Hello from Gloucestershire

Hi,

Thank you for the invitation to join the forum.

Our family has 2 Mangalitzas sows, a red called 'Scarlet' and a blonde called 'Blonde' (not very original!). Both our sows are of the original imported stock by Tony York.

My son Jack, now aged 14 got us started with pigs when he was about 8 by keeping a couple of Kune Kune's, and we still have one called Babe. When he saw an article in a magazine about Mangalitzas he really wanted one. He had earned some money through having Kune Kune piglets, and persuaded me and my sister-in-law to go in with him and purchase a Mangalitza.

We all really love the Mangalitzas and have started to do a bit of showing with them. It is great fun and provides good entertainment, particularly when they decide they do not want to walk clockwise round a ring! Last year we were lucky to be asked to meet HRH Prince Charles at The Three Counties Show with our red sow Scarlet. He was very interested in the breed.

The red Mangalitzas are my favourites, Scarlet has the most wonderful temperment, and is quite a character. I have never know such a fussy pig when it comes to food. She absolutely adores fruit and veg, but will only eat bananas if peeled, and if you give her a bunch of grapes she carefully picks every one of the stalks. The other pigs just eat the whole lot.

Our intention has always been to keep the colours true when breeding, but this is proving difficult, as you will see.

Scarlet has had one litter of pure reds with us, and has recently had two false pregnancies. She has spent 3 months at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire with their red boar, and has been at home with the original imported red boar for a few months, to no avail. We currently have a blonde boar here at present, so I have decided to try her with him, in an effort to get her pregnant.

After arranging to have the blonde boar here to service our sow, the red boar managed to escape a few days prior, and it would appear he has done the deed!

Look forward to hearing from other Mangalitza owners.

Teresa

Theresa,
Iam so glad to see you here welcome, I think all Mangalitzas like the fuss and attention and do what they want, when they want- well here anyway!!!

HRH must have been surprised to see such a beast- what an honour!!

I have in the past taken my babies approx 8months old to places, and they have been so good, not to show them but to let little kids and the like, brush and caress them with horse brushes etc. They do like all the attention!!!

I have quite a concern about bloodlines, is there a breeding cyclic chart for Mangalitzas as for example GOS?

Welcome and enjoy
Carole

Hi Teresa

What a lovely introduction from Glouchester! I hope you will put some pics on the forum so we can all enjoy your girls! A photo of HRH would send us up market a bit as well!!

We are also dedicated to keeping the breeds pure. It is such a shame that the colours have had to be interbred in order to keep the lines fresh in the UK. The stock from Austria that both Carole and ourselves have purchased are different lines to those in the UK - we are keeping our own registry here so that we know where all our stock is going, and the plan is to go back to Austria to refresh bloodlines once we have exhausted our lines - hopefully that will work out at the back end of 2009 - early 2010.

You mention your sons interest in the breed as well. Tell him he would be very welcome to join in if he would like to. He is making money from his pigs - do let him tell us his secret!!

We are looking forward to hearing more from you soon.

Oh and keep us posted on the impending pregnancy!

Kate

welcome ...

Hello & Welcome Teresa,

How lovely to hear that HRH is interested in the breed too! Perhaps Scarlet thinks she is royalty seeing as she spent 3mths at Chatsworth as well! It's nice to see young people interested in keeping pigs & making money - Can't be bad.
You'll have to keep us posted regarding Scarlett & piglets.
Regards
Donna

Welcome Terssa

Boris has settled well and is making the girls life a misery

The vet came out last week and said 'he's not making much of a effort'

I told he it had been constant for two days and the poor boy was exhausted