New miniature pig breed now world famous

The key to success for any tourist attraction is to stand out from the rest.

Pennywell Farm in South Devon is no different and Chris Murray and his wife Nicky have worked hard to make their farm distinctive, something they have achieved by creating a new breed of pig which has become famous all over the world.

It has taken Chris nine years and 24 generations to develop a breeding programme producing Pennywell Miniature Pigs. His smallest pig to date has been named Tetley, because he could fit into a tea cup.

At eight weeks old he weighed just 3kg, or 7lb. Chris said: “He is the smallest we have ever had and is causing quite a stir. He has the crown jewels and we’ll certainly be breeding from him.”

Chris wanted miniature pigs at his farm because he noticed visitors, especially adults, loved sitting with pigs on their laps often for more than an hour at a time. Normal sized pigs grow up fast and are heavy creatures.

When he began his breeding programme he selected from wide strains and made sure he crossed away from connecting bloodlines. He began with Iron Age pigs and wild boar as well as old English breeds such as Berkshire, Gloucestershire Old Spot, Middle White and Tamworths.

“The top cross is Kune Kune. All the knowledge I had from commercial pig breeding was for rapid growth rate and good food conversion ratio. I did not know how small I would be able to get these pigs, but I wanted a benign character that was human-friendly.

“I can go in pen, pick up a piglet and the mother won’t bat an eyelid, which is great. Pigs grow so fast, I wanted one children could play with at any age.”

Chris has learned a lot along the way and has had failures before hitting the right formula. He discovered he could no longer use wild boar in his breeding programme as ultimately they reverted to type. They ignored electric fencing and constantly escaped, much to his neighbours’ annoyance.

He is always striving to better his last litter and is now looking to give the pigs a longer snout. “I don’t want them looking like boxers, I want more piggy, less puggy.”

The litters come out in a variety of colours, often ginger or white with black spots or pure black. He loves the ginger colour and the people who buy them all have different preferences.

There is currently a waiting list of more than two years from people all over the world who want a Pennywell Miniature pig as a pet. Each is sold for a minimum of £250 and are kept as indoor house pets. There has been celebrity interest as well – Jonathan Ross has bought two.

Keeping pigs as pets has grown in popularity. Actor George Clooney famously had a pot bellied pig called Max for 18 years. When Max died of natural causes last year he weighed a massive 136kg and George said he and the animal had shared the longest relationship of his life.

Fully grown, even Vietnamese pot bellied pigs – the smaller variety – can weigh up to 113kg. Pigs are intelligent, clean and affectionate animals, but buyers have not always realised how big they will grow and destructive they can be.

Worryingly, pot bellied pigs became a fashionable pet to have and the numbers of abandoned pigs has increased as naive owners became overwhelmed as their little pets grew. Cute piglets grow up and unless stimulated, their desire to forage and claim territory as their own can be problematic.

Pennywell Miniatures have the same needs and requirements, but are less of a handful, literally.

Chris currently has five boars and eight breeding sows and gilts. Each sow has two litters a year which are weaned at eight weeks. He is very excited about a litter due to be born in February to a 15-month-old pure black gilt who weighs about 25kg.

“That sounds heavy compared to her size, but pigs are solid meat and bone. We are constantly striving for small and these pigs do fit their purpose, they are tiny and friendly and colourful.”

He bought the 60-acre Pennywell Farm in 1988 specifically for educational farm visits. He was also a commercial pig farmer, selling 600 weaners a year for meat from 30 breeding sows, but instead of making money, he was losing about £7 on every pig and realised he could not farm commercially and dedicate time to building up an educational farm site as well.

He was always interested in pig breeding from when he went to Seale Hayne Agricultural College and credits Prof Peter Brooks with enthusing him about breeding pigs.

Breeding the Pennywell Miniatures and offering a different sort of attraction that visitors can really get involved with has worked perfectly. “It has to be fun and here we like it to be hands-on fun,” said Chris.

“We do rural activities every half hour, like ferret racing or egg collecting, because people arrive at different times and we want to engage them immediately with farming.”

The miniature pigs, especially little Tetley, have caused global media interest and Chris has had television crews from all over Europe come to see him. Tetley Tea sent a box of free goodies to thank him for the name, and he joked that the smallest pig he gets next time will be named Porsche.

He has been delighted with the success of his miniature breeding programme, it has given the entire farm and fun park a well deserved boost. Pennywell Farm employs 15 full-timers and 63 people in peak season.

With the amount of farming legislation and increased employment laws each year, he has found it a little harder than the previous year. The success of his miniature breed could not have come soon enough.

“Breeding these miniature pigs has certainly saved our bacon,” he said.