Pig Manual

Liz Shankland has a smallholding 800ft up a mountain in Wales, where she keeps pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys, and is a respected breeder of Tamworth pigs, and a prize-winning exhibitor. She is a journalist and broadcaster, and is the resident pig expert for Country Smallholding magazine.

History of the modern pig: how breeds have developed, guide to the popular breeds, choosing the right breed. Getting started: costs, rules and regulations, training, housing, vets and transport. Buying: when to buy and where to buy from, what to look for, pedigree or non-pedigree? Feeding: different feeds, blending, growing, amounts needed. Health and welfare: diseases, general health advice, behaviour and first aid. Eating your own: psychological preparation, planning, timings, abattoirs, transport, butchers and home butchery, selling. Breeding: choosing stock, breeding cycles, nutritional and medicinal care, mating process, farrowing, care of litter, weaning. Showing: why, how and where, classes, preparation.