|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | About Us | Turkeys | Buckeyes | Tamworths | Alpines | Farm Direct Meats | Contact | Sales |
|---|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Registered Tamworth Heritage Pigs
Frankie our boar
Our Tamworths are raised on our pastures of forest. They are behind one strand of wire on about 6 acres. We allow them to exercise their natural abilities of being a great outdoor and active pig that forages for their own food on the forest floor. However, no pig can survive solely on forage alone. We feed our pigs a diet of goat's milk, scraps and boiled eggs along with a minimal amount of grain.*Our Piglet Care*We take a hands-off approach in raising our piglets. Since the Tams are pasture-raised and not in confinement that makes a difference in their needs. We don't cut the needle teeth on our piglets. We don't believe it's necessary as we have not seen any damage (cuts) on the the sow's teats which is the main reason for doing so. The piglets suckle with their tongues and front teeth which would not be the teeth one would cut anyway. We do not tail dock because we have seen no evidence of tail biting with our piglets. We will castrate the boars unless a customer wishes to purchase one for breeding. However, my husband and I don't agree on this issue. He has worked on commercial farms in the past and they always castrate. I, however have read many articles by heritage breed pig farmers that do not castrate because they do not have the aggression issues in their boars. Frankie doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. They have also found no evidence of boar taint in pigs 6 months and younger. Six months is the typical slaughter age. We also do not give them iron shots or minerals. They root and receive these from the soil. We also do not vaccinate unless there is a necessity due to an outbreak in our area. We only de-worm if needed. As of recently, we have not had the need to do so. We allow the weaning process to occur naturally. For our litters, it happens at approximately six weeks. The piglets are then put on minimal grain and given a probiotic made from our goat's milk and organic yogurt. We find it best for nature to take it's course for the most part in our piglet care.TAMWORTHS-THE BEST BACON PIG "Tamworths are one of the oldest pig breeds. The characteristics of Tamworths reflect the breed's centuries selection for an outdoor life. Pigs of this breed were expected to find their own food, especially mast (or acorns) of oak and beech forests. Long heads and impressive snouts enable these pigs to be efficient foragers. Long, strong legs and impressive feet give Tamworth pigs the ability to walk for considerable distances. Ginger, red coats make the pigs adaptable to a variety of climates and protect them from sunburn. Tamworths have an active intelligence, and they are agreeable in disposition. Sows are prolific, able to produce and care for large litters. The piglets are vigorous and often have a 100% survivablity. Both sexes of this breed reach a mature weight of 500-600 lbs (227-272 kg). The Tamworths were traditionally considered a "bacon" breed, meaning the pigs thrived on low energy foods but grew slowly. They produced meat and bacon that was lean and fine grained. The breed has an excellent carcass yield of up to 70% due to their fine bones creating a more productive meat to bone ratio for finished meat products". Taken from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy website. What is a heritage breed pig? More information can be found here: http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/heritage/ ALBC is the authority on heritage breeds as they coined the terms many years ago. According to ALBC's Priority List, the official heritage breeds of pigs are: Choctaw, Red Wattles, Large Black, Gloucestershire Old Spots, Guinea Hogs, Mulefoot, Ossabaw Island, Tamworth & Hereford.
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||
|
All
Rights Reserved 2012© | ||||||
|
Also visit: https://www.facebook.com/PauleysRowdyAcres . |