hello from the fens

[chicken feed]

i keep chickens for the eggs and pigs, lambs and goats for meat. the pigs we keep are traditional british pigs. all the larger animals are kept at my parents along with their dairy show goats & cattle that they rear. we started keeping animals for meat after we decided we wanted to know just what we were eating.

[Green Aura]

Hi chicken feed, welcome to Ish.

Lucky you, raising your own meat!

[spider8]

Hello and welcome chicken feed

[Milims]

Hi ther and welcome

[battybird]

Hi and welcome to ISH!

[MuddyWitch]

Welcome to ISH

Do you have any Saddlebacks? They are my favourite pig, to keep & to eat.

MW

[chicken feed]

not got any saddlebacks atm we had 6 last year made great pork and bacon. we have oxford sandy and blacks atm they too are a good allrounder. was hoping to get some hampshires to try but have not come across any around here yet.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi and welcome!

[sheridand]

Hi there, i am Fenland too, in Chatteris. Where are you? We have found some lovely people to get our hens from. I am just starting to forage too. Bit damp at the mo, though!

[123sologne]

Welcome! You are indeed so lucky to grow your own meat!

[oldjerry]

Hello ,I'm newish too,this is a good place.Have you checked out British Lops? Top pig bar none.

[chicken feed]

hi oldjerry we started off with british lops lovely pigs that make great pork & bacon, we have some lops every now and then just sent 3 off the other week.


hi sheridand we are not far from whittlesey, what chickens have you got.

[oldjerry]

You obviously shift a few pigs,if your lops are pure bred have you tried the rare breed meat scheme? Better prices,nicer butchers happier customers,sounds like they are paying me,but they aren't (honest!).Any how nice to speak to some pig people,I'm always up for exchanging cures,sausage recipes etc.

[chicken feed]

we buy our british lops from brian upchurch (i have known hime since i was knee high), we also keep oxfords for a good alrounder they too are pure bred, we have tried tamworths, saddlebacks and large black x lops,this week i am picking up our first ever hampshire after hearing such good report of their meat. we dont do it large scale last year we had 20 sold as pork this years will be 28, our aim is to sell some out of each batch to cover the costs of our own meat we make little or no profit but its albout eating a good traceable meat for us, the same with the goats & lambs.

[oldjerry]

I know Brian from the Britsh Lop society,even if you only sell a few to a butcher,the rare breeds marketing scheme is worth looking into.I've sold all our stock ready to move abroad,(except for an old barren sow that I cant bring myself to send off,as it will be the first time I havent had a pig for many years-she'll probably be dead in the sty one morning.and I'll need a JCB to get her out!)But when we've settled I'll buy some of the progeny of the stock I've sold,and start again in a small way. Are your goats milk or meat?