| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| BadgerFace |
Piggies BabiesLook who arrived this afternoon, Piggies babies (LW x LB x SB). Mum's my special gilt as I hand reared her She did a grand job for her first litter, though a bit unsettled. Fingers crossed they all do ok.
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| Marionb |
Awwww they're lovely
How many altogether? |
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| BadgerFace |
Nine - four saddleback look-a-likes, and five blueys
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| Chez |
Awwww! | ||||||||
| Effie |
Piglets are cute. They look remarkably similar to puppies when that small. | ||||||||
| Rob R |
Re: Piggies Babies
Did they share her?  Or is the dam SB x LW?
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| marigold |
Nice pics - funny how you can sort of "smell" pictures sometimes - somehow the sight of animals and straw evoke a scent-memory. Some of my friends think I'm a bit weird because I like the smell of well-kept farm animals, but I'm sitting here feeling all squidgy and nostalgic for country pongs 
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| BadgerFace |
Re: Piggies Babies
No sharing  The dam is a LW X LB and the sire is a SB
So the piglets are 25% LW, 25% LB, 50% SB  I didn't expect as many Saddleback looking piglets. When we've had LW x LB most of the piglets are 'Blue', with a few all blacks, and never any pink ones (?)
Little new piglets do have a wonderful smell, as do newborn lambs and foals......... and kittens..... and puppies - something to do with the Mother/offspring bonding process, maybe ? 
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| Ixy |
That's really interesting - I didn't think two solid coloured animals would produce a pied/broken effect like that Plus, white is meant to be dominant (though I question that) so I would have expected the LW X LB to be white if that was true....
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| BadgerFace |
The LW x LB used to be a very popular cross for bacon pigs. The OH's Family had a commercial pig farm up until the late 70's and he remembers all the porkers being 'Blue'.
Here's a link I found when researching the breeding of 'Blue' pigs. Blue Pigs |
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| Ixy |
weird - i've always been told that was LW X SB | ||||||||
| Rob R |
This is really confusing- I'd always known the 'blue' pig as a cross between a saddleback dam & a large white sire, yet large black can be used too. Then I checked out the website: www.bluepigcompany.com and got:
Whereas our GOS x LB all come out black, with white tips on the tail, nose & feet... |
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| Ixy |
wonder what a GOS boar X Saddleback sow would produce.....I feel a use for Gerald ('he's a lurve machine, just a lurve machine') coming on....
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| Bebo |
Have now seen the piggy babies in the flesh and can confirm they are even more gorgeous than they look in the photo. | ||||||||
| Rob R |
Just like Ixy. |
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| Bebo |
Ixy is a piggy baby? |
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| Rob R |
She's not a piggy, and please don't call me baby, it's most inappropriate.
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| Bebo |
Why? I'm old enough to be your mum (just). |
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| Rob R |
Does that make a difference? 
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| Bebo |
In theory you could be my baby. Although I'd feel sorry for any baby that had me for a mum
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| Rob R |
Do you call everyone under the age of 28 'baby' then? 
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| Bebo |
Either that or piggy - depends what sort of mood I'm in. Anyway, if you're 28 you're far too old to be my baby, piggy. |
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| Rob R |
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| Ixy |
 What do you want? 
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| mochyn |
sounds like a Berkshire to me! Didn't I have one of those from you a few years ago? She was a nice pig. |
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| BadgerFace |
Well, I've never heard of a GOS being used to breed blue pigs. From what the Blue Pig Company are saying, it's sounds as if any cross of a 'white' pig with a 'black' pig gives a 'blue' pig. I live and learn
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| Ixy |
yeah, except for the LB boar on GOS sow, which gives berkshire type markings of all things 
we're going to try GOS boar on saddleback sow next to see what happens
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| mochyn |
Why not throw a Tamworth into the mix? rainbow pig? |
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| Rob R |
Me too! Though with lop ears and a bit longer than a Berks. I think it probably was one of those- from before we had the GOS boar & was crossing them to the LB. The ones we have now are as a result of the GOS boar becoming infertile so we were back to crossing them but these will be the last now, as we've just culled the last GOS sow. |
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| Rob R |
I think Ixy's gone off Tamworths, just a little.
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| mochyn |
How can you "go off" Tamworth's? What's not to love? Best pig in the multiverse. |
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| Rob R |
Not when they trash your fencing... We think Ruby is an indoor pig at heart (judging by the beeline she made for it). | ||||||||
| mochyn |
How on earth did that happen? Do you have any electric there? Ours have never done any fence damage! | ||||||||
| Rob R |
Electric fence, yes, but a determined pig is a determined pig. The Saddleback boar was a lot more sensible about the whole thing...
I don't envy him though, we're having one heck of a rain storm right now
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| GSHP |
I can't keep my two tamworth gilts behind an electric fence, they just blunder straight through. The two boars won't even cross the line where the electric fence used to be ! Not sure which is the most annoying. | ||||||||
| Rob R |
I was thinking it was a breed thing, but maybe gender has something to do with it? I imagine the gilts wreak the most havoc... | ||||||||
| GSHP |
was going to reply but........maybe not
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| mochyn |
How extraordinary. Mine never try anything! Mind you, they're all bred from a cheerful, docile sow. | ||||||||
| Ixy |
Ruby IS a cheerful, and friendly, sow which is why I'm so keen to carry on her line despite a less than perfect underline in her old age but all the tamworths I've worked with were the same (the boars were no trouble though), it's just 'active'. I thought the only docile tamworth was a dead one.
It was a dumb move to put her in an electric paddock with zero training beforehand - soon as she got a shock she jumped through it and then her mind was poisoned to the whole outdoors idea so she legged it back to her sty!
That's fine, we believe in free choice here - whatever they want
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