Liz is just wild about rearing young boars

Nov 20 2007 by Liz Shankland, Western Mail

Just when you think you’re getting to grips with looking after livestock, a new challenge appears on the horizon

YOU should know by now that I can’t resist a challenge. For the past seven years that Gerry and I have been living on this smallholding, I’ve managed to persuade him to let me try all sorts of livestock.

First came the chickens, then the turkeys, followed by the ducks. Then I progressed to four-legged livestock: goats (big mistake – friendly wrecking machines), sheep (problematical but productive), and finally pigs (hugely rewarding and my favourite).

My next big step is to venture into pig breeding. It’ll be in the new year, as soon as my lovely pedigree Tamworth gilts are old enough, and I’m really looking forward to moving up to a whole new level of pig keeping.

In the meantime, however, I’ve got something else to keep me occupied. A few days ago I picked up four new weaners – but not just any old weaners. These are wild boar-cross weaners. Their parents look like true wild boar, but they are, in fact, hybrids – products of a bit of cross-breeding with a domestic pig.

We bought them from John Williams, who breeds free-range Gloucestershire old spots and Berkshires in Abermeurig, near Lampeter. He reckons the breed used in the cross must have been old spots, because every litter produces some spotty piglets. But I’ve got a feeling it was an Oxford sandy and black, because one of the weaners I chose is ginger with black spots – and very, very cute.

Two of the gilts I picked out are pretty wild boar-looking, covered in the familiar camouflage stripes which will disappear as they mature. The fourth new arrival is much less wild boarish. He came from another slightly older litter on the same farm, but his mother was a wild boar hybrid and his father a Gloucestershire old spot.

The differences are clear – he’s a much meatier, “piggy” build, and has huge ears compared to the rest, but he still has a bit of a wild look about him.

I must admit, I was wondering what the reaction of our local trading standards department would be when I sent off the animal movement document with the words “wild boar x” on it. They must have seen the “x”, because I haven’t had a visit yet.

Wild boar are covered under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, and you must have a licence from the local authority to keep them. Your premises need to be inspected to make sure a whole range of conditions – covering everything from housing to security – are up to standard, and you have to have liability insurance.

Even if just one of the parents is a true wild boar, the regulations apply. With second generation hybrids (and later, like mine), the regulations are the same as for domestic pigs. Crossing a pure- bred male wild boar with a domestic pig makes economic sense because female offspring are able to farrow twice a year – unlike their ancestors – and have bigger litters. The drawback is that the more domestic blood that goes in, the more risk there is of losing the distinctive gamey-flavoured meat, which is so much in demand.

The weaners have settled in really well so far. They’re much more confident and friendly than other weaners I’ve had, and I can see they’re going to be fascinating to rear. Gerry and I met the father of the litter and he was just like a big, friendly dog, rubbing up against us and demanding attention.

Mind you, seeing the size of his tusks, I probably wouldn’t have hung around if his owner John hadn’t been there – just in case...

You can write to LIZ SHANKLAND c/o Western Mail, Blue Street, Carmarthen SA31 3LQ. Please enclose an SAE for a reply. Or email downtoearthliz@hotmail.co.uk