Hello all! We have decided to join the ranks of those breeding and raising Red Wattle Hogs. We are NOT expert pig farmers. We are actually a family returning to the farm from city life and learning as we go.
Our farm is called "Lil Sprouts Farm" in southern Oregon, outside Medford. The theme of our farm is raising heritage animals as close to life in the wild as possible. We started with chickens and heritage turkeys, free ranging them on our land. Now we'd like to add Red Wattle Pigs.
There are a few questions we are looking for advice with:
1. What is a good makup of a first breeding group? We'd like to start small to get things going. Is 1 male and 1 female a good start?
2. What recommendations are there on housing this breed? Summers are very hot here, often in the 100's during summer and 20's during winter with snow. How much space per pig or family is recommended? We currently have 2 pig pens used for other breeds that are about 16x48 ft each with a small lean to for shade.
3. How much sun is too much? Summer days are often full bright sunshine, and other breeds burn badly if not kept inside. Are Red Wattles also prone to sunburn ?
4. What we used for feed for our first pig (hampshire mix) was table sraps, garden scraps, occasional pasture, and commercial pig food. Is this a decent approach for Red Wattles?
5. Is it necessary to castrate male piglets? We would really prefer not to castrate, and have found much evidence pointing to certain breeds not being prone to pig taint anyway. We also read evidence that taint is not a problem if you butcher the males by 6 months. Is this true with Wattles?
6. Any advice on where and when to locate a breeding family to start with?
Thanks so much for any advice!