At Parkhill, our pigs roam in paddocks through the woods surrounding the house. We have two main breeds; the Oxford Sandy & Black and the Large Black. Both of these breeds are on the RBST Watchlist, although the Large Black is considered to be “vulnerable” with only 200 – 300 breeding females registered throughout the UK. The Large Black is the UK’s only all black breed, and is renowned as a hardy, maternal and docile pig producing excellent and succulent pork. Our two sows are from the “Warbler” line of which only 5 sows are currently breeding across the country.
The Oxford Sandy & Black is slightly more numerous but is still considered to be at risk. It is ideally suited to an outdoor system and can thrive in all sorts of weather. They are natural diggers and foragers, and are at home in the woods where they search for nuts, seeds and roots. They are multi-purpose in that they produce excellent pork and bacon, and will generally be leaner than other similar traditional breeds at the same age.