Our Pigs

Our pigs are both rare breeds. We have pedigree Berkshires (the same breed that Gordon Ramsey kept in his garden), which are black in colour and enjoy turning grass into mud at an alarming rate. Along with the pedigree Gloucester Old Spots (GOS for short), the dalmation of pigs as they are white with black spots, we have a happy growing herd.
 
We have 3 Berkshire sows Daisy, Rosey and Lily (Rosey's daughter), and 2 Gloucester Old Spot sows Dahlia and Dahlia 3 again mother and daughter.
 
Along with our sows we recently bought a young boar nicknamed Sambo for short, who won at the 2007 Cheshire Show. He is a pedigree Berkshire and a lovely gentleman.
 
The piglets are a mixed bunch. We have pure Berkshires and Berkshire/GOS which are amazing to look at, we are still undecided as the whether they are black with white spots or white with black spots, you decide. The sows typically have between 8 and 12 piglets when they farrow.

The Berkshire Pig

The Berkshire breed originated in the Thames Valley, possibly around 1790 and it began life as a large tawny red pig with black spots.. The pigs ears are inclined to be pendulous and the body long and thick. The breed has short legs and plenty of bone. With breading and husbandry they had by the early 1800s become somewhat lighter in the head and ears, shorter and more compact in length and less heavy boned. A Peer by the name of Lord Barrington was thought to be largely responsible for these improvements by introducing Chinese or East Asian blood to the breed and later new blood from Australia, New Zealand and the USA was introduced.
 
Animals are primarily black in colour and have a high proportion of lean meat to fat. The flesh is of a fine texture and it has a distinct flavour. Berkshire's are early finishing, which means the ideal carcass is around 36-45kgs (80-100lbs).
 
They do exceptionally well as a crossing breed and the Berkshire suits just about any programme, either as a sire or a dam. Berkshire sows are productive, placid pigs, are usually heavy milkers and they lose little flesh when rearing their litters.

The Gloucester Old Spot

The Gloucester Old Spot is probably one of the best known of all the British pig breeds and it originally came from the valleys along the River Severn Gloucestershire where it lived mainly on a diet of the whey from the manufacture of Gloucestershire cheeses that were made locally and on the apples from the numerous orchards in that area.
 
The breed is both hardy and quite docile and had been associated very much with small holders for these reasons. It has a quaint lop eared look and it has a good mothering instinct. It fell out of favour for a while as butchers did not want spotted pigs, but has come back into favour of late and continues to grow in popularity.