An Introduction to Pig Keeping
If keeping poultry is usually the first livestock enterprise for the new smallholder, then keeping pigs is usually the next. So, never ones to flout convention, in May 2002, we started our pig enterprise.
Why keep pigs?
Some people keep pigs as pets but most people keep pigs for meat production, either directly or indirectly. Our ultimate purpose was meat production, but the original driver was a desire to bring more field into cultivation for vegetables. Rather than dig it all, we decided to let a couple of Tamworth weaners do it for us.
Apart from poultry, pigs get the worst deal from intensive agriculture and commercially produced pork is pretty poor quality. And we like pork. And bacon. And sausages. Pigs are great for smallholders; they clear ground, fertilise it, eat vegetable waste and produce lovely meat. It is rumoured that you can use everything but the "oink".