astrix 12 Posted October 16, 2015 Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 Hi, I'm thinking bout keeping a few pigs, for the meat. Any good advise before finding out the hard way? Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trapperman 474 Posted October 16, 2015 Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 Electric fence ? I didn't have one, never felt so sick as when I watched them run up into the local village 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevo79 569 Posted October 16, 2015 Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 (edited) Hi, good fence pref electric, cause they love getting out, don't get them until spring or wherever you keep them will turn into a mud bath. I've reared pigs in the winter and it's not pretty, you'll need access to a trailer to take them to the abattoir. It's good fun though if you get it right! Atb Edited October 16, 2015 by stevo79 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ben_70 8 Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 If you have electric fence you still need something solid behind it to train them or they will go straight through the fence when it shocks them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
astrix 12 Posted October 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Hi, Good advice there, thanks I'm not doing it until spring time anyway, got a few stuff to do n like ya said not the best thro winter. The area as mesh buried bout 18" round perimeter with heras panels and solid panels forming the area, using posts between each panel. Was guna run stock mesh round the inside just to make sure too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
comanche 2,799 Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) I've only had pigs for a couple of years so I'm no expert . On the other hand the mistakes and lessons learned are very fresh in my mind! . Just about all the other posts are spot-on. Pigs have great potential for escape . When they get their heads down and go into ploughing mode they can lift gates and stock mesh with their noses with ease . Once they know what an electric fence is they are clever enough to avoid it and it may take a while but they are also clever enough to realise when a fence has stopped working. Any playthings like logs and pipes are best tied to trees or the escape committee will hurl them about until they land on the fence and cause it to short into the ground. To stop the pigs pushing mud onto the fence with the same effect it pays (well it paid me)to string a length of electric tape about a foot off the ground and a foot in from the main fence so they touch it before they can shovel soil onto the bottom wire of the perimeter fence. Not fool-proof but it helps. As mentioned little piggies bought in the spring will do better and hopefully keep cleaner than if they have to slosh through winter mud and use their food intake to keep warm rather than grow. We confined ours to a little hut with a run made from old gates and sheep hurdles at first. When they out-grew this we strung a bit of electric fence just outside the run and opened the gate just enough for them to touch the wire and learn to respect the electric fence rather than just release them into the bigger run and have them stampede through the tape in a panic. Our first pigs were Berkshires; very endearing at first but incredibly "mischievous" as they grew. It sounds silly but I'm convinced that their prick ears made them more aware of potential victims than the more sedate lop eared things we have at the moment(until tomorrow when they will rest in piggy peace and piggy pieces in the freezer soon after). I'm sure the floppy ears act as blinkers. Anyway check the breed characteristics before you buy. As I mentioned I'm a real novice pig-keeper but pigs are great teachers as I found out the the hard way They drink a lot too. Edited October 18, 2015 by comanche 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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