Introduction to Pig Keeping

We arrived at Ian and Maggie Todd's rural idyll on a lovely sunny day ready to learn all we could about those porkers - and we were not disappointed. We settled down with tea and coffee to an introduction to some breeds, Berkshires, Middle Whites and British Lop being on site for us to admire - some prize-winning beasts here!

Ian took us through the basic requirements for keeping pigs - housing and feed, and then moved on to health and legal considerations giving us enough information to get us started but without overwhelming us and then supporting this with handouts and leaflets.

After a picnic lunch in the garden we were then given the opportunity to see the pigs at various stages of development and in a variety of housings. Ian demonstrated how to encourage a pig to go where you actually wanted it to go and then we took a board in hand to do the same - those weaners certainly enjoyed a frolic when let out for a run - but it was surprisingly easy to get them to move and we even loaded some into a trailer without too much trouble (mind you - they were outnumbered!).

We left encouraged, informed and enthused and I know that at least one member of the group has already put theory into practice and is now the proud owner of some weaners.