Do you want the good news or the bad news?

Lets start with the bad news, get it over and done with, we had to have a pig put down last week. It was one of the saddleback crosses and we're pretty sure he was poisoned. There are a couple of yew trees in the pigs enclosure, which we knew were poisonous, but animals generally know to avoid them. However, one of the trees had some of its root exposed and, as we've been feeding the pigs under the trees to encourage them to forage, we think they probably ate some of the root too.

Ed checked the pigs in the evening and they were all fine but by the following morning most of them were off colour and lethargic and one was very ill (disorientated and struggling to breathe properly) so Ed called the vet who diagnosed poisoning and gave him an injection to fight the symptoms. Unfortunately the pig didn't improve and so was put down at lunchtime that day. Fortunately the other pigs seem to have recovered with no lasting effects. The only pig not to be ill at all was Roger, the smallest Oxford Sandy and Black, I'm taking it as proof she's the cleverest (Ed thinks it's because she's the smallest and not allowed near the good food!).



It was a really sad experience, even though they're going to die soon anyway, and we both felt awful. But we live and learn, and won't make the same mistake again.

The good news...I've finally got a job in the South West. Ed and I have been living apart for nearly three years, firstly with him away during the week, and for the last 18 months with me only at home at weekends so it's really exciting to be contemplating living together again though I'm sure there are going to be a few teething problems while we sort out the tv schedule and the dishwasher loading rota!! One of the most exciting things is the increased flexibility it will give us to start growing our meat production business and hopefully start looking at farmers markets, grants for a cutting room etc.

Self sufficiency

We're on our way...



Ed found these just 10 days after we first collected our point of lay Bluebell chickens. I was expecting them to take ages - a friend who bought chickens last year had to wait about six weeks for her first eggs. It was a very exciting moment for us - so much so that Ed had to send me a picture message and comply with my request not to eat them until I got home at the weekend! They are now residing in some specially purchased egg cups on our dresser (sad, me, no, of course not). Since then production has really picked up and we're getting around four eggs a day. Some of them have looked a little thin shelled so we bought some oyster grit to keep in their pen and they seem to be improving.

We have also bought all our vegetable seeds and I'm hoping to start planting this weekend. I am most excited about the very posh River Cottage ones we were given as an inspired Christmas present by a fabulous friend. I was slightly worried we'd missed the planting boat, but was reassured by Chris Evans on Radio 2 this morning when he said that the soil isn't warm enough for planting yet so everything needs to go in late. Hurrah!

Update

Just thought I'd show you a few photos of the weaners we're fattening, and Lara and Roger (a girl!) our breeding gilts - well, they will be in a few months!



It's difficult to tell whether they've grown when you see them every day, or every weekend, but looking back over the photos I can see a definite change. Which brings them ever closer to becoming sausages. We're both trying to view them as a business proposition, and to some extent are succeeding (Ed more than me probably) but it will still be sad to see them go.

And then there were 20...

Numbers appear to have increased again. Ed is fast becoming a porcine kleptomaniac. Several weeks ago, whilst looking for some Dexter cattle for a friend, Ed managed to stumble across a two year old female Oxford Sandy and Black free to good home. Bertha had been living on her own since she was weaned and, following her owner having a serious accident, had ended up on a farm near Leominster. They loved her, but had run out of space, so had to rehome her - this is where we stepped in. Ed collected her a few weeks ago and she seems to have settled in well, though she is (somewhat understandably) convinced she is a human not a pig and has been a little miffed at our attempts to a) keep her in a pen and b) introduce her to the boar!!



We have borrowed an Oxford Sandy and Black boar from a local farmer, nicknamed Bert who seems quite keen on Bertha. She is somewhat less keen on him. We're keeping our fingers crossed though. Neither of them are registered with the OSB Society so we will sell/keep their piglets as weaners for pork rather than keeping them for breeding.



Next up, Ed discovered the livestock equivalent of ebay and managed to procure two 13 month old Tamworth gilts for the princely sum of £11.54. Bargain. There's the small matter of feeding them, but we'll gloss over that for now... They are really friendly and lovely looking. Flynn is much more interested in them, and less afraid of them, than Bertha - I think it's because they're ginger like him! They have settled in really well (we've split the pen at our yard in two) and are very interested in Bert, so we're now looking for a Tamworth boar. Though I am keen to stagger the arrival of piglets a bit or I think we might be a little overwhelmed.



Finally, we went to look at a potential husband for Barley last week. He's a lovely, two year old, yellow labrador. So now we're just waiting for her to come in to season. It is so exciting, though not quite sure how we're going to cope with all the babies - still, it'll probably put us off having our own for a while!!