We came to owning Wessex Saddleback pigs by chance rather than deliberate intention (although we would own nothing else now). It just so happened that we mentioned to a friend of ours that we were interested in having a pig for our farm (a farm isn’t a farm unless you have a pig we thought). He told us of a neighbour of his who owned some breeding stock and we contacted him and made arrangements to go and see them. At this point in time we knew absolutely zero about pigs. We were both expecting to see some small pink cute little Babe like pigs, but when we walked into the paddock and several large black and white boars came ambling towards us, it was a complete eye opener. Admittedly I was ready to jump over the fence when this large male (who it turned out was to be our Nugent) came up to the breeder, but I soon changed my mind when he began scratching him behind the ears and the boar began making these pleasurable grunting noises—just like a dog only larger and with less hair!
We decided then and there that we wanted a breeding pair and when we got home we began to research the breed. We were astonished to see how rare they were and felt really pleased that we were in a position to do something to further the breed. Our aim is to promote the breed as an ideal pig for people with a bit of space looking to have a hardy, intelligent, gentle breed. We treat our pigs as we do our sheep (WE SPOIL THEM IN OTHER WORDS). They are free to graze their paddocks, we rotate them through each paddock and back sow with crops for their feed. The only restriction on their movement is a single hot wire to keep them away from the boundary and paddock fences. This is to prevent them entering the sheep and goat paddocks and the native bushland adjacent to our property.
Since then we have done a lot of research on pigs - we do not claim to be experts and are still learning every day. As part of our quest for knowledge we have joined the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia, Australian Pork Breeders Association, British Saddleback Breeders' Club and have travelled to Melbourne to partake in a free-range pig course. (see Benara Farm Useful Links for details of the memberships and other useful information).
If you are interested in breeding stock please send us an email. We have a rather relaxed approach to breeding Nugent and Pammy (we rest Pammy for a month or so after farrowing and then join her with Nugent once the piglets are weaned—this means that we only have about two litters a year). As our piglet numbers are limited please be patient. If you let us know you are interested we will do our best to accommodate you when we have a litter.
We also wish to promote the delicious tasting meat that they provide. Our piglets destined for the abattoir are treated the same as those for breeding (AGAIN WE SPOIL THEM). They lead a quality lifestyle and that is reflected in the moist, delicious, flavoursome nature of their meat. Please see our page for our product/price list and when our pork products are next available.
