October 2018

October has been a very exciting month, lots of new developments and things happening! 

Forest Raised Pork

The month started out with mist and drizzle, usual Spring weather. On the rainiest, coldest day, 8 pigs and puppy came to live at Bramleigh! The eight little pigs were newly weaned and used to living inside. They began their adventure in the cozy newly built stable (that was awaiting baby goats... who are yet to be born...) to keep warm and acclimatise. These pigs marked the start of our forest raised pork enterprise. Read more here .The pigs were soon comfortable enough to move outside. They moved just next door into an unplanted area of the market garden and set to work immediately softening the soil, fertilising and removing any roots. Their diet consists mainly of forage but we supplement with milk from the dairy next door. After a week, the pigs were moved into a fenced off paddock, but still within an electro-net. The aim is for them to get to know the electro-net, but if they do manage to break through, they are still fenced in. The electro-net gives a short, sharp zap but not enough to harm them. (Many people are worried about the zap killing birds - since the net is flimsy, birds cannot perch on it, and it is bright green - easily visible if they are flying past. But the shock is too small to kill a bird - it is designed to even keep little chicks in, and we have raised plenty chicks within this net with no harm at all.) 

Clockwise left to right: Piglets in their cozy stable with adoring farmer; Elliott intrigued by the pigs as they rootle in the market garden; pigs in their mobile shelter; enjoying green scraps, encouraging them to eat foliage

The plan is for the pigs to be moved around the forest within their electro-net. These are animals that deserve respect - they are small, pink and cute right now but they already pack a force when they want something! The electro-net will protect them from predators but once they are close on 100kg, we don't want them charging full of excitement at us! The forest is the original habitat of pigs - dense, shady (they get sunburnt very easily!) and full of bugs, foliage, roots, bark and all those yummy piggy things. We ring a bell at feeding time and they have already learnt to associate the bell with food. The theory is that if they are free ranging in the forest, they will respond to the bell and come back. It has been great fun having pigs - any uneaten food is definitely not wasted, but converted to next year's bacon. (The laying chickens are feeling a bit beak-out-of-joint about this though as they now have to share scraps!) 

 Broadfork