September 2008:                            Our boar Bertrand is now just over one year.

                             He spent a number of months with Beatrice and we were hoping for

                 our first pedigree litter of Berkshires.

Unfortunately there`s no sign of her being pregnant, which is worrying as she is

now nearly two years old.

 

Perdita our Gloucester, on the other hand, got on famously with our boy and has

now produced her second litter, seven very chunky piglets that have their father`s

prick ears which are more like the size of their mother`s lop ears and have

the wonderful nature of both.

 

 

                           Rooting comes naturally !                          and so is having a good scratch !

 

                   

 

 

         and doing it with someone else is even better !                         Boys will be boys !

 

                   

 

 

December 2007:            On Saturday 8th December we woke to find Ella, our Large Black, 

                             had had her litter! What a pity we weren't there for the birth - I'm certain we

                 could have saved the one piglet that died. However, she has produced a beautiful

litter of nine healthy piglets who are doing very well and she's a great mum!

She was quite happy to allow the course participants, who arrived a couple of hours after our discovery, to have a look at her and her piglets and to take pictures:

 

    

 

    

 

 

November 2007:     Beatrice, our Berkshire gilt, has been looking forward to the arrival of her

                               permanent live-in boyfriend, a Berkshire boar from the Brompton herd.

 

Beatrice waiting patiently:

                                

Our boy Bertrand was born on 12 June 2007.

On Sunday 25th November we travelled to Scarborough to fetch him.

He has settled in well and is a very friendly chap:

      

Ella, our Large Black gilt, has returned from spending two months with an

Oxford Sandy and Black boyfriend in Huddersfield. We can't say exactly when

                           she is due to have her litter, but it will be within the next month.                 

  Ella will be for sale after she has farrowed and her litter has been weaned.

 

         The last of Perdita's litter has now gone, but we have two new arrivals to concentrate on:

             

 

     May 2007:                 Perdita's long-awaited litter !  Born 6 May 2007.

She farrowed for just under 3 hours and produced 9 beautiful piglets -

all of whom survived and are thriving!

All the piglets look like their Large Black dad,

except for the odd spot on the nose and some white-socked feet.       

 

               

  

    At two days old

 

                   

 

At two weeks old discovering the wide outdoors

 

   

 

And at three weeks, the fearless explorers.