Forest Reared Native Pork
Tweed Trotters offer forest reared native pigs by farmers Matt and Shaun. This slow grown pork has a deep and rich flavour.
These are forest reared Oxford Sandy and Black pigs, a native rare breed raised in their natural woodland environment, rooting out and feasting on grubs in fallen trees and dense leaf matter on the forest floor, as well as receiving a diverse diet to meet their nutritional needs.
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They are very active (when they are not snoozing) and have a particular taste for all the wonderful insects and grubs that make their home in fallen trees.
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We’re allowing them to grow at a much slower and more natural pace than the industry standard approach, allowing the meat time to develop fantastic flavour and colour.
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They are fed a mixed diet of grains, sugar beet, fruit and vegetables to help them achieve essential nutrients such as copper sulphate and are free to roam and forage to their heart’s content.
Oxford Sandy & Black Pigs
The Oxford Sandy and Black is a particularly good forager; their short snouts mean they don't dig too deep, their rooting and disturbance of the forest floor encourages germination of dormant seeds, promoting regeneration of the forest floor and increasing species diversity. Pigs can help speed up the decomposition of fallen trees, increasing the organic matter content of the soil at a faster rate.
My daughter actually chose the breed based on a list of requirements that I gave her, like a little project for her when she was still at school. We wanted to support the preservation of a native rare breed and wanted something that wasn't too large, multipurpose, as in capable of producing high quality pork and bacon, that wouldn't take too long to finish and wouldn't lay down too much fat. They needed to be adapted to live outdoors all year round with only basic shelter. We wanted a breed that had a good temperament, easy to handle, and known for their mothering ability.
Another key factor was that they had to be visually appealing, and the recommendation from my daughter after she did her research was that the OSB met all these requirements so off I went and got some pedigree gilts to breed from...
