Pigs
British Saddleback
Bella, who is 4 years old, has been at the farm since she was a piglet, having been born at an open prison. She is a British Saddleback pig.
British Saddlebacks are hardy and noted for their mothering ability. The breed continues to be used mainly to provide coloured dams for the production of first-cross porkers, baconers and heavy pigs. The breed is known for its grazing ability and is very hardy. It has secured a niche in outdoor and organic production.
Originally known as the Wessex Saddleback from the New Forest area of England and the Essex of East Anglia. The two breeds combined in the 1960s because numbers were dropping so fast. The two breeds were different with the Essex having the broader white saddle and four white feet as well as having a finer skin and a lighter coat. The ears of the Wessex tended to pitch forward more and it was overall a broader pig that was stronger in the bone.
Tamworth pig
In November 2008 we acquired 4 female Tamworth pigs. These are British Rare Breed pigs bred at Mudchute City Farm. We are planning on keeping one to breed from and start pork production
If you are a student of matters porcine, then you will discover all sorts of theories as to the origin of Britain’s only red coloured breed of pig, mostly concerning imports from exotic climes such as Barbados. But the truth is perhaps a little dull but much more worthy – the Tamworth is almost certainly the truest indigenous breed of these islands.
All native breeds are descended from the European wild boar, Sus Scrofa, and throughout all but the last 200 or 300 years, it was the domesticated version of this fine swine that provided pork and bacon to the British people. But the domesticated wild boar of 300 years ago left something to be desired as the industrial revolution meant that more efficient farming was necessary. And thus oriental pigs carried on merchant vessels to supply the crew with fresh meat were traded at some British ports and crossed with the slower maturing, less prolific native pigs of the day. The result was a rapid improvement.
The level of infusion of Chinese and other genes is reckoned to be quantifiable in the degree of how short and squashed the snout is. Using this simple if crude device, we can see that the Middle White is most influenced, (its antecedent the Small White even more so), and the Tamworth thus being the closest to the old British forest pig.
The ‘need’ for exotic theories was to account for the red coloured hair, unique among British breeds. Yet the wild boar has a good deal of red in its colouration and the red gene can be found to dominate in a number of out crosses so it is not so unusual.
The European DNA study of the inter-relationship between breeds found the Tamworth out on a limb compared to other breeds tested in the UK. This could indeed be seen to argue in favour of exotic predecessors but equally backs the belief that the Tamworth is the purest British breed.
Duroc pig
Henrietta is our only Duroc pig, she doesn’t get on so well with the other pigs and often hangs out in her own shelter on the left hand side of the pig pen.
Duroc pigs are very hardy. Their thick auburn winter coat and hard skin allows them to survive the cold and wet of the British winter. This coat moults out in summer to leave the pig looking almost bald, but as a consequence it can cope with hot dry summers equally well.
All purebred Durocs are red in colour and the development of a so-called White Duroc has only been achieved by crossbreeding with a white breed. Its tenacity in looking after its young combined with its docility between times makes it an ideal candidate for an outdoor pig, either as a dam or sire line, and its succulence and heavy muscling makes it very suitable for anything from light pork to heavy hog production.