The breed was developed in Gloucestershire when most cottages had a pig in a sty at the bottom of the garden. It was evolved from crossing a Berkshire pig with the original Gloucestershire.
The Gloucestershire Old Spot thrived on the surpluses from the county's two main industries — apple growing and cheese production. Windfall fruit and whey formed the basis of its diet, and local folklore attributes the spots to bruises from falling apples!
Our pedigree herd is reared in small groups on a simple cereal diet, with no additives, but sometimes they enjoy munching on helpings of vegetable peelings. Hardy and well suited to outdoor living, our sows farrow (give birth) safe and warm in a “pig ark”. Our free-range piglets do not have their teeth clipped or their tails docked; they roam freely and are extremely playful. They are always ducking underneath the fences and have a whale of a time forming their own playgroups. Thankfully they always return home for sleep and sustenance!
Our piglets stay with their mothers much longer than those on commercial units, and are weaned at eight weeks. They then spend their time, weather permitting, outdoors or in straw bedded barns, before being processed at a minimum of 28 weeks.