Pig Keeping Courses, Registered Breeding Stock & Fattening Weaners
About us
Specialist pig breeders and exhibitors
Tedfold Cottage Farm is a family-run smallholding, between Billingshurst and Wisborough Green, in the South East of England, managed by Michaela and her son Oliver Giles. Our interest lies in rare British Saddleback and Middle White pigs, and the modern Duroc breed.
We are regulars on the pig-showing circuit around the UK and our ultimate piggy aim is to breed a 'Pig of the Year' winner. We came close in 2017, with our boar 'Ezra' winning Champion Traditional Male in Pig of the Year. He also won Middle White Champion of Champions 2017 at The Great Yorkshire Show. In 2019 one of our young Durocs won Champion Modern female and Reserve Supreme in the BPA Young Pig of the Year. TOOT TOOT Sadly the 2020 and most of the 2021 show season were cancelled due to the Corona virus. Wish us luck in the 2022 show season.
We usually have weaners for fattening for sale and if you are a registered BPA Pork Producer then we can transfer them as birth notified pigs free of charge. We also have, at select times, registered breeding stock for sale, sometimes they make it on to the website but often they are sold before so feel free to call or email us for availability.
Apologies, we are not a large enough farm to take on veterinary students for their EMS. You are of course welcome to book onto a pig keeping course and we can provide you with a letter saying you have attended.
Our background
We breed pedigree pigs and are registered with the British Pig Association (BPA).
Michaela is the BPA Regional Sector Representative for the South Region and a BPA director, sitting on the breed conservation committee and the BPA Council, She is also the genetic consultant for the British Kune Kune Pig Society
Michaela is a member of the government's Pig Expert Group, representing the small-scale pig keeper, and the Defra Animal Health and Welfare Group – South-East . She also sits on one of the groups developing the new Defra-Industry Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
Michaela is Consultant Editor to The Pig Site; an invaluable resource to pig-keepers: www.thepigsite.com and hosts a monthly column which can be accessed here
Michaela has worked in the livestock health industry since 1985 as a Research Scientist and was awarded a Ph.D. in 2005 after studying the molecular genetics of host-parasite relationship in livestock. She was also awarded a post-graduate diploma in 2007 for her study in to infectious diseases of livestock.
Oliver is a practicing farm vet in Hampshire and surrounding counties, and a qualified British Pig Association Judge.
Both Oliver & Michaela attend Continual Professional Development (CPD) courses to keep up to date with all latest information regarding pig keeping.
The Commuter Pig Keeper
Michaela's first book 'The Commuter Pig Keeper: A comprehensive guide to keeping pigs when time is your most precious commodity' was published in 2016
Diagram Prize Winner 2017 - A quirky award, but still makes it a prize-winning book :) It is available from Amazon, 5M Publishing, Waterstones and other good book stores
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU PURCHASE THROUGH AMAZON
MORE INFORMATION
We are proud members of The Middle White Pig Breeders Club, and Oliver is the Chairman.
Michaela is the resident author for Practical Pigs magazine and additionally writes for the Agricultural & Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) Pork, bridging the gap between commercial and small-scale pig-keepers; and Veterinary Practice magazine.
Links to some of my published articles can be found here
Michaela has recently (2021) agreed to become the Communication Strategy Lead for the BPA. This is to develop a strategy to improve communication from the committees to the BPA members.
Feel free to email your views and any possible solutions you can see moving forwards, the address is comms@britishpigs.org.uk