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Scottish pigs on the Peddie Farm
Gwen and Andrew Peddie have a farm in Anstruther where they raise pigs to sell as food. Here’s how they look after their pigs, so you get better meat.
What pigs eat
- Pigs are given a very high quality, expensive diet that’s specially made to suit their weight and needs. This diet changes as they grow. There’s a lot of science goes into the making up of pig diets!
- The pig puts on weight and grows very quickly – from 7kgs to an amazing 100kgs! It can put on 600 to 750+ grammes a day. Now you know why the phrase ‘to eat like a pig’ came about!
Where pigs sleep
Gwen and Andrew keep their pigs outdoors in paddocks, and they sleep in arcs, which have an arched shape. About 30 per cent of the pigs in Scotland (that’s about a third) are kept outside in this way. The rest are kept in special buildings.
Looking after the health of the animals
Pigs are happiest and healthiest when they live in good, clean accommodation, with plenty of room. This helps to prevent them getting diseases. So it is important to put the pigs into accommodation that has been washed and disinfected and allowed to dry out for a few days.
However, sometimes pigs can fall ill – just like humans – no matter what the farmer does.
Pneumonia is a disease that can go round the herd. It is treated by medication in the pigs’ food.
Pig wasting disease happens a lot in Scotland, and it’s very difficult to treat. Usually the farmer will give the pigs medication in their food rather than inject each pig, because it’s less stressful for the pig.
Pigs can also be hurt and upset by dogs who are running through the fields without a lead. So if you have a dog and you’re walking in the country, don’t go near fields with animals in them!
Nearly all the pig producers in Scotland (including Gwen and Andrew) are in the Quality Meat Scotland farm assurance scheme. This scheme sets out strict rules about looking after the animals – and farmers have to follow them.
The vet comes to the farm every three months to make sure the animals are well.
There are also assessors who go round each farm every 12-18 months to make sure that the farmers are following the rules. They look out for things like how many pigs there are, the amount of water they have to drink and the space they have to eat in.
Sometimes an inspector from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) comes with them to make sure the pigs are being looked after.
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