About us
Sussex Saddlebacks is a small group of people who have come
together to breed and rear rare breed pigs in West Sussex.
The group was set up in 2007 as a social enterprise, with a
small number of members (around about 14 families). We come from all walks of
life, some with young families and most of us work full time. The work load is
shared and we learn new skills all the time – building arks, wiring up an
electric fence, showing and handling pigs and much more.
Building a gate Moving pigs
We operate a rota for feeding and have
regular meetings and work days. In return for our hard work we get a share of
fantastic free range pork at member’s rates. Most similar groups just raise
weaners to supply meat for themselves, but at Sussex Saddlebacks we have chosen
to breed our own pigs as we want to contribute to increasing the breeding
population of these fantastic animals.
We have two sows in our breeding herd.
Our pigs are free range – they are born and live outside and
they have permanent access to pasture. They do have lovely straw-filled arks,
shade from the sun and wallows to cool down in. We feed them twice a day on
good quality pig food, supplemented with fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course
they are digging and foraging all day too.
Pigs kept in this way produce pork which is succulent and tasty
and makes proper crackling. We sell a
small amount of pork each year, either as whole or half pigs, butchered and packed
for the freezer.
Our key aims are to:
- Support
the existence of rare breed farm livestock
- Implement
and promote humane animal welfare practice
- Provide
opportunities for knowledge, skills, interests and friendships to develop
- Promote
the involvement of people with learning disabilities
