Could I keep a pig in my London garden?

[TheDullWitch]

I watched Gordon Ramsey do it on the F-word. It could eat all the apples, kitchen waste, create useful manure, be an interesting pet/dinner.

I have a longish 100ft+ garden with a bit at the bottom away from houses and neighbours. Just worried about the foxes. (Fox Vs Pig: who'd win?) Is there any reason why I shouldn t, countryfolk?

Or should we just get kittens?

My father had a flat some years back that had a bad cockroach problem because of being next door to an inner-city pig farm, so I wouldn't recommend pigs.

One of the big houses near Dulwich College had a flock of geese some years back - might that be more acceptable to the neighbours? They were pretty loud and scary when anyone walked past, so might deter burglars.

Can t geese break your arm with their wings or somesuch?

I want piggies.

sulks

Hens?

You can eat rabbits - get a rabbit.

FOXES!!!!

They done for my neighbours chickens years ago.

You can eat guinea pigs too

chickens...?

And they bit the ear off a little girl's bunny cos it had let it dangle out of it s hutch.

they did during the war - I remember my dad saying his mum had one - in North London .

Before you do - think about how you go about getting it butchered - I assume even if you are happy to eat it you probably won't be going DIY on that - even if you are allowed to.

Also - what do you plan to to with the waste prdducts ?

I live in the country and know a few families who have a few pigs in their gardens - not sure of the details though.

If you want pigs, move to the country

[rolls eyes at bloody urban amateur animal owners emoticon]

Yes, the war! Actually my dad kept pigs, I ll have to ask him.

Well, we could dig the shit into the garden, or put it in the SOuthwark council brown recycling bins. The binmen will love me!

I m happy to have someone else kill them, come the glorious day.

But, I can't QueenPeaHead, dh's job and all. So pity me trying to live close to the land, whilst 300m from the back of Sainsbury.

Surely it s just like having an allotment.

pph - is it illegal to feed chickens kitchen waste?

that is a lot of shovelling every day !

By the way - the comment about fencing - the ones we visit round here are hemmed in by one wire or electric fence - so fairly quick, cheap and easy to do. So don't let that put you off .

Have you been close to a pig recently though - they are BIG

pigs smell horrid
can't you geta goat or something

But I thought goats smell. And what about fox vs goat?

i know keep some baby foxes

aaaaaaaaaaah

how odd she poppeth up

Am proud new owner of 2 very cute pigs-blossom and Speckle, brown/white and black/white kune kune pigs. Big advantage of them is that they dont dig, any other pig will destroy the entire root system of your garden in a very short space of time. Our pigs are not for eating but we will breed to an eating type of pig, raise some piglets to eat and sell the rest (thats assuming I can be bothered/organised enough to hire a boar etc!)
They are very cute, if you scratch their sides they roll over for you to scratch their tummies

Miggy where do you keep your piggy? And are you in the country/how big garden etc etc.

yes sorry country not london.
we have them at the moment in an area about 15ft by 40ft which was the childrens old fenced off play area. They do do lots of smelly poohs and we will move them to a larger grassed area once we get it fenced, otherwise the small area woul;d be fine but would need to concreted for cleaning purposes.

How rubbish that you can't feed them kitchen peelings! I have always wanted one just to use up that type of thing. Where did that rule pop up?

snort at miggy where do oyu keep your piggy

Oh Miggy I m going off the whole idea now, if I have to concrete over my garden.

But it just sounds so much the perfect pet, given children's boredom threshold.

Me to ds1 "Have you cleaned out the pig?"

Ds1 "can t be bovvered. Do I have to?"

Me "No, OK, I ll ring the knacker and you ll never have to do it again."

DS scuttles down garden with shovel.

Now you can t use that line with a kitten.