Please help “Save My Bacon”.

Hi everyone, once again a massive thank you to everyone who has donated. You are all totally wonderful humans! 

When I started this I had no idea if it would work. Everyone else seemed to be fundraising for charities so I didn’t think I stood a hope. That said,  I’m happy though to jump out of a plane. If someone wants to donate £1000 to the cause, I will happily risk my life for my pigs and learn to fly!!

It’s been a busy week this week. We’ve had a couple of ‘great’ escapes. The ’Westwood’ girls took themselves on a walk from the fields to the barns and found the ‘Out of date’ organic veg that we get from Eversfield Organic for all of them. They gorged themselves and then started on the front lawn. Luckily we saw them at that moment. Getting them back was easy - pigs who are human kind don’t run, they follow and want to play. So it’s really worth putting the effort in.  Their battery has now been replaced and they are sitting pretty in their field again.

Then two of the lop piglets have been trying very hard to get in with Large Black boys. I had been thinking about putting the Lop boys in with them as we start to separate the 21 into smaller groups but The escapees were girls. At the risk of 6 boys all developing boar taint this had to stop straight away. It’s why boys and girls don’t get kept together very often. Boar taint is a funny thing that affects some people and not others, sexually active boars or boars who live too close to girls start to get this pheromone that leaks into their meat. Not everyone can taste it, and thankfully none of the meat I’ve sold has ever been affected but it’s better to take precautions!

The thing that has stopped me seperating everyone to date is weight. Most of the Lops fall into 3 categories, Huge (for a 12 week old pig anyway, 45-60kg) medium (40 - 44kg) and runt (less than 40kg of which there are only 2. The thing is the Large Black boys, 2 months older, are about the same weight as the biggest ones in the Lop Huge category. Both are native breeds, the lop is long, the black is high and not so long. So I’ve decided it takes more energy to grow vertically than it does horizontally ..... My mum, looking at her belly, doesn’t agree :)

Ive also had the fields cut this week. As we’re on the edge of the Moor, we have clay soil that runs vertically through the soil. it means rain doesn’t drain. It sits and the top soil gets sticky and then becomes a mud bath. Then, the grass can’t grow and we get masses and I mean masses of rushes in the fields. I’m hoping topping will allow the pigs to get in at the roots and dig them all up. Pigs are the rotivators of the natural world and they do an epic job. Fingers crossed.

I best go do my rounds now with my best mate Magnus, who thinks he is also a Lop.. 

Thank you again to everyone who has pledged. I’m overwhelmed. If you could keep sharing with others that would be great - just 4 days left to go now! 

Best,

Aaran