Dittisham Farm - BerkshirePigs
Sue Fildes' Berkshire pigs: update still in progress 23rd Dec 2006
Page now takes 30 seconds to load if you don't have Broadband so I am about to split it down by subject, and then include pictures of stock-for-sale.
Male Bloodlines kept:
Orlando - Interbreed champion Newbury 2002
Ambassador - Berkshire Male champion Devon Show 2003. 
Junior Ambassador boar now also
in use, 554 
:
Peter Lad - New line bought in this year, second at The Royal Show, 2005
Nama Abel - Berkshire Male Champion Cornwall 2005
.
He has been sold, but I have several junior boars to select his
replacement from. Here is the proposed replacement at 4 months. 
Female Bloodlines kept:
Lady - here is my foundation sow 
here is one of her best gilts at Devon 05 
.
This is a line that produces big, deep bodied females, very fast growing.
Excelsa 
.
Farewell. I am trying to improve this line, this is the retained gilt that
I am taking forward:
Royal Lustre 
Royal Sapphire.... in pig gilt arriving soon....
Suzanne
gilt now in-pig to the Peter Lad boar
Showing the pigs.
Why show pigs? Some people keep pigs, and
enjoy showing them. I enjoy showing them, so I keep them. Showing
pigs adds an extra dimension (or two or three) to the challenge of 'just'
breeding pigs for pork.
There is the challenge of the paperwork for pedigree pigs, which is basically
straight forward but you have to be organised to keep on top of it all when you
have many sows farrowing every 6 months. There is the challenge of getting the
sows pregnant at the right time to produce pigs for the show calendar - there is an advantage to have pigs that are the oldest in the class, which means
you aim for a January 1st birth from your best sows. They will then also produce
on July 1st, or thereabouts.
There is the challenge of producing a pig at it's best for the show ring.
Show successes.
2005
Cornwall, winner of Berkshire Male Champion with Dittisham Nama Abel (FPA/393) as a
10 month old boar. Winner January gilt (Excelsa), January boar (Ambassador) and
older boar (Nama Abel) classes.
Okehampton, reserve Interbreed male with the April born Ambassador FPA/554
(against interbreed Januaries). Reserve interbreed pairs with in-pig Lady
gilts FPA/369 and FPA/370
Devon, winner September gilt class, second January gilt.
2004
Cornwall Berkshire Breed Champion with Dittisham Lady 5 (FPA/236) as a
12 month old gilt.
Devon.
Royal show
Bath & West
2003
Cornwall Berkshire Breed Champion with Dittisham Orlando (FPA/157) as an
18 month old boar.
Devon.
Royal show
Bath & West
2002
Newbury show Interbreed Champion with Dittisham Orlando (FPA/157) as a 9
month old boar. He was also reserve champion in the Berkshire Club
Champion of Champions competition here.
Show reports.
These show reports written by me about shows I attended this
year for the purpose of appearing in the Berkshire Club newsletter /
website:
2004:
2004 Devon County
2004 Bath & West
2004 Cornwall
2004 The Royal Show at Stoneleigh
2004 Okehampton
2005:
Showing 2006 - The plan
We will be at the Devon County Show (May) and also at the Royal Cornwall
Show (June) where my pigs have won the breed championship in 2003 &
2004. Also the lovely one day show at Okehampton which is on Thursday August 10th.
I have a very nice home bred boar, Dittisham Ambassador.
My mature gilt from last year, Dittisham Excelsa 350, seen here at Devon show,
May 2005, has farrowed into the perfect show cycle,
producing in January and July.
Here she is, Nov 05, in her second pregnancy:
So she will be in prime condition for
Devon, and also Cornwall, but she will have her litter for the Okehampton show
date so I will take something else, there are plenty to choose from.
How we raise the Berkshire pigs at Dittisham Farm
The ‘Berkshire’ pigs are a breed originally developed as fine tasting
pork for the London market. These pigs are ideally suited to living outside, so
we keep them 100% free-range from birth through to finishing - most unusual
nowadays. Here are some summer finishers:
They live happily in insulated field arcs all year round. Here is a
view of winter feeding, with the first snow in Devon for some years:
.
The sows farrow in their arcs, 
producing from 8 - 17 piglets in a litter.
A nice figure is 10 - 12, any more tend to be a little small, any less is
disappointing. The piglets come out of the arc for a look around They suckle the litter
for about 8 weeks
before the sow is
removed straight back to the boar, 
where she will come on heat about 4 days
later. All being well she will catch first time, therefore she will
happily have a litter
every 6 months 'on the dot'. The litter she has left behind take a week or
so to settle on their new milk-free diet. Any weaners that are to be sold
wait until this settling period has elapsed. We do not sell single weaners,
always 2 or more siblings are sold together - they are much happier this
way.
Keeping a boar
This is easier than AI (in my opinion) and I reckon that if you have 2 sows it
is cost effective. They average 4 lbs of food a day to keep in working
condition, that is 1460 lbs a year, at say £200 a tonne thats £132. Any
more feed and they will get too heavy. The only onerous task id to cut the
tusks, we do this every 6 - 9 months as required. There are various ways
of restraining a boar to do this, but we find a head crush the most
convenient. Here is a head crush we have built into our pig-link-box.
Berkshire Pigs for sale - current availability.
Gilts:
674 Lady gilt
Various Farewell and Excelsa gilts.
Boars:
624 Absolutely cracking Ambassador boar, born 2nd August. As good as the April boar that I have retained for my own herd. It's mother won the January gilt class at Bath & West in 2004, it's father won at Devon County 2004.
668 Nama Abel boar
687 Nama Abel boar
At the end of January 2006 the young Peter Lad will be for sale, 12 months
old, proven.
Senior boars - offers invited:
The Senior Ambassador
and Senior Orlando 
boars. Both docile,
perfect gentlemen with their ladies, both have given me so many good gilts that
I am willing to sell them in order to let others have the benfit and to let me
introduce some new blood into my herd.
Weaners:
Prices for weaners varies depending how many you have. Discount for 5 or more, bigger discount for 10, even bigger discount for 20.
Berkshire pigs - Litters born at Dittisham Farm recently
15th Sept, litter of 10, Ambassador/Lady. 10 for sale.
15th October, litter of 10, again Ambassador Lady. 2 sold, 8 for sale.
Pork for sale - prices and availability. Half pigs generally available. Organic status, £2.30 / lb based on carcase weight, typically about 42 - 50 lbs so about £90-£105. Ring 07768 625333 to reserve.
The Berkshire Club website http://www.berkshirepigs.org.uk/ has loads of information about the breed and pigs and club members and adverts and more.
