Members' Blog

JAPP H – SIR BENFRO | PEMBROKESHIRE

“I have picked my pigs up and they have settled in well. I have decided to feed them on adlib pig pellets as it will maximise their growth throughout the next months. I am also feeding them a small amount of milk from our dairy at around 0.875 litters a pig. I will be monitoring this as they might get too fat. At the moment I have weighed them twice since they arrived and so far they have grown at an average 0.77kg a day. They have eaten approximately 50kg of feed after 15 days meaning that their food conversion ratio is 4.63. I will be looking for an average of 2.1. I am thoroughly enjoying this competition and hope to keep some pigs in the future.”

LISA G – SIR GÂR | CARMARTHENSHIRE

“On Friday 6th of September I collected and weighed the 4 pigs, weighing an average of 14kgs. While unloading the pigs, one had urinated on my mother, I helped the pigs settle in to their new home by giving them a cosy bed of straw, clean fresh water and some food and made sure they were secure in their new home by placing a hurdle upside down and a wheel barrow in front of the grate in case the pigs would escape, 2 days later I decided to cut a piece of cow mat to screw onto the gate, to stop the wind blowing in and the pigs escaping. I started off by giving the pigs one bucket of feed a day loose in the straw, but then I realised I did not know how much they were eating so then decided a day later to give them a full bucket in a trough then it seemed like they were having too much so last few days I have been giving them around 3/4 of a bucket per day and night and it seems like they are eating it all. They are very quiet but like to nibble at my feet every time I go in. I have also placed a disinfectant bucket outside the shed so every time someone goes in and out they expected to dunk their wellies or boots as you never know what germs are on their shoes. I can not wait to find out how much profit will be at the end, and it is something different than looking at my sheep every day. I have enjoyed this competition so far and look forward to the Winter Fair.”

GWENAN D – SIR BENFRO | PEMBROKESHIRE

“I am really enjoying taking part in this competition and have learned a lot about the husbandry needed to take care of pigs. When they arrived we weighed them to keep track on how much weight they were putting on. When they arrived the heaviest one weighed 16.5kg and the smallest was 14.5kg, since then we have been weighing them weekly to ensure they were gaining weight and were healthy. They have been putting on an average of 6-8kg per week. I have decided to feed them ad-lib to ensure they have access to food at all times and make sure that they gain as much weight as possible. To make it easier to identify which pig is which I have decided to use different colour stock marker for each pig. Here is the graph I have made to show their weekly weight gain so far.”

DOMINIC HAMPSON-SMITH | GWENT

“I have thoroughly enjoyed keeping my YFC pigs over there last few weeks, I’m blown away by the growth I’ve seen and look forward to showing my stock at the Winter Fair. Each pig has a slightly different personality and as a 4 they are funny bunch to watch”

SIONED T – SIR BENFRO | PEMBROKESHIRE

“What a start to the story of ‘Pigs y Llan’. On the 12th August I went to Willhome farm in Camrose with the rest of the ’24 pig finishing crew to have training with Stuart and the vet on how to care for pigs including husbandry and pig handling. I learned a lot in the sessions as I have never kept pigs before. From all the information, the one that has stuck in my head is “straight tail = sad pig, curly tail = happy pig” this is true! After an informative day at Willhome it was time to return home as there were only three weeks until the pigs arrived. There was a lot of work to do at home to make sure everything was “pig proof”.

On the morning of Sunday 8th September dad and I went down to Willhome to collect the 4 pigs. We had a lot of fun trying to catch the pigs’ and put them in the trailer. And believe me, they made a lot of noise. On the way home, I was thinking of names for the 4 little pigs. So, welcome Wilbur, Babe, Percy Pig and Peppa Pig. I had a lot of fun playing with the pigs on the first day, but I did get scared when I went out the next morning and couldn’t the pigs – They had buried themselves in the straw!! I weigh the pigs every Sunday night to see how much weight they’ve put on.”

Here are the results….

Babe: 08/09 – 17kg, 15/09 – 22kg, 22/09 – 28kg, 29/09 – 35kg

Wilbur: 08/09 – 19kg, 15/09 – 22.5kg, 22/09 – 32kg, 29/09 – 37kg

Percy Pig: 08/09 – 12kg, 15/09 – 15kg, 22/09 – 20kg, 29/09 – 34kg

Peppa Pig: 08/09 – 12kg, 15/09 – 16kg, 22/09 – 21kg, 29/09 – 25kg

JANET E – CEREDIGION

The pigs have now been with me for about 2 weeks. At the beginning of the month the 4 pigs ate 2kg of ‘Wynnstay Supa Grower Pig Pellets’ twice a day. I will slowly increase the size of kale to feed about 3kg of kale, twice a day by next month. I make sure they have plenty of clean water available at any time of day. The pigs look happy and comfortable. However I gave them toys to play with to make sure she stayed happy. At first they looked a little shy, but now they are much more confident. I’ve been placing straw under the pigs when it looks dirty. I also dredged the dome out using a shovel and perfume. I try to weigh the pigs every Sunday.

REBECA J – CEREDIGION

“I’ve had the pigs for just over 3 weeks now. They’re growing well, boys gaining more than the girls but they are 10 days older and entire males! They’re eating grower pellets like there’s no tomorrow and costing a fortune to feed. They seem happy in themselves and are much more friendly now. They don’t enjoy the weekly weigh in, but who would! Their favourite hobby is rummaging for apples from our neighbours tree in their straw bedding.”