# Tamworth Piglets!



## MaineHighlands (May 30, 2012)

We got five purebred Tamworth piglets yesterday (in the pouring rain ).  We will raise up two or three of them for our family for meat, and sell the rest.  We love this breed - they are long and lean and make the BEST BACON!  
We settled them into their stall in the barn where they will be for a few weeks - until it is more consistantly warm here, then they will go out into their pen.
This group seems particularly smart - they had already figured out the nipple waterer by last evening!


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## Royd Wood (May 30, 2012)

Yes very good bacon


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## that's*satyrical (May 31, 2012)

We are getting a breeding pair of Tamworths next weekend. What do we need for them? We have an electric fence set up for them & their own foraging area. I saw you said something about a nipple feeder? Do we need this for piggies born early March or will a water tub work? Any advice is great


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 1, 2012)

Congratulations!  Sounds like you have a great game plan!


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## MaineHighlands (Jun 1, 2012)

We like the nipple waterer because it eliminates having to haul water.  DH rigged up a 55 gal drum (white to keep water cooler) to a short hose to a pipe with a nipple waterer on the end.  We fill the drum every so often and it gravity feeds the nipple waterer for the pigs.  We don't have to keep the water faucet turned on with a long hose attached (so no worries there), and we don't have to haul water and the pigs get clean water to drink.

They are adjusting very well to their new surroundings - we are in for a week of rainy cool weather so I am glad they are in the barn, nice and snug and warm!  We will probably turn them out into their pen mid-June.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jun 1, 2012)

*Pics!?!?!? *


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 1, 2012)

MaineHighlands said:
			
		

> We like the nipple waterer because it eliminates having to haul water.  DH rigged up a 55 gal drum (white to keep water cooler) to a short hose to a pipe with a nipple waterer on the end.  We fill the drum every so often and it gravity feeds the nipple waterer for the pigs.  We don't have to keep the water faucet turned on with a long hose attached (so no worries there), and we don't have to haul water and the pigs get clean water to drink.
> 
> They are adjusting very well to their new surroundings - we are in for a week of rainy cool weather so I am glad they are in the barn, nice and snug and warm!  We will probably turn them out into their pen mid-June.


Sounds like what we have done and it works like a dream!


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## Cornish Heritage (Jun 1, 2012)

We have never used Nipple waterers but unless they were firmly routed in place I think ours would tear them out. Pigs can be quite mischievous  A rubber bowl will work just fine. Ours either have ponds or rubber bowls. 

When you bring your piglets home PLEASE make sure you put them in an area that they cannot escape from . They will be scared to death & someone just posted that they brought 3 piglets home only to have them run through the electric netting & they are gone! That is a very frustrating mistake. They need at least 2-3 days inside an enclosed area with electric wire around the inside to train them. From there, put them all out together in the pasture behind the netting putting them beside their food bowl. If you do it too soon they will panic run right through the electric fence & be gone. 

The piglets need time to adjust to their new surroundings & you. 

Enjoy those piggies, 

Liz


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## Royd Wood (Jun 1, 2012)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> We are getting a breeding pair of Tamworths next weekend. What do we need for them? We have an electric fence set up for them & their own foraging area. I saw you said something about a nipple feeder? Do we need this for piggies born early March or will a water tub work? Any advice is great


I do like Tams but my 3 Tams are so much noisier than my Large Blacks and root worse than LBs but not as bad as my Hampshires did - yes DID not do  
Thats Satyrical - If you could start a Tamworth post with pics on arrival that would be cool. Great choice of heritage pork and the tams wont let you down


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## Cornish Heritage (Jun 2, 2012)

> Great choice of heritage pork and the tams wont let you down


Do you do the LB/Tam cross Royd? I understand that "Blackworths" make a really nice cross? We have never had Tams so have no experience here with them but there is a farm in TX who do Blackworths & they really like them. 

I have heard that the Tams are more highly strung than the LB's but then the LB's are SO laid back it would be hard to find a pig that could beat them on that. 

Liz


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## that's*satyrical (Jun 2, 2012)

Thanks for all the advice/help. I will be sure to post of pic of the new babies when they arrive. We are supposed to pick them up next Saturday.


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## Royd Wood (Jun 2, 2012)

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> > Great choice of heritage pork and the tams wont let you down
> 
> 
> Do you do the LB/Tam cross Royd? I understand that "Blackworths" make a really nice cross? We have never had Tams so have no experience here with them but there is a farm in TX who do Blackworths & they really like them.
> ...


Well they look good so far but I'll let you know when they hit the store shelf in a few weeks time.  They are 9 months old and almost ready to go at 250 lb.
They look like LBs but are squealers and just not chilled out 
Tams are a fine pig however they specialise in being escape artists and so noisy, saying that its better than having the ploughing machine hamps around. We have one hamp left only because she knocks out great LB cross piglets who are growing fast and might be ready by 7 months. ???? we will see ?????
We processed some pure Tam barrows recently and I must say the pork was very good but the bacon was disgusting.



Yes disgusting the way we all fought over it at the table


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## Cornish Heritage (Jun 4, 2012)

> Yes disgusting the way we all fought over it at the table


LOL!



> They are 9 months old and almost ready to go at 250 lb.


Are you getting a good marbling at this size? I've recently been reading that some folks are now growing their pork a little bigger? How's the lard quantity at this age? We personally like our pork lean but we are going to have to put some fat on at least one this year if we are going to replenish our lard.

Sausage (LB cull gilt) is gaining quite fast & is certainly a little porker. She is getting fed cooked eggs every day with her grain. Hoping to wean her off the grain & just feed her milk/eggs & alfalfa as well as her pasture of course but not got quite enough milk right now. 

Liz


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## Royd Wood (Jun 5, 2012)

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> > Yes disgusting the way we all fought over it at the table
> 
> 
> LOL!
> ...


We sent 2 pure Tamworth barrows which were up around 350lb and 400 lb meat was fantastic but in my book they were too fat. There was 120 lb of fat off the 2 pigs which for me is way too much however because we render and sell lard it was put to good use. These 2 were raised at the farm for the last 2 months and not on the loose with the rest of the pigs. 
We are getting some others up to 300 lb more often these days which I think is working out well meat wise with crossbreds but it takes so long with cull LBs. Still on a learning curve here but our customers love the meat and understand that sometimes a 6 week wait for the next pack of bacon is the norm.


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## Cornish Heritage (Jun 9, 2012)

> There was 120 lb of fat off the 2 pigs


WOW! That is alot of rendering to do! 

Liz


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## that's*satyrical (Aug 25, 2012)

So question about future piglets. If we were to keep some for meat & sell some is it better to keep/sell gilts or barrows? How many should we keep for meat for a family of 5? What age/size would be best for slaughter time? Thanks so much. 

And one more question for Liz.  Would you be interested in a trade so both of us might try this LB/Tam cross at some point?


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## Cornish Heritage (Aug 27, 2012)

> If we were to keep some for meat & sell some is it better to keep/sell gilts or barrows?


Not quite sure what you are asking here. Are you talking about selling as piglets or mature stock ready for butchering? We enacted a new farm policy here this year in that we only sell Barrows as feeders. The reason we have done this is to try & stop some of the backyard breeding. Because our business is registered breeding stock when we cull an animal there is a reason for it & we do not want it to be bred. Of course if we cull a boar then it is easy to make him into a barrow but you cannot easily "fix" a gilt SO we keep all cull gilts here on the farm to raise for our own consumption. 

If you have registered pure bred Tamworths, you'll find that you will be able to sell your gilts as piglets way more easily than your boars. 



> How many should we keep for meat for a family of 5?


LOL! Depends how much you enjoy pork, bacon & sausage  It also depends on what other meat you have in the freezer, not to mention the age of your kids. If you are feeding teenage boys then you are going to need more than if you are feeding toddlers  We pack our sausage & bacon in 2lb packs so there isn't that many packs per pig. I'm betting we eat at least 3-4 pigs a year but ours are normally various sizes.



> What age/size would be best for slaughter time?


Depends on whether you like your meat lean or marbled? The "experts" say that once a pig reaches 250lbs that is when it starts to put on the fat. We like our meat lean so we butcher around that weight. Some folks like to wait for 275lbs to 300lbs. 



> Would you be interested in a trade so both of us might try this LB/Tam cross at some point?


Thanks but no thanks  No more pig crosses on this farm - no money in it especially with the price of feed right now. 

Liz


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