Starting Pig-keeping - Backyard Swine Farming - Home Pork Production
 
Free Factsheets, Instructional Videos, Books, Manuals - Guide to Hog Management for Beginners

FREE INFORMATION LEAFLET on Creep Feeding a Litter of Pigs: download (.PDF 399Kb)
Creep feeding is the practice of feeding a solid diet to piglets whilst they are suckling the sow, preparing their digestive system for weaning. Creep feeding initiates and promotes gut and digestive enzyme development, which enables the piglet to digest nutrients from food sources other than that of milk [BPEX advice poster].

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Pig In A Day with Hugh and Ray! "Here at River Cottage we are passionate about pigs!" This unique DVD, made by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and team offers not merely a thorough grounding in the delights of small scale pig-keeping, but also a complete guide to butchering and processing a pig, from nose to tail. It includes full instructions for making your own hams, bacon and sausages, and much more besides. Hugh believes you don't have to be a pig-keeper to enjoy this package, just a pig enthusiast. Anyone who likes pigs and pork, and wants to find out how and why the best pork comes from the happiest pigs, will get a great deal out of it. DVD: 148 mins by TV Celebrity Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall     The Joys of Pig-Keeping - Smallholding Pigs - Beginners Guide   Home Butchering: Tools & Techniques   Butcher's Cuts: Preparation (first trimmings), Demonstration of jointing leg/ham, separating loin & belly, removing loin & chump end, boning out the chine bone, separation of long loin & sparerib joint [for a larger, slow roast], remove hand & hock from from belly, make loin chops, separate long loin & rack of ribs, preparing long loin & spare rib joint, bone out the blade bone, prepare thick end of belly   Sausages, Curing & Charcuterie: Sausages, Salamis, Dry-cured ham [Prosciutto Style], English traditional Brine-cured Ham [for boiling and baking], Herbs & Spices to use for Seasoning, Handling pig or sheep Intestines for sausage casings   Recipes: How to cook Brawn, Liver Pate, Stuffed tenderloin, Chinese ribs, Crispy brains, Devilled kidneys, Black pudding, Roast loin of pork with crackling, Pork loin in milk   Useful Organisations & Information [where to buy in UK]: Pig Equipment, Farm Livestock, Ingredients [flavourings, spices, preservatives], Casings for sausage-making, chipolatas etc   ORDER YOUR COPY HERE! Charcuterie is the branch of COOKING PORK PRODUCTS devoted to prepared pigmeat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés and confit.

NEW 2nd EDITION!! "A Guide to Traditional Pig Keeping" by Carol Harris Whether you want to keep pigs for profit or pleasure, this comprehensive book covers all aspects of traditional pig keeping, including choosing the right breed, housing, feeding, stockmanship, ailments, breeding, showing, pigs as pets, sales and marketing and includes a dedicated section to butchering and processing including making sausages and other recipes. About the Author [Hear BBC Interview with the Author: HERE (Click "Listen to this Item")] Carol Harris has a smallholding where she keeps a small number of rare-breed pigs - mainly Berkshire, Tamworth and Kune Kune. She produces traditional pork, sausages, bacon and gammon which is mainly sold direct to customers. She has been featured in Rick Stein's Guide to the food heroes of Britain and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall s River Cottage Meat Book - the only specialist meat producer to be listed for Wales in the latter publication. She does not show her pigs, but showed and judged dogs for many years. Apart from her agricultural activities, she runs a network marketing business in the health and nutrition field, publishes a magazine, runs training courses in business and personal skills and writes books on a wide range of subjects. A clear, concise and practical guide to sound, old-fashioned basic pig husbandry. The book provides information required by anyone thinking about buying and keeping some pigs. For existing pig keepers it provides extra information to help with most situations. Used & New Copies - Order pages: USA    Canada    UK & Europe (all deliver world-wide)

FREE FACTS SHEET: Economics of Farrow-to-Wean Pig Units: download (Costs,Income,Budget Planning)

NEW 2nd EDITION!! "Build It! - DIY Projects for Farms, Smallholdings & Gardens" Practical instructions for over 50 livestock DIY projects. Former engineer Joe Jacobs guides you through equipment, materials and plans for handyman projects including a polytunnel, beehive, poultry arks and runs, gates, sheep hurdles, fencing, sustainable cultivation cloches, dog kennels, animal feed storage, a heated lamb creep feeder, incubator, nesting boxes for hens and renewable energy projects, solar power panels. Used & New Copies - Amazon pages: USA     Canada     UK & Europe   (all deliver world-wide)

FREE POSTERS: Sow Colostrum   Hospitalisation Pens   Neonatal Piglets   Disinfection

"Pigs: Keeping a Small-Scale Herd for Pleasure and Profit" Published 2008 by Hobby Farm Press Author: Arie B. McFarlen ISBN: 1933958189   Synopsis: Pigs are intelligent, hardy animals that are easy to care for. Suitable for any smallholding farm or small-scale children's petting zoo. Written for both the inexperienced beginning owner as well as seasoned pig-keepers, This is a comprehensive pig-keeping guide covering all the essentials for owning and raising, complete with full-colour photos, helpful glossary and expert advice from experienced pig farmers. A useful manual for Self-sufficiency enthusiasts!  Used & New Copies - Amazon pages: USA     Canada     United Kingdom          (all deliver world-wide)

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"Choosing and Keeping Pigs: A Complete Practical Guide"                               Pigs make friendly, intelligent pets and clear ground, recycle waste, fertilize the soil and produce wonderful meat. "Choosing and Keeping Pigs" will provide you with all you need to know regarding pig-rearing and care. This practical, accessible book is the ideal beginner's guide to these great animals, and includes clear instructions on choosing and looking after pigs, and expert advice on housing, fencing, feeding and farrowing. The book also includes a comprehensive directory of over 30 traditional and rare breeds. Linda McDonald-Brown is a highly experienced pig keeper and runs her own company producing pig arcs. She keeps and farrows a wide range of traditional and rare breeds as well as teaching one-day courses on how to get started with pigs.   Used & New Copies (Amazon pages): USA    Canada    United Kingdom                                              (all deliver world-wide)

"Complete Pig: An Entertaining Guide to, and History of, Pigs & Swine" REVIEW - CONTENTS LIST - ORDERING PAGES

"How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches, Barns, Sheds, Pens, Feeders, Stanchions and More" by Carol Ekarius How to Build Animal Housing is the most comprehensive and useful guide of its kind. For small-scale farmers, hobby farmers, do-it-yourselfers, and animal lovers, this book is indispensable. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in animal health and welfare. Includes complete plans and step-by-step, illustrated instructions for sheds, coops, hutches, multipurpose barns, and economical easy-to-build windbreaks and shade structures. Ekarius covers new high-tech, portable structures made of plastics and fabrics, such as hoop houses and hen spas, as well as more traditional alternatives, such as straw-bale structures. Always practical, she enumerates the advantages and disadvantages of ready-to-build kits and modular barnyard buildings and includes designs for watering systems, feeders, chutes, stanchions, and more--the essentials that help owners keep their animals healthy and happy. Ekarius wisely emphasizes the importance of careful planning, choosing an appropriate housing site, and complying with local zoning regulations; pest control, basic housing maintenance, and insurance costs are also discussed. Real-world advice from farmers and veterinarians on the types of housing and facilities animals like best enliven the text throughout. Used & New Copies - Amazon pages: USA     Canada     UK & Europe          (all deliver world-wide)

Used Pig Farming Discount Book Offers:  Pig Management   Pig Diseases   Pig Behaviour

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Start a Pig Farm? A Beginner's Guide to Pig-Keeping by Andy Case Written for the smallholder pig keeper, this guide gives clear instructions on the care and management of outdoor pigs on a small scale farm.   Amazon page links: USA     Canada     UK & Europe (all deliver world-wide)

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"A Field Guide to Pigs" - Pig Breeds - Facts - Behaviour - Zoology Review: A cute collection of all kinds of interesting titbits of information about pigs. There is a good guide to the zoological and historical background of the porcine species. Fascinating titbits about pigs taken from literature. A review of common breeds and their identification features and geographical distribution plus general information about the behaviour, needs and lifestyle of pigs. It is a useful book for people who are new to the world of the pig and pig farming. Industry people looking for specialist technical husbandry information will be disappointed. Especially useful for smallholders and hobby or pet pigkeepers. Contents: Pig terms - Parts of a pig - Pork cuts and joints, pork bellies & spam - Pig Watching - Pig farming - Domestic pig breeds - Wild pigs - other Suidae & the Peccary - Origin of pigs - History of pig domestication - Pig Latin - Pig quotations - Pig Poems - Superstitions - Glossary.   Ordering pages: UK & Europe   USA & International   Canada

"On the Farm" by Jimmy Doherty   The book of the famous TV series "Jimmy's Farm"  The book gives a fuller picture of the process of building the smallholding farm and what life was like doing it plus more insight into the character of Jimmy Doherty himself and how he coped with setbacks and frustrations. An informative and enjoyable read. The book tells of Doherty's sheer hard work and determination to create a rare breed farm with no experience at all. It also has some useful practical farming tips and recipes on extensive welfare-friendly organic livestock farming and on cooking and selling high quality meat products including the famous Jimmy Doherty "love sausage".   Amazon Ordering pages: UK & Europe   USA & International   Canada

The Biological Potential of Swine

Author of "The Whole Hog - Exploring the Extraordinary Potential of Pigs" is biologist Lyall Watson who has tracked pigs in the wild, observed their resourceful and playful lives and deciphered their language of vocal sounds. During forty million years of evolution, pigs have become increasingly versatile, gregarious and more curious. Sixteen species of wild pigs are found over all continents except Australia (feral pigs only) and Antarctica. Ordering details: USA   Canada   UK & Europe (all deliver world-wide)

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Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs
by
by Kelly Klober
Paperback - 313 pages
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Small-Scale Pig Raising
by
Dirk Van Loon & Dick Van Loon
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Practical Pig Keeping
by
Paul Smith
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The Weaner Pig: Nutrition and Management - NEW!!

by Dr. Mike A. Varley & Dr. Julian Wiseman
Hardback - 352 pages Approx price: US$100   UK£55 currency calculator
 
Contents & Review

 

 

Human-Livestock Interactions::
The Stockperson & Productivity & Welfare of Intensively Farmed Animals

by Paul H. Hemsworth & G.J. Coleman
Hardcover 176 pages Approx price: US$55   UK£30
 
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Pig Stockmanship: Garth Pig Stockmanship Standards

by Dr. John Carr
The Garth Veterinary Practice, Beeford, Yorkshire
Paperback 62 pages Approx price: US$5   UK£8 currency conversion calculator
Ordering details: all countries supplied from UK

 

 

 

Livestock Handling and Transport
2nd Edition

by Dr. Temple Grandin
 
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Harris on the Pig: Practical Hints for Pig Farmers

by Joseph Harris & Noel Perrin

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