When we had just a few mini Jerseys, we were able to utilize all the resulting milk. But as our herd grew, so did the steady supply of milk. Even after learning to make yogurt, butter and even hard cheeses, we still had extra milk. What better to do with all that extra whey, buttermilk and skimmed milk than raise a few happy and well-fed pigs?
Gloucestershire Old Spots were always on our short list of preferred pigs because, goodness… aren’t they adorable? Once we learned that Old Spots were docile, easy to care for, enjoy foraging on pasture and make the most delicious pork, we knew they were the breed for us.
Luna, one of our first GOS sows, loves being a mom!
In the fall of 2021, we purchased a registered breeding trio, two gilts and a boarling, through Fawn Crossing Farm in Virginia, sourced from several farms across the southeast. It was a bit of a learning curve but these pigs truly are “beginner pigs”!
We were able to get a gilt out of our first breeding pair, Luna and Cosmo, and named her Aster. She farrowed for the first time in August of 2025, bred to a Berkshire boar from Shipley Swine. She had 11 piglets born, 11 live, and has been an amazing first time mom! We sold almost all the piglets before we could even advertise them – so thankful for all the wonderful feedback we’ve gotten from folks who have purchased piglets from us over the years!
We raise our pigs on pasture, in the fresh air and sunshine, and love to spoil them with extra fruit from our small orchard and milk from our cows!
Aster’s first litter of adorable Berkshire/Old Spot piglets
We will be breeding Aster again for spring 2026 piglets, and plan to use a Berkshire boar again, so the piglets will be Old Spot/Berkshire crosses. If you would like to be put on the waiting list for a piglet (or two), message me on Instagram or via email at stefanie@tinstonecattleco.com.
Look who got moved up to the big kid pasture 💙(And that’s just mineral on his weaning ring 😂) I turned him out in a smaller paddock for a several days, with some of my more docile girls, to get him familiar with them individually before putting him out with the whole herd. And he’s done so much better than I expected – other than the weaning ring, and his tiny size, you’d never know he was the new kid 💙 #easytheminijersey #minijersey
Tin Stone Evermore has been spoken for ❤️ We are so happy for her and the sweet family that we chose for her – she is going to be so loved 🥰 Evie will stay with us a few more weeks until she is fully weaned and ready to make the trip from Alabama to Texas… until then we’re going to love on her all we can 😍 #evertheminijersey #minijersey
Snack time 🍿 These three couldn’t even wait for me to get it out of the wheelbarrow 😂 #evertheminijersey #essietheminijersey #easytheminijersey #minijersey
It’s official, Honey Bee is not pregnant 🥺 The good news is that she’s doing great… the supplements we’re using are helping reduce her soreness, and we’ve just added a new one that we hope might even get her sound enough to go back with the herd 🙏🏻 Because breeding her back now would result in a summer calf (no thanks 😅) we’re going to just keep doing what we’re doing and wait until January to try to breed her again 🥰 She’s honestly just too nice of a cow to not try everything we can for her ❤️ #honeybeetheminijersey #minijersey
Last Thursday the high was 90° – this morning the low was 39° 😳 Trying our best to keep everyone warm, hydrated and happy… temperature swings like this can wreak havoc on a cow’s respiratory system 😅 Thankfully so far everyone seems to be handling this crazy weather just fine 💛 #easytheminijersey #minijersey
We’ve always tried to make the most of our round bales over the winter, but this year we’re taking it up a notch. The plan is to strategically place all the round bales across the pasture and then, one by one, roll them out to feed the cows fresh hay every day. Then, once the bale is spent, we’ll go back and spread it out to cover as much ground as possible. It’s going to be a lot of work on the daily, but once winter is over we should have a good portion of our big field covered in spent hay and 💩 It will certainly take some time to get our process just right, but I’m just excited we’re going to give it a try this year! We purchased a total of 60 round bales to get us to spring, so that’s going to be a lot of rolling and spreading 😅 Here’s to doing hard things to make your cows happy 🌿 #lottietheminijersey #minijersey #rotationalgrazing
They just can’t leave stuff alone 🤣 Essie is actually a super laid back girl, it’s her brother Easy that’s always knocking this dang cart upside down 🫠 #essietheminijersey #minijersey
Birdie is such a beauty 💛 Her dam, SNS Abigail from @shortnsweethomestead, is an amazing milk cow, and I think Birdie is going to follow in her footsteps 🥰 We said goodbye to Birdie yesterday – I’m sad for me but happy for her… she’s going to have the best life with @betsymikesell and her little herd ❤️ #birdietheminijersey #minijersey
So thankful for all the prep we did before this storm rolled in – and I think Honey Bee is too 🏡 She loves this little cozy shed… and even more when it’s loaded with lots of her favorite hay 🌿 #honeybeetheminijersey #minijersey
Sleepy girl 💤 We’re outside rushing around to get everyone set up and everything done – barns cleaned out and rebedded, square bales set up for feeding inside tomorrow, spent hay spread out – before the storm arrives late tonight. Lilibet does not seem concerned 🥱 #lilitheminijersey #minijersey
Every morning Cricket is first in the milking lineup… and she knows it 🥰 On this day no one else was quite ready to get up yet – thankful she loves her time (and food) in the milk parlor ❤️ #crickettheminijersey #minijersey
Darcy vs. the wheelbarrow 😍 We keep this old wheelbarrow out in the calf pen to keep them out of a deep spot where an old tree fell… but they just can’t resist playing with it! And standing next to it you can see, at three months old, how little Miss Darcy is 🥰 #darcytheminijersey #minijersey
All weaned and almost time to go out with the big girls 🥹 I think he’s going to love hanging out with the older ladies, but I know he’s going to miss his current ladies for sure 🥰 Honestly, my biggest concern is that he’s so small he’ll be able to slip under the fencing we use for the big girls 😅 #miniaturecowproblems #easytheminijersey #minijersey #miniaturebull
It’s so dry here – we’re having to feed hay already 🥺 We weren’t happy with the round bales we got last year so this year has been a lot of trial and error – currently waiting on a third hay analysis to see if the most recent hay we bought will be the hay we purchase in bulk for the winter 🌿 We work with a nutritionist who formulates a custom feed mix for our milkers and it all hinges on the hay we choose, it’s such an important part of wintertime nutrition! #honeybeetheminijersey #minijersey
