A champion boar at last, but…
26 08 2007When we started with Berkshire pigs, it was always our aim to build a quality herd of pedigree stock and we spent a great deal of time trying to source a boar with top quality provenance.
But the reality of running a pedigree Berkshire pig herd in North-East Scotland is that there are very few breeders in the entire country so bloodstock has to come from England where most Berkshires are found in the middle and south of the country.
In turn, that means we can’t personally bring livestock back to Scotland without running foul of the eight-hour transport rule, while it’s beyond our means to pay a livestock haulier to bring just one or two animals this far north.
We counted ourselves fortunate that we were able to source a reasonable boar from a Berkshire breeder in southern Scotland and got on with it.
Then, last week we were offered a top-quality boar from the Ambassador line by Linda and Graham from the Bidgiemire Pig Company.
The boar is a county show champion, who’s been used as a stud boar.
Linda and Graham have decided to narrow their focus to just two breeds of pig, so their Berkshire boar will be going and they offered him to us along with a very good sow (Dittisham Suzanne, which farrowed and raised a first litter of 11).
The Other Half and I were sorely tempted by the boar as we really need two boars from different bloodlines to reduce the dangers of inbreeding, as well as being able to offer people the use of either boar to service Berkshire gilts bought from us.
By selling a few things and scrimping even further, we could have just afforded the boar and the sow together but while it would be straightforward to incorporate the gilt into our existing layout the boar would mean rather more investment.
He’d have to be housed away from Graham, our existing boar, which would mean building a new boar pen over the back of the hill.
The costs of that would definitely be beyond us as we’d have to put in another double fence with gate, put in another insulated arc as there’s less shelter there, erect windbreaks and put in a new trough.
It’s a typical Stonehead Croft situation. When we can afford a top-quality boar and all his attendant housing, there’s not one to be found. But when we do find the boar we wanted, we’re not in a position to buy him.
Maybe next time…
could you just take the boar not the gilt, or would they do RentaBoar for a while?? it seems such a shame not to have a great bloodline to give Graham a run for his money and keep him on his trotters?
To take on a second boar would mean having two boar enclosures on opposite sides of the croft - one on either side of the ridge - so they don’t challenge each other. And that means spending money on housing, fencing, water supply and a windbreak.
A gilt (or two) on the other hand can easily be incorporated into our existing arrangement where we have a of female or two in with the boar, one off farrowing, one dry and being fed up for serving again, and a couple of weaners/growers developing into porkers.
Graham and Linda will sell us the gilt with her in-pig to the boar for a little extra cash. That means we have a chance at a good quality boar from her offspring that we can breed from in 12 months or so, giving us time to find time and money for extra housing and fencing.
Of course, it’s not the same as having a boar that can be advertised as proven show winner and an established stud animal. It’s better than nothing, though!
That’s great news - a middle way - and you never know, the offspring might turn out even better than their Daddy…..
So did you go for the gilt in-pig? We’ve still go our two, which are doing well thanks. I am going to wait until I get another couple of pigs in before sending our first non-pedigree to slaughter. I’m not in a rush, as weve just had a new arrival of our own and are busy busy, but will you have weaners over winter/spring? and will you be doing rent-a-boar?
We have 11 four-week-old weaners at the moment (six gilts, five boars) that will be available in four to six weeks time.
We also have two sows that are in pig and due around mid-November, while our new sow (which we’re still waiting to collect) should farrow somewhere around mid to late December. She’ll have boars from a different line to your gilts so we hope to keep one of those as a stud boar - but that means about a 15-month wait.
You’d be better off putting your breeding gilt to a good boar from another breed (Tamworth/Berkshire works well) and having a cross-breed litter first. That will keep your gilt fertile as you need to put them to the boar for the first time between nine months (early in my view) and 14 months (as late I’d leave it).
Thanks. Interested on both counts as will likely be late next year before I have more areas fenced. Is it OK to put weaners in with the 9 month gilt, or will she squash them? I did not know about cross breeding fertility, thats interesting. I will come up with a plan over xmas.