It’s a Pig’s Life!

Rearing

We first introduced pigs into the business some 20 years ago to make more direct use of the grain grown on the farm and to put fertility back into the soil. As a result anna’s happy trotters are fed a balanced and nutritious diet of natural and locally produced ingredients. The feed does not contain any antibiotic growth promoters.
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Our pigs are kept outside throughout their whole life. And before anybody begins to worry about the inevitable torrential rain our country so kindly blesses us with, each paddock of pigs has a great big tent filled with straw to keep them warm and dry on chilly and wet days. When they are in pig (pregnant!) they are kept in big sow barns, outside. They are moved to paddocks with a hut each when they are due to farrow (give birth) so that they can have their piglets in their own individual home.

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After four weeks the piglets are weaned (from their mothers) and put into the paddocks with the tents which they share with about 100 other pigs. Each paddock is an acre so 100 pigs have a vast amount of space to share. As well as having all this space to run around in they also have lots of mud to roll about in! If anyone thinks that the pigs might be uncomfortable, Anna is keen to point out that they need the mud to keep cool. "Just like hippos, pigs cannot cool down by sweating". And so, like the words in the old song, the pigs have to "wallow in glorious mud"!

As well as having a better quality of life, the meat from these pigs tastes so much better because they are slower growing due to them using more energy as they’re always running around. This slow grown process, along with their breeding ensures a beautifully succulent, great tasting meat.

Outdoor Reared vs Free Range

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Outdoor Reared

Outdoor reared refers to pigs that have been born and reared by their mothers outside until they are weaned - usually at around 4 weeks old. They are then taken inside for the remainder of their life, ie. "finished" inside. So, ‘outdoor reared’ pigs actually spend the vast majority of their life being kept indoors.

Free Range

Free range means outside throughout its full life, even prior to birth. The sows are kept outside, served outside, in pig outside, farrow outside, piglets reared outside and finished outside.

Breeding

Whilst about 40% of UK pigs are born on free range farms, only about 3% are then reared and grown on in free range conditions.
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All anna’s happy trotters pigs fall into this elite 3%, being free range all their lives. This affords the highest standards of welfare, certified by the RSPCA with the Freedom Food mark, and helps ensure that you get a really succulent and great tasting range of cuts. Our pigs are a mixture of new and old breeds providing, we believe, an ideal mix to ensure a great tasting product. The Landrace x Duroc sows produce pigs which have low levels of backfat but the meat is marbled thus enhancing the flavour and succulence whilst cooking, (another reason why our pork tastes so good!), whilst the hunky ‘Maximus’ boar is a very muscular breed, which gives lean meat but lovely big chops.

Welfare

The pigs are bred, born, reared and grown outdoors all to standards laid down by the RSPCA’s "Freedom Foods" assurance scheme.
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This scheme is based on the "Five Freedoms":

  1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
  2. Freedom from discomfort
  3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease
  4. Freedom to express normal behaviour
  5. Freedom from fear and distress

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Just what the customer wants

Our research shows that people buying pork look for it to be:

  • Locally Produced
  • High Welfare
  • Good Value

They like to know where it has come from, that the animals have been cared for during their life and not transported half way across the country to be slaughtered. Consumers understand that high welfare has cost implications, but they still expect good value. By ensuring consistently high quality and low overhead costs we believe that we can offer a product that tastes great every time at a price that also offers fantastic value for money. Anna's happy trotters ticks all the boxes!