Ah me, another year older and deeper in ....mud?

January 27th 2014

The last few months' rain means that all the pig pens are awash with mud. Pity the poor pigs!. Everyone says that pigs like mud, however, that only applies (I believe) to pigs wallowing out of choice, not because there isn't a dry piece of ground in any direction.

We recently said 'goodbye' to Woolly and Blackburn, our Oxford Sandy Black sows. We bought them in 2011 as weaners from the Barnsnap herd in Surrey and many a good litter they have given us.  They did not go to slaughter, but were sold, in pig, to new, appreciative owners. Both sows are due to farrow at the end of February and Lee and I will be interested to know how they get on..

Meanwhile the two remaining sows, Lucky and Buffy, are also due to farrow in early March and as they are in pig by a pedigree boar we expect great things. Buffy is an old hand at birthing and gets on with it by herself; Lucky is expecting her first litter so will need our help.

Work to do:- replace the back of the large wooden ark that was burst by Buffy; replace the floor of the small round ark destroyed by Buffy & Lucky; repair the wall and back panel of the small wooden ark. Clean the arks out - this means extensive chiselling with a spade and shovel to break off the crust of mud on the floors - then move the two lightest arks onto fresh ground in preparation for sows and piglets. Clean out farrowing shed and generally make the place look tidy.  

Piglets enjoying a rummage in the 'jungle'

Mud, sweat and beers

February 2013.
It's been a long, wet Autumn and Winter for our pigs and us. The mud (and the almost continuous rain) made working outdoors - feeding, mucking out and moving the pigs - a trial. At the turn of the year we finally got the piece of scrub 'jungle'  next to the paddock and started fencing it in. One week later, in a large area of weeds, brambles, bushes and trees, three eager pigs, Buffy, Bert and Wooly, started work improving the site. The beers were in celebration for all the hard work!

Piglets, piglets everywhere

Since Bertie the boar set things going in April we we've been anxiously waiting for the results.....and we got a flood of piglets - 16 in all! Just before the opening night of the Olympics both our young mothers produced. And the piglets are beautiful, ginger, black and pink, with sticky-up ears.

But nothing is straightforward, Woolly produced four lovely piglets and all seemed to be going well then she suddenly rejected them. This sometimes happens with first time mothers. What to do?

Well we tried bottle feeding - which didn't work too well as the piglets were too small and weak, and time was running out, and then we had a brainwave, foster them onto our other mum, Blackburn. And to make her accept them we dusted her litter and the 'orphans' with talcum powder - the one that has been sitting at the back of the bathroom cabinet. The farrowing pen smelt wonderful and best of all Blackburn accepted the orphans.

Of course it didn't all go smoothly. Piglets like to establish a pecking order and over the next few days there was a lot of chewing of ears but it's all right now!

Bertie in love

We have borrowed Bertie, a handsome young Berkshire boar, to pay his attentions to our two Oxford Sandy & Black gilts (females), and if all goes well (and judging by appearances Bertie and the gilts have set about the work already) we should have piglets in July.

Alice, a friend, brought her two children, Mollie and Jack, to visit our pigs and all was going well until Bertie started performing. This provoked the sort of questions that parents are never quite ready for - about the birds and the bees, or in this case boars and babes. Jack and Mollie sent pictures of their visit and we are looking forward to telling them when the piglets arrive.

Gammon & Bacon

We now have a selection of gammon joints and bacon - both smoked and 'green' (unsmoked) - in stock. The meat was cured for us by Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon in Bromham, Wiltshire. Sandridge Farm uses the old method of wet-curing pork, which is to steep it in their special brine for two weeks. They don't inject brine into the meat (commercial bacon and ham is often injected with brine to speed up the curing process and to improve the look  and weight of the meat), and the resulting bacon doesn't shrivel and leave that nasty white scum in the pan.   www.sandridgefarmhousebacon.co.uk

All the "B"s
It's a long way from Battle to Bromham but fortunately Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon deliver to Holmansbridge Farm Butchers at Barcombe, near Lewes. Matthew, the butcher, specialises in quality meat - beef, lamb and pork (including hog roasts), pies and all the ingredients for old fashioned eating. www.holmansbridgefarm.co.uk


A fat reminder
Our gammon and bacon comes with some fat on it. If you haven't tasted proper gammon or bacon before don't be put off, the fat tastes great (in moderation of course). Do expect to get about an egg cup-full of fat in the pan when cooking our bacon - but use it for frying your eggs and the fried bread. You can also keep it for dripping - that curious delight from the 1950s.

Sausage now and Bacon soon

Three of our pigs went off on Monday; the two Large Black gilts went to Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon in Wiltshire, and the Oxford, Sandy & Black went to Mr Rook, our butcher, at Homestead Farm in Netherfield. We now have a supply of tasty chops and joints and the Breakfast sausages that everyone likes, and in three weeks time we will have our first bacon, gammons and hams.

Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon is recommended in the book, Full English, by Tom Parker Bowles, and has been featured on TV by the Hairy Bikers and Countrywise. The Sandridge 'cure' is the traditional Wiltshire wet cure where the meat is immersed in brine for three weeks to become green bacon, and can then be smoked.

We don't expect the bacon and gammon to hang around so if you would like some get in touch now and reserve, and don't forget we can post/ship our meat and bacon if you can't get to Taylor's Cottage in person. Telephone 01580 880374 or email barry@taylorscottagepork.co.uk for prices and delivery