Ossabaw Island Hogs

Ossabaw Island piglets are ready for their new home.  










Ossabaw Island hogs are great for a homesteader or small plot farmer, and nice on a big farm too as the size is manageable and they are easily moved around using a portable electric fence.  The boar was a house-pig the first year of his life, though that's hard to imagine because he isn't small.

The mom of the first litter is the smaller girl, she's likely around 120-130 lbs.  The mom of the younger babies is a little bigger, around 130-140.  Both girls fit in dog crates when we moved them, to give you an idea of size.  Dad is likely 180-200 lbs - he weighed a lot more when I got him but has trimmed down some now.  

3 girl piglets ready to go NOW, and another 8 will be ready soon in another 3 or so weeks.  These two litters are from full sisters and the same dad, so definitely not suitable for breeding to each other. I am however working on arranging for suitable male pigs for breeding down the road, I have found a source of lightly related Ossabaws - unfortunately the owner castrated all the boys from this most recent litter, but I will see if she will leave the next boys intact in the next litter so I may be able to arrange that if anyone is interested in breeding these beauties. I also have a lead on a group of Ossabaws being imported to Canada, and if this is successful hope to purchase a male from the owner OR the seller has already agreed that if the first group is successful he will do an export again.  If you have a vet who does AI, this will be another option for Ossabaw genetics - unfortunately I have not found a vet in our area who does this.  In a pinch, these should be a great cross with a Tamworth or other heritage hog with similar traits, though consideration will be needed with regards to the size of boar.

MAn they are cute....

Looks like you had an explosion of spots at your place. They sure are cute. How many have you got now?

What do these cuties cost?

I think I am quite thankful you live so far away!!    OHHHHH how I could easily add that to my place! they sound just perfect sized for our sort of going-ons

they are just so darn cute, congrats on all the new little piggies! and good luck with acquiring new stock! sounds like these are an interesting breed, I plan on doing some more reading on them   

lanaire-ranching wrote:I think I am quite thankful you live so far away!!      OHHHHH how I could easily add that to my place!  they sound just perfect sized for our sort of going-ons

they are just so darn cute, congrats on all the new little piggies!  and good luck with acquiring new stock!  sounds like these are an interesting breed, I plan on doing some more reading on them   

At the end of the month, I will be headed right near your place, with a trailer and piggies already in tow...first stop is Edmonton, but the next day I could bring piggies right to you doorstep as we are headed to Lethbridge....

Oh my

Well I had best speed up my reading. And maybe my shovel to dig out the snow filled pen.

Great ad! I'm sure you will have a lot of takers! Maybe a link to a website about the breed?

I've found a road trip around weaning time is a great idea, keeps the genetics spread far and wide and makes sales really easy. So you are planning things really well. Great advice about the other breeding lines..

Think about keeping at least one replacement sow, the best and prettiest of the lot this year, otherwise you may find you suddenly have a few older sows and nothing coming on. Always aim to improve your pigs!

heda gobbler wrote:Great ad!  I'm sure you will have a lot of takers!  Maybe a link to a website about the breed?

I've found a road trip around weaning time is a great idea, keeps the genetics spread far and wide and makes sales really easy. So you are planning things really well.  Great advice about the other breeding lines..

Think about keeping at least one replacement sow, the best and prettiest of the lot this year,  otherwise you may find you suddenly have a few older sows and nothing coming on.  Always aim to improve your pigs!

Thanks Heda gobbler...I just went out and sexed the newest babes - 5 girls out of 5 - and man are they cuties.  Well, they all are.  I'm keeping a girl from the sisters, and a girl from the oldest...  And lining up a new man for the girls for a spell....

And thanks for the tip on a website.

Matador Farm

American Livestock Conservatory Link

on the quick bits I have read about these pigs, they sound pretty cool!

I just wish my pig pens werent under four feet (or more) of snow... I honestly would be very tempted. Good luck with your roadtrip, and fingers are crossed that you find some amazing new males for your adventure!

lady leghorn wrote:Looks like you had an explosion of spots at your place.   They sure are cute.   How many have you got now?

20 babies all together, two litters were just born. Thank goodness there will be no more new ones for awhile now.

Katt, I will pm you.

Wow, you went from 2 girls, looking for a boar and after finding him, now 20. You're in spotted piggy heaven.   

I "rescued" two more Ossabaw sows - they were sold as bred from the boar's old home to a new owner. They weren't bred, but they were so ghastly overweight it's not wonder - the first owner, also the boar's previous owner, had apparently fed them mostly left over bakery bread. (I also had to get lots of weight off the boar when I got him!!!) So no wonder, with the imbalance in nutrition and overweight that the girls were not preggers. So the new owner contacted me, asking if she could breed to the Boar. I said yes. And then a few weeks later called and asked if I would take the two sows, as they were breaking out of her enclosure and the neighbor threatened to shoot them if they showed up at his place again. So I took them - these two sows are not quite the bundle of joys that the other two girls were, have been a bit of a pain (aka - needing an electric fence) and I learned a valuable lesson about taking other people's problems on. BUT I did get some weight off, and so did the previous owner who had them for a short while - so after 2 months of proper eating and nutrition here they conceived. The one who just had babies a few days ago was a bit of a surprise, as she barely showed that she was even preggers. The other I thought was due for well over 2 weeks, but knew for sure when I saw her busily and happily smiling and making her nest. I wasn't even sure they could still have babies, after all, who get's rid of perfectly good sows when they are so rare. But don't feed them right, you won't get babies. So fortunately both are fertile, and happy with their new families.

Luckily for them they came to you. You got the weight down and got two good breeding sows from them, same with the boar.   

You saved some lovely rare breed piggies. Yay. Plus so pretty too.   

I love the way pigs smile. I especially love it when they see me and smile.

Sounds like your pigs are very happy too! Amazing how some people think garbage is good food for pigs....

heda gobbler wrote:I love the way pigs smile.  I especially love it when they see me and smile.  

Sounds like your pigs are very happy too!  Amazing how some people think garbage is good food for pigs....

I should have taken a video of Delta when she was making her nest for the babies that were coming that night...she was running and I swear she was grinning ear to ear. I knew that she was finally about to have them, after she had fooled me for two weeks. She was grabbing big mouth-fulls of straw and busy, busy building her nest, with a nice little bounce to her step...it was SO cute!!! Yes, I agree, they do smile!

I have a strict rule - the pigs only get old food, never rotton food...no slime, nothing bad. Maybe some outer leaves off lettuce, carrots that have been in the fridge a while but are still nice and firm, ends and peels of carrots I'm eating, salad left overs...no bad food. My pig bucket is about the same size as the compost bucket, sometimes smaller. I boil up undersized/excess eggs for treats and they get those whole. And no nightshades or onion family - no potatoes, tomatoes, onions. I think in the end, what you give them is what you get when it's eating/breeding/whatever time. I like happy pigs, it makes pig farming more fun! Everyone gets a big giggle when Wilburt get's his back scratches, and his whole body sways side to side. Happy pigs = happy farm.

Exactly! Nicely said.

I read somewhere that when the sow starts making a nest farrowing is less than 24 hours away. I've found that really helpful - and true. The nest building is a very complicated business, a lot of standing back and looking at it,head on one side, frantic sorting through hay and straw and even grass (depending on time of year) to find just the right material. One day I want to make a video.

islandgal99......I remember my grandparents that had a small farm, sold eggs ( hence the name lady leghorn) from hundreds of leghorns, also had dairy cows,

in North saanich ( you could do that then), always had a big pot on the oil stove cooking very slowly, all the scraps for the chickens. Funny how things like you

talking about scraps brought that memory back, I can still see that big old pot on the stove. lol.

So glad you live far away. Those pigs are darling!

Careful, don't say that, she'll deliver some to you.   

If I remember Auntie Evil, your on the coast...piggies fit nicely in a dog crate. Hint hint.

No teasing!
My husband would divorce me, flying pigs across country. Guess pigs can fly -lol

Careful what you wish for.    islandgal99 has a "very" good memory apparently. There could be spots all over the country.