Pig identification in Scotland

When I contacted Scotch Premier, the abattoir we use in Inverurie, to organise the slaughter of our next three pigs I was told they were no longer accepting pigs with temporary marks and now wanted slapmarks as these don’t rub off during the slaughter process.

Slapmarks are ink tattoos that are applied with a slapper to both shoulders of the pig.

That sounds fair enough in terms of identification and traceability, but if you have dark skinned pigs as we often do then the slapmark may not be legible.

Snow but no water

When I went to bed last night, there was a slight chill to air but the sky was clear with not a cloud to block out the stars.

This morning, it was much the same - clear skies and a definite chill but with the addition of just enough snow cover to turn everything white.

There’s not enough snow to get excited about, not least because the flow of water from the borehole has dropped to a trickle again and we’re going to a need a lot more snow, sleet and rain to restore our water supply.