Kinver Edge Pig Project Week Four

Week four of the project, and we’re relieved to have a change in the weather. The Hampshires are enjoying being out in the woods: having a good rootle, and trashing the Himalayan balsam; although the damp weather did cause a bit of a health scare for one of the animals. A couple of doses of anti-biotics, and she is now back to form, although is slightly smaller than the other two.



Foreground: Area 3 prior to pigging; background: Area 2
at the end of week 2





The same view after 6 days. Fixed point photography
will be one way of recording the results over a
12 month period.

As part of the experiment, and in agreement with Natural England, we are aiming to assess re-growth in 2013 based on percentages of bare ground created in fenced blocks during 2012. It’s not necessarily easy to determine whether one area is 50% or 55% bare ground, so we do have to judge this particular factor relative to neighbouring pig pens.

Our initial impression is that the Hampshires do seem to enjoy eating balsam: upon opening the latest pen, the three pigs rushed in under the bracken cover, and all we could hear was crunching as balsam stems would shoot downwards out of sight. Two things we need to be aware of though: balsam seed in the seedbank – have the pigs had a desirable affect upon this? and how long (without a woody casing) can it remain dormant?; and, the proximity of neighbouring balsam plants. We will be seeking to eliminate the potential for seed to migrate into the experiment by mowing a substantial strip of around 7 metres around the pig area, which should put remaining plants out of range.

The real test of the success or failure of the project in relation to balsam control will come during 2013 when we will assess to what extent balsam grows in these areas.

Week four, area four. Himalayan balsam is now starting to flower, so we need to assess how the project continues: we could hand pull flowering stems to prevent seed catapults being triggered by the pigs' presence.