Oaklands Pigs - Sharing our Expertise
Clare & Robin welcome you to the Oaklands Pigs website
Oaklands Farm is a working farm on the Kent/East Sussex Border, near Tunbridge Wells.
We started keeping pigs over 25 years ago, mostly raising weaners for the freezer before starting breeding from our own stock.
We are not currently running any pig keeping courses.
In early 2005 we replaced our many assorted pigs with new pedigree saddleback breeding stock, the foundation of our saddleback herd today.
Apart from these, we have examples of some of the other traditional pigs, including Tamworths and Kune Kune. We have also kept Middle Whites, Welsh, Oxford Sandys, Berkshires, Large Whites, Old Spots, Landrace, Large Blacks and Mangalitzas in the past. We have recently reduced the number of animals at the farm and now have around a dozen adult breeding stock.
So between us we have many years of experience of buying, keeping and breeding pigs, and offer friendly advice to those new to pig keeping, or those thinking of moving on to breeding pigs.
Here at the farm we have set up a number of different environments in paddocks, woods, and barns with an assortment of styles of fencing and numerous varieties of arks, so there is always something going on at the farm.
Being a small farm, we can take the time to discuss and help you choose your pigs, and give help and advice on setting up and all aspects of pig keeping.
For disease control purposes, we do not hire any boars from this farm, or accept sows for mating.
We are not able to offer any vet student or work experience placements, as there is very little maintenance required for our outdoor herd.
Latest News
Pigs on the catwalk
A mammoth photo session took place to capture portraits of six different breeds of pig. London photographer Richard Bailey, set up his studio in one of our barns and we attempted to get a variety of pigs standing still on the right spot, looking the right way. Needless to say, the session took quite some time and a lot of bribery food. The most co-operative pigs were in fact a couple of litters of babies, who stood relatively still once you had turned them all around the right way. The pictures are destined for an American magazine.
7 shows – and winning in the top 2, at 6 of them
Oaklands Pigs attended 7 shows during the 2013 season and came home with 3 Best in Shows, 2 Reserve Best in Shows and 1 Breed Champion, so only missing out on a top spot at one show.
The Best in Shows came from Heathfield, Cranleigh and Edenbridge. The two Reserves from Singleton and Egham. And the Breed Champion at the large South of England show.
Vera the Saddleback will now be putting her feet up and awaiting the arrival of her first litter, which is due in the autumn. Hopefully she can produce a show champion for next year.