Thursday, August 1, 2013

Roadtrip: New Large Black Boars!

This week we embarked on a unexpected road trip!

We have been needing a new boar for a while, and have been deciding between the Large black  or Red Wattle.  As you recall, we recently switched out sows to large black, and bred them to the red wattle boar a couple times to produce a cross called Black Wattle. We liked the result, but having the red wattle boar around was a bit of a concern after seeing how docile and friendly the large black boars are.  So... we finally decided to go for the large black boar to produce purebred large black pigs.

And off we go. the only farm on the west coast that had decently aged large black purebreds was in idaho falls! 1500 miles round trip form our farm .  A long trip for a baby, 4 young children, a dog, and a stock trailer, but we did it!

The large black is known for excellent bacon,  an extremely calm disposition, and the best pasture living skills.  These guys can actually live MOSTLY on pasture foraging. We are very happy to have this breed as our main breeding stock :)

here are some pics of picking up the pigs today

Of course first you must catch them! I let the farmer son do the initial catching of the hind feet. after all, he's much younger than me to be chasing pigs around! Kaelyn looks on approvingly :)

First one to the trailer!

And of course the farm dog has to see what all the comotion is about.

These guys are 4 months old, pasture raised. not a bad looking pig!

The boys will enjoy the straw filled stock trailer on the way home, complete with water bucket and a variety of foods.  Hope they like a road trip!

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