# Do pigs stink?  I got my answer!!!!



## bheila

I had the opportunity to get a free piglet yesterday but couldn't take it because we live on my parents property and my mother experienced smelling a stinky pig pen one time. So now she thinks that all pig pens will stink.  

I know because of all of my research that pigs pens can smell if not cleaned out and left filthy.  What are your guy's experiences so I can show her she's wrong.  

BTW, I only wanted to keep the pig long enough to raise it to butcher weight, 4-6 months and since it's the dry months here there's even less of a chance of it ever smelling.  I even rake my goats poop to keep it clean for them


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## ohiofarmgirl

yes they are wildly stinky! even if you try to keep them clean - unless you keep on cement (like the show pigs our neighbors have) they are stinker-ific. the good news is... it smells like compost to me! great for the garden. i think my pig book says to keep 100yrds from the neighbors to keep relations good.

but dont let that deter you - nothing like home grown pork!


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## bheila

ohiofarmgirl said:
			
		

> yes they are wildly stinky! even if you try to keep them clean - unless you keep on cement (like the show pigs our neighbors have) they are stinker-ific. the good news is... it smells like compost to me! great for the garden. i think my pig book says to keep 100yrds from the neighbors to keep relations good.
> 
> but dont let that deter you - nothing like home grown pork!


We don't have neighbors who are close so that's not an issue, it's my mother who had one bad experience.  What is it that makes the pigs stink?  The urine, poop, mud?  Every farm I've ever gone to that has pigs never smells.


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## ohiofarmgirl

i think its to poop that got me... and i swear this summer i was down where we had them last year and it STILL stunk!

i'm sure there's folks with solutions to this and i'm sure the standard' keep it dry and clean' advice is the best

as for your mom... golly she just may not want them.  but it may not be as bad as she thinks... everyone is different

ps and the flies are pretty bad too!


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## bheila

I would pick there poop up every day. I just think it's an excuse on my moms part. She doesn't like the thought of us butchering our chickens either. I guess it makes her feel better to buy meat from the super market that's been caged  Can you tell I'm frustrated


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## Farmer Kitty

Free pig? Take it! I just paid $50 a piece for feeder pigs. 

The farm where we got them smelt like a pig farm. But, since getting them home, they don't seem to smell so strong. I think, not only how they are kept but, the feed makes a difference too. 

We were just out to check on them and they are making their messes in one corner only! I hope they keep that up, it sure will make cleaning their pen easier!


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## gaited horse

remember pigs that have baths smell good


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## farmy

we have almost 80 pigs and they arent stinky... old mud is very very stinky, but they themselves are not... their poop stinks... but so does most peoples


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## bheila

My husbands family used to raise pigs when he was a kid.  He says they do their business in the same spot all of the time so that makes for easy clean up.  I'll be showing your guys posts to my mom.  

I would love to take the free piglet but I won't go against my mothers wishes   She already told us we couldn't have chickens....we got 2 then up to 130 and now were back down to a managable 50   If only we could afford to live somewhere else but the economy sucks right now


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## mully

You know your mother is going to "look" for pig stink if you get them so for her they would smell even if you washed them every day.


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## goatdude95

bheila said:
			
		

> I had the opportunity to get a free piglet yesterday but couldn't take it because we live on my parents property and my mother experienced smelling a stinky pig pen one time. So now she thinks that all pig pens will stink.
> 
> I know because of all of my research that pigs pens can smell if not cleaned out and left filthy.  What are your guy's experiences so I can show her she's wrong.
> 
> BTW, I only wanted to keep the pig long enough to raise it to butcher weight, 4-6 months and since it's the dry months here there's even less of a chance of it ever smelling.  I even rake my goats poop to keep it clean for them


why would you kill it  if you get it get it for a pet GRRR maybe it's better you don't


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## bheila

goatdude95-Sorry, we aren't vegetarians at my house  We try to live as self sufficient as possible. I try not offend other people and I try to accept the way others choose to live


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## Farmer Kitty

goatdude95 said:
			
		

> bheila said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I had the opportunity to get a free piglet yesterday but couldn't take it because we live on my parents property and my mother experienced smelling a stinky pig pen one time. So now she thinks that all pig pens will stink.
> 
> I know because of all of my research that pigs pens can smell if not cleaned out and left filthy.  What are your guy's experiences so I can show her she's wrong.
> 
> BTW, I only wanted to keep the pig long enough to raise it to butcher weight, 4-6 months and since it's the dry months here there's even less of a chance of it ever smelling.  I even rake my goats poop to keep it clean for them
> 
> 
> 
> why would you kill it  if you get it get it for a pet GRRR maybe it's better you don't
Click to expand...

Many on here get animals to eat. We know it's not the way of all and respect that.


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## ohiofarmgirl

hey bheila!!!

what did you do about them pigs!?!?

i got mine yesterday - they are LITTLE - and they are already stinkin' up the place and they brought in a load of flies!

i thought about you and you're mom's objection yesterday as we were setting them up. yep they stink. 

after my hubby wrestled them out of the truck he stunk too - they peed all over him. i'd laugh but my washing machine is going to stink now too! 

and so it starts. the summer of stinky pigs... ah... the smell of bacon before it cooks

;-)


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## Farmer Kitty

ohiofarmgirl said:
			
		

> hey bheila!!!
> 
> what did you do about them pigs!?!?
> 
> i got mine yesterday - they are LITTLE - and they are already stinkin' up the place and they brought in a load of flies!
> 
> i thought about you and you're mom's objection yesterday as we were setting them up. yep they stink.
> 
> after my hubby wrestled them out of the truck he stunk too - they peed all over him. i'd laugh but my washing machine is going to stink now too!
> 
> and so it starts. the summer of stinky pigs... ah... the smell of bacon before it cooks
> 
> ;-)


Mine stunk when I first brought them home too but, after a day or two they didn't. 

I saw where you are feeding goats milk to them. Here whey is common. I know the whey fed goats smell more and IMO don't taste as good. Not sure about goats milk but, it's something to check out.


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## ohiofarmgirl

thanks Farm Kitty!

actually i'd have to pull the whey out of the cold dead hands of my hens! they LOVE it! we pour it over crushed corn and make a cereal for them.... i'm guessing the same with the pigs. 

i'm thinking of hosing off the pigs... maybe that will help with the stink. when we get the heat goin' out here (90* and above) the dogs and i will head down and spray the pigs at 11 and 3... they love it. anyway maybe that will help

ours are so little we feel like we need to keep them in earshot - after my hubby spent all morning setting up in the lower hen yard with the electric.. but they are so little that we think we need to keep them close. a fox or coyote cant run off with a bigger one.. but these are just a mouthful! if they are close the geese will sound the alarm for predators and we'll go a-runnin'


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## bheila

I finally got my answer to whether or not pigs stink and my mother got it too.

I just so happened to respond to a guys ad on CL about a month and a half ago for farm sitting and he emailed me back last week.  I ended up feeding his animals(chickens, cows and pigs) for 4 days.  The really funny thing is that it was the same guy giving away the free piglet.

This guy had 2 weiner pigs(70lbs) and 2 hogs (700lbs).  The weiner pigs were housed on cement and the hogs were on dirt.  When we raise pigs WE WILL NOT BE RAISING THEM ON CEMENT!   I don't think they would've stunk so bad if the guy would clean their pen everyday.  He only scoops their poop like once a week.  Besides with the cement the smell has no where to go. He didn't ask me to scoop their poop and clean their pen but I couldn't help it, it had to be done 

The hogs that were being raised in the dirt didn't smell  AT ALL and they were 80 feet from the weiner pigs.  They had a big ole mud pit to lay in so they could bathe.  We sprayed them with the hose and they absolutely loved it  I never thought I'd hear my husband talking like a baby to a 700lb hog while scratching behind their ears, it was hilarious.  They were as sweet as pie.  

So if your pigs stink make them a hole so they can sit in the mud.

BTW, I made sure to take my mom when I fed so she could see whether or not they smelled  She couldn't believe the difference.


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## ohiofarmgirl

that hilarious!!! how funny..

and yes we are big on mud here - we just our little ones last nite so they havent had time to make a 'hog waller' just yet.

our neighbors raise their show pigs on cement and we are horrified. but then they are horrified by our mud.  we also 'free range' them and feed them all kinds of fruits, veggies, weeds, etc. so i thought i was doing the neighbors a favor when i took their pigs a bucket of apples last fall. since they only had given their pigs bagged food the pigs didnt know what the apples were and wouldnt eat them. 

yikes!

i guess everyone is different 

the guy we got our little ones from had the big ol' sows  - he raised his on the range and all the mommas took care of each others babies. it was very fun to see


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## goatdude95

bheila said:
			
		

> goatdude95-Sorry, we aren't vegetarians at my house  We try to live as self sufficient as possible. I try not offend other people and I try to accept the way others choose to live


Haha I am just kidding, I am NOT Vegetarian lol I guess i just fall in love with animals to easy but first time i ever get a mean animal (livestock that is ) to the choping block they go lol


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## justusnak

Pigs will stink, depending on what they are fed. In my experience..hog feed and cracked corn, make for a "regular pig smell" Feeding kitchen scraps...makes for a " septic tank smell"
Our pigs always poo in 2 of the 4 corners, and I sprinkle lime over the area once a week. After the pigs are gone to butcher...we scoop out the poo, and spread it over the garden.( in the fall)


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## norcal

I want one badly, but at the back of our 5 acre parcel is one neighbor and the other is in the middle.   I'm sure the smell would make for some pissed neighbors.   Oh well, next farm, 5 yrs from now (that seems to be how long we own houses).


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## ohiofarmgirl

our feeders are getting big and stinkin it up somethin fierce. but my new best friend is electric fence to keep them contained! wheee! it totally works! well for now....


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