Swine and Cheese

our happy hens

Very sadly after our weekend on Dartmoor last week we returned to find a fox had killed three of our chickens. It was our fault as we normally have house-sitters but thought we’d chance it for a weekend having seen no sign of any foxes for the last five years. Five years ago our entire flock of sixteen were torn to shreds. Luckily of the three killed this time two were the old Light Sussex hens but annoyingly the fox had also taken our new Buff Sussex hen. They’d certainly put up a fight as the blood and feathers were strewn around the chicken orchard and the pig pen. Fortunately the remaining nine hens seemed fine and remarkably stress free. Perhaps we should be using hens for combat in Afghanistan!

We’ve had our run in with foxes over the years. We used to have a wonderful Welsummer cockerel called Prince Naseem who was huge, proud and a real fighter. When the fox first attacked Prince Naseem’s flock he took on Mr Fox and amazingly survived, but ended up with a permanent crick in his neck. From that day onwards his head was always at an angle which is presumably why he didn’t win the second round with the fox, who came back to massacre the entire flock leaving all of them injured and dying. Before Prince Naseem I had a wonderful White Jersey Giant which I had hatched out after buying her as an egg from the rare breed centre at Onibury outside Ludlow. Edwina was beautiful and very tame. She was the only hen at the time who ate from my hand. When the fox got her he slashed her in three places but I thought she might survive so I kept her alive for three days but eventually she died. I felt terribly guilty for prolonging her agony.

I was so cross when all the chippy, ill informed, anti foxhunting crowd and townie lot were calling for foxhunting to be banned all those years ago. If I had my way I’d kill every single one (fox that is!). Fortunately the ban has been totally unenforceable with the result that just as many foxes are being hunted and destroyed anyway, with farmers resorting to shooting them as well. If anything the fox is worse off and what is so ironic is the foxes have moved into the cities where they are causing havoc with domestic cats, bins etc.. I just wish that less time was wasted in this country on making laws that are ill thought through and useless, based on an appalling lack of knowledge and facts. I don’t personally hunt but I have many friends who do and they are a friendly bunch from all walks of life with an innate understanding of country life and respect for country ways where man and nature have co-existed successfully for centuries.

I have now replaced my latest three casualties with two Marans and a Welsummer from Gobbets Rare Breed Farm near Burwarton. They are twenty weeks old so should start to lay in the next month, fingers crossed.

Watch this space. Neale is about to choose his next litter of pigs. At the time of posting he is still undecided as to the breed but rest assured it will be a rare breed again and this time we are determined to feed them appropriately. They’re still sniggering at the Leintwardine abattoir at the sheer fattiness of our beloved Tallulah, Lola and Oinky who incidentally have been delicious once you cut the 2″ of fat off everything, more in the case of the bacon! More on that later.

I can’t begin to tell you the sadness you feel when the culmination of the whole project has to come to its awful conclusion as far as the living creatures are concerned. After writing last weeks blog Neale announced on Monday that he had booked our three rare breed pigs in at the very reputable small abattoir in Leintwardine for the 7th July, today. So I delayed writing the blog until I had said my farewells. It is incredibly hard to not feel a huge twinge of sadness and betrayal when you send animals you personally cared for to their deaths. I know as soon as we receive the three carcases and heads I will be fascinated to follow the butchery which is being done by our wonderful Dukeshill butcher Glyn. But right now I’m not happy because I really will miss them. Just like the wonderful Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall I have fallen in love with all things pig. I was already a huge fan because of what we can do with a pig here at Dukeshill but the actual pig keeping was a whole new experience.

Awkward angle shot due to pushing & shoving by pigs

Loading them onto the immaculate trailer we had hired wasn’t too hard despite Lola making a getaway across the chickens’ field. After a circuit she was exhasted so thankfully resorted to a huge troughful of food cleverly placed at the back of the trailer. Oinky, the Gloucester Old Spot, true to his breeds nature was the first to get in and just calmly walked straight into the trailer, followed by the sprightly Lola. Tallulah, the Berkshire, true to form wasn’t having any of it and took ages to coax in however her greediness got the better of her and finally she just had to get to the trough.

Interestingly after Neale had confirmed the kill date with the abattoir he then estimated their weights by measuring their length and girth. He had been told that pigs kept for just three months from weaners i.e. 6 months old would weigh about 55-60 kilos. Imagine his surprise and mine when we discovered that Tallulah the Berkshire was a whopping 84 kilos, Lola the Tamworth about 75 kilos, and Oinky the Gloucester Old Spot 63 kilos. We await the unkind comments from the abattoir when they say they are possibly the fattiest pigs they have come across. I suspect it might have been something to do with all those treacle puddings!

At least our rare breed piggies had a wonderful short life. Yesterday I passed a lorry on the M6 going through spaghetti junction with pigs crammed inside and I can guarantee ours in their Rolls Royce style trailer had a far nicer end than those poor pigs. As sad as I am today I don’t regret the experience at all. R.I.P. Tallulah, Lola and Oinky.

From L to R: Tallulah, Lola and Oinky

Watch out for the Berkshire vs Tamworth vs Gloucester Old Spot pork taste tests.

Where's the beach ball?

The last week has been boiling with that rare British phenomenon, a heatwave. We realise that the one little hawthorn shrubby tree is not really sufficient to provide adequate shade for our three rare  breed piggies. This autumn we will plant a small copse in one corner of their field and also several large fruit trees which for future generations of pigs will vastly improve the surroundings and provide interest for them. The Tamworth, Berkshire and Gloucester Old Spot have been coping as best they can by rolling in the sand and dirt and sleeping under their hawthorn for longer periods. To make it more comfortable for them we’ve taken to filling their water tub till overflowing and then continuiing to run the hose until a small piggie swimming pool develops. This project was helped along by Tallulah, the Berkshire who seemed particularly keen on digging a small hole just by where the water tub is. Needless to say the piggies were delighted with their new facility and have spent quite a lot of time during the day just sitting or lying in their muddy pool.

A Poulet de Bresse

At Dukeshill we only use British outdoor reared pigs for our products however I recently met a free range producer of livestock. Our ensuing discussion was extremely interesting. The producer was promoting the “free range tastes better” point of view whereas my personal opinion is that I buy free range entirely due to concerns for the animals’ welfare and not the flavour implications. 

The upshot of all this was I got to wondering what the consumers think about free range. If they prefer the idea of free range was it because of the perceived, enhanced flavour or because they have concerns about animal welfare? 

To give an example I think I must have tried every commercially available free range chicken in the UK and to date I’ve yet to find one with any real flavour such as a magnificent Poulet de Bresse from France. Despite all the clever marketing and fancy breeds we’re told about on the packaging the UK never seems to get it’s head round the fact that time = flavour. The supermarkets make all sorts of claims as to why their plump free range bird is worth £X but they are rarely allowed to grow beyond 12 weeks and the breeds used don’t have enough flavour. Anyway my point is that I don’t believe free range in itself contributes to a better flavoured meat.

My next point is one that a pig farmer told me recently. Although he keeps his pigs outdoors for part of their life the commercial breed he uses has been bred to have less fat. Consequently they aren’t suited to being kept outside year round because like us they get cold! Fine for your fattier rare breed pigs. So even with the very best intentions with regards animal welfare you really need to know the specifics to make a judgement.