty Gwyn throwing personal insults at you. In posting this thread, I tried to make it an interesting one for the members, your arrogance and deliberate rudeness has completely spoiled it. Folks, I'm sorry that I've had to make a post of this nature but I hope you'll understand and that I couldn't let these remarks go unanswered. I don't know what this guys problem is, nor why he's gone out of his way to try and make a problem for me.
Flamin'Panda	I think that if you put yourself (and pigs) up in the public arena, you must be prepared for what is thrown at you, and deal with it in a calm, considered and rational manner. Simply ranting on about someone else, who to my mind does have a point, can come across as unintelligent ramblings... If you want to get back at some one, or put your point of view across, use points of reference and facts. When my children had temper tantrums they were told off.
Bodger	I think that if you put yourself (and pigs) up in the public arena, you must be prepared for what is thrown at you, and deal with it in a calm, considered and rational manner. Simply ranting on about someone else, who to my mind does have a point, can come across as unintelligent ramblings... If you want to get back at some one, or put your point of view across, use points of reference and facts. When my children had temper tantrums they were told off.

As far as I'm concerned. I have. You wouldn't by any chance have an axe to grind after having your rubbish removed from my last post would you?

alison

Play nicely people

.....and back to the pigs.

Hopefully a dose of something from the vet can clear the discharge.

Hopefully she will be able to get back into pig.

However, if she doesn't, have a good think about flavours of sausages, and do a variety. Maybe you could have a BBQ at your next cider open day, or a sausage tie in with some double purchases

Flamin'Panda

I think that if you put yourself (and pigs) up in the public arena, you must be prepared for what is thrown at you, and deal with it in a calm, considered and rational manner. Simply ranting on about someone else, who to my mind does have a point, can come across as unintelligent ramblings... If you want to get back at some one, or put your point of view across, use points of reference and facts. When my children had temper tantrums they were told off.

As far as I'm concerned. I have. You wouldn't by any chance have an axe to grind after having your rubbish removed from my last post would you?

Don't use an axe, I've got a chainsaw instead... and you really should calm down, you'll give yourself a heart attack. Bodger

Thanks Alison.
The people who bought the jointed pigs from me over the weekend are more than interested in having some sausage from us. Its just the sheer quantity involved that I'm finding rather daunting.
We'll have to see what happens. Pru repeated the first time before her last litter, so the sausage orders are still some way from being taken yet.

The last mating took place on Valentines Day. I noticed a slight discharge about a week or so ago and I'm fairly sure that its stopped over the last couple of days. alison

Was it a clear or coloured discharge? Bodger

Clear and most definitely not smelly. alison

http://www.nadis.org.uk/bulletins/vulval-discharges.aspx Bodger

That's a useful and helpful link. I've saved it as a favourite.

Pru has had the best of everything. Good food, good bedding, a long and expensive course of antibiotics when she farrowed last September and above all, a happy life. All is not yet lost, I've done my best by her and now I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Flamin'Panda

Re: Contingency Plan.

Now here's a bit of history for you. We've been to the Saint Fagans museum on a few occasions and they have this cockpit there and it once stood in Denbigh. The museum removed it brick by brick and reconstructed it on the museum site.

Without being jumped on, so no Panda bashing, I was wondering why this was interesting, or am I missing something here? alison

I would have thought interesting, and beautiful, and also was totally connected to the slaughterhouse mentioned in the original post.

Why don't you think it is? Flamin'Panda

Ok, thanks for that... just got a bit confused there for a moment... I do wonder at times though about the cost of doing such things, when, to my mind, money could be better spent else where. Lloyd

You need to take the time to visit St Fagans. Its Wales's National History Museum and it truly is a fantastic place. Amongst many other things, they also keep pigs. You do have an interest in pigs?

Have a look at this.

http://www.visitcardiff.com/things-to-do/st-fagans-national-history-museum-p9971 Flamin'Panda

Beautiful and interesting, but a disturbing reflection on an unsavoury, cruel practise which is still illegally carried out in the UK to this day by unscrupulous people with no morals or sensitivity. A bit like the slavery relics....We need to know, I suppose , just so we remember.

Cock fighting, dog fighting, bare knuckle fighting, and badger baiting still go on in 2014 Britain.

I am quite happy for a couple of numbskulls to beat the hell out of each other... cockfighting, dog fighting etc... is, IMO, about as low as anyone can go. I would be in favour of very long prison sentences, and public knowledge of perpetrators, name and shame. But to back to the building, it is interesting, but still, IMO, a waste of money to move it brick by brick..... Bodger

They had to, it wouldn't come in one piece, now lets get back to pigs eh? Bodger

Pig Trek. The Next Generation.

Yesterday morning, we moved Pru's two daughters from their muddy outdoor pen up into the pig sty. Up until Tuesday, the sty was the home of their brothers who are now living in the freezer.
We're going to keep the girls in the sty for the next couple of months until the weather bucks up and the ground dries out a bit. Then they'll be off outside again into nice big grassy runs behind electric wire.

I'm hoping that these two will go on to become our next generation of breeding sows. They're looking a bit greasy in these pictures because I'd just put some pig oil on them.

Its a bit of a pig when a ladies a**e looks better than her face.

"I think I might like our new house"

The main thing, is that they've already started to crap in just the right place. In one of the corners out in the open forecourt and not in their bedroom. I'm a man of simple pleasures, it doesn't take a lot to please me you know. Now if I could just get them to do it directly into the wheelbarrow, then I would be cooking with gas. Laughing

Lloyd

Out of curiosity, how old is Pru, and what is her weight? dpack

the youngsters look lovely ,the future of pigdom ?

hope pru is ok for a while but even chums have to go eventually ,apart from miss bacon i could not eat my chums (i was her only chum due to her "biteyness"and my "chummyness" had a purpose which was to get her allowed to get big enough for hams etc) but although spotty was looking very tasty i wanted no part of it so to speak.non chum pigs no prob especially bitey ones .

i recon pigs are the most difficult of farmed critters cos it is so easy to get fond of nice ones . Mr O

Out of curiosity, how old is Pru, and what is her weight? Are you a pig expert ? dpack

im no expert but im fairly good at farrowing and can guess the weight of a porker as well as some but from a snap i would ask the weight if i was curious Bodger

Out of curiosity, how old is Pru, and what is her weight?
Are you after a date? Laughing

12Bore

Out of curiosity, how old is Pru, and what is her weight?
Are you after a date? Laughing

Or a sandwich? Lloyd

Out of curiosity, how old is Pru, and what is her weight? Are you a pig expert ?

And why would you ask that exactly?

It just sounds as though other members views regarding her weight might be sound.

Are you a pig expert then, Mr O? Marionb

Out of curiosity, how old is Pru, and what is her weight? Are you a pig expert ?

And why would you ask that exactly?

Agreed.... I didn't know you had to be an expert to ask questions... Mr O seems to be stirring the sh*t just lately... Confused