Berkshire Pedigree Pigs

We wanted to keep rare breed traditional pigs and as we live and work in Berkshire we felt we had to keep the Berkshire breed of Pigs. But after having three weaners for just a few weeks we were smitten and now we have 3 registered breeding sows and 1 boar which we keep for Breeding and for producing the best quality tastiest pork you will have ever eaten.

All our pigs are registered with the British Pig Association. We also notify the British Pig Association of the pig's birth and give each pig a unique identification tag to ensure traceability.

We will have Pedigree Berkshire pigs for sale in Spring 2011 and welcome visitors who may be considering keeping Berkshires for breeding, fattening for the freezer, as "clearance experts" for your vegetable patch or as pets please get in touch and will be very pleased to help you establish your herd.

Information about Berkshire Pigs

The breed is one of our oldest with reports dating back as far as the 17th century when Cromwell and his troops apparently feasted on delicious pork while camped in the Thames valley. The Berkshire Pig Breeders Club suggests the breed originated in 1790 around the Berkshire town of Wantage. Whichever you believe the Berkshire is one of the nation's most established pigs and has seen many changes throughout its long history.

The move away from farmyard-based rearing operations to more efficient, commercial approach to pork production in the 1950s and '60s meant that the traditional breeds like the Berkshire fell out of favour towards bigger, leaner 'white' breeds from mainland Europe. Consequently, the Berkshire fell into the hands of enthusiasts to ensure that this wonderful breed continues to survive. 

Personality

Berkshires are often described as one of the best 'starter breeds' as they are smaller than most breeds, a pleasure to keep with their friendly character they are well suited to the family environment. They are a non aggressive pig with a very happy, placid nature so you can be confident spending time around them. 

Day to Day

One of the reasons that they are great as a first timer's pig is that it's a really straight forward pig to manage. It demands no special requirements: as long as you can provide company in the form of another pig, housing that provides shelter from strong sunlight, heavy rain and draughts, clean fresh water, good feed and a secure enclosure allowing them to display their natural behaviors of rooting you will have very happy pigs.

The minimum space needed for two Berkshire pigs being grown for the freezer is 20' x 10'.

Due to their smaller size they require slightly less feed than the larger breeds, an average allowance would be 2kg of good quality, pig nuts or rolls a day.

The breed is an extremely hardy pig which deals extremely well with inclement weather conditions and are ideally suited to the rigors of outdoor living. They are excellent at turning over grassland and rooting.

All our pigs are reared outside and only brought inside for farrowing to reduce the risk of losses of the young piglets.

The Berkshires are not great escape artists and ours are kept in their pens using two or three strands of electric fencing powered by car battery's. This makes it easier to move them around the paddocks when the ground has been turned over also allowing the previous ground to rest.

They are reasonably resistant to most of the common, pig-related diseases however you need to be vigilant about the risk of internal and external parasites such as worms, mange and lice. These are easy to prevent with the correct stockmanship and we can give you guidance on how we look after our pigs.

Our Pig's Lifestyle

We look after all our animals above and beyond the Ministry's recommended codes of welfare. Our pigs have enhanced free range outdoor lifestyles and live in large paddocks in family groups with straw bedded arks.

None of our pigs ever experience the routine mutilations of intensive farming such as tail docking, teeth clipping, castration, or nose rings.

The mixing of unfamiliar groups can be very stressful for a pig so, when a litter is born, the piglets will stay with mum until they are 8-10 weeks of age and there after stay with the litter for the rest of their lives foraging and grazing together. They have adequate space to allow natural behaviour without the bullying of indoor systems.

Our pigs are fed as naturally as possible. We feed our pigs on sow nuts, finisher pellets, fodder beet, potatoes, carrots and fallen apples and acorns from the trees on our farm. Our pigs are fed on a diet high in omega 3 as we use quality feed that contains no genetically modified organisms, is free from growth promoters and does not contain any animal by products.

They are all kept for twice the lifespan or more of commercial pigs and we use a local abattoir chosen for it's high welfare system.

We raise all our own pigs and do not buy in animals at point of slaughter.

Top ten reasons to buy:-

0. Ideal 'starter' breed.
0. Great temperament.
0. Hardy and durable.
0. Resistant to disease.
0. Wonderfully tasty pork.
0. Reasonably quick to mature.
0. Manageable size.
0. Attentive mother.
0. Good support from the breed society.
0. Worthy of conservation.

From time to time we will have weaners available although there is currently a waiting list. We sell Pork in 20kg and 10kg boxes (approx quarter and half pigs), the next available pork will be November 2011, deposits are being taken now, please call Rachael for details.