# Piggy cohabitation - can they roam the field with other critters?



## Harbisgirl (Oct 19, 2012)

Just planning ahead for my someday farm  Eventually I'd like to get a breeding pair of American Guinea Hogs. Breeding issues aside - can they be let out to graze around the field with other animals? I am trying to figure out the layout of my future barn/stalls/pens and grazing areas. They'd be sharing the same grazing area as the goats (2 Nigerian Dwarf does plus any future kids). I have 5+ acres of property but the fenced grazing area is just over 1/2 acre. I can cross fence it if need be, but if they're cool with other animals then I'd like to let them mingle.  I've heard of the bigger pigs being a threat to other animals - if the mood strikes them and they want meat then they'll take out a critter if they catch it - but I thought that maybe since the AGHs were smaller and allegedly more docile then it could be possible.


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## redtailgal (Oct 20, 2012)

Personally , I wouldnt run pigs with other species.  I've seen dogs get eaten by an irritable sow.

edited cuz I cant spell.


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## Harbisgirl (Oct 20, 2012)

Dogs? Seriously? By an AGH or some other breed?


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## redtailgal (Oct 20, 2012)

a red duroc. and the dog was a beagle.

There have been folks on here that have had goats killed by pigs as well.


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## mama24 (Oct 20, 2012)

I have a 5 month old or so Yorkshire, my first pig. She's maybe 70lbs now and started eating my chickens. She can pounce on and eat a whole live chicken in under a minute. She gets along great with my goats, but I am definitely planning on eating her before she decides the goats look tasty, too. One of my goats adopted and nursed her, so I would *like* to think she wouldn't turn on her own loving adopted mommy, but I honestly don't trust her after seeing her stalk and eat my chickens. Pigs are EXTREMELY powerful. She can rip up a line of sod a foot long in just a few seconds, and she's still a baby. I am honestly already a little bit scared of her. She's bitten me a few times when she knew I was carrying food and didn't put it down for her fast enough. I don't show it, I slap and kick her away, but I think about how little and strong she is now, what's she going to be like when she's 300lbs? Or even 700!? (I'm not letting her get that big, she's going to be bacon when she's between 250 and 300) 

Next time I get pigs, I am definitely getting a gentler breed. I keep telling my kids not to go into the goat/pig pen without an adult, but they don't listen. My dh is halfway done with a pallet pig pen with plans to find enough pallets to finish it this weekend, and that can't come soon enough. The pig is way smaller than my 4yo daughter, but she weighs a LOT more, and I guarantee that pig is at least as strong as I am, and I have always been pretty strong for a woman. I put in a wooden fence post and 6 heavy duty steel posts yesterday by myself using a posthole digger for the wooden one, and a 10lb sledge hammer for the steel ones and I'm not even sore today. My hands are, but not my arms. Pigs are scary.


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## Cornish Heritage (Oct 30, 2012)

> can they be let out to graze around the field with other animals?


Yes you can! Ours Large Blacks run with sheep, cows, chickens, turkeys, geese etc. They do not eat chickens nor do they eat the sheep. The only time you should not put pigs & sheep/goats together is at lambing/kidding time. A newborn lamb/kid is too much of a temptation. Once the lamb/kid is up running around then all is safe, the problem just occurs when the lamb/kid is wet & slimy. 

We have dogs & young children & our kids are out & about all the time. Breed of pig makes a *HUGE* difference & I cannot emphasize that enough. We do alot of Farm Tours here & folks are constantly amazed at how docile & gentle the Large Blacks are. They are a big pig but so good to have around. Sadly the horror stories out there give all pigs a bad name which is simply not true. 

We have never raised the AGH but I know folks on here do & if I am right I think they are a docile breed also. 

Do your homework, go visit some farms that have AGH - walk around the pigs, see what you think. Don't like their personality, then choose a different breed. Having docile animals on a farm is SO much more pleasant than mean ones. Even our Milking Devon bull is a sweetheart. Now we don't go pat him everyday BUT we do not have to be walking in fear when we are out there. Wisdom yes, but fear no!

Liz


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## Harbisgirl (Oct 30, 2012)

Thank you, I appreciate your input. That makes me feel alot better. I believe all animals should be treated with a big dose of caution and respect but I don't want to live in constant fear either


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## Royd Wood (Oct 30, 2012)

We have our pigs seperate from the sheep and cattle normally however due to Sandy hurricane we pulled 38 young pigs from the woods and housed them in the barn. We got the sheep in too and tonight there was a pig break out into the sheep area all eating hay or sleeping together like best buddies - Large Blacks here by the way


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## mama24 (Oct 31, 2012)

I think if i were to start breeding pigs, i would go with large blacks, just from your stories.  they sounds really sweet. My Yorkshire is evil.


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## animalfarm (Oct 31, 2012)

Large Blacks are a very good pig to start out with. Mine live with the chickens or the other way around, I am not sure.  My boar is lonely while the sows are in the barn with the newborn piglets; too much rain for outside right now. He has access to the front of the chicken barn and since he has taken up residence there, I have not lost a single turkey to predators even with his corner of the barn open. The chickens roost on him and one roosts in the big curve of his snout. He seems happy with them. When I feed him there are also a ton of chicks/chickens piled in his feed dish pilfering and he always mangages to not eat a chicken somehow. There are also lots of chicks that sleep under the heat lamps with the piglets so they are exposed to chickens from day one. I did lose one barn cat in a pig pile once because he got squished and couldn't get out from underneath.

The pigs also run with the cows, but that is risky since the cows will chase them if they get too close to a calf so no little ones out there. I would never put pigs with my horses as the horses would do serious harm to them. The pigs and cows will be separated for the winter when they are taken off the pasture and don't have room to stay away from each other. Until the ground freezes hard though, I cannot keep the pigs in the winter pens. Just not right.


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## wishin4horses (Oct 31, 2012)

How do I find out what abbreviations mean.     They almost always stump me--stupid newby :/ 

Anyways, I am not really sure what I have,  He's a cross  of  tamershire???   and something else.  
He's black with a white patch on his face and his front legs.    He's about 6 months old.    The chickens are always in his pen and trying to eat his food.   Now that he's bigger, they don't stand a chance of getting his food but they used to get right in his feeder while he was eating.   
 I am getting less eggs now.  I'm assuming they are laying in the hay in his pig house (a large dog house) and he's eating them.   the eggs not the chickens.   

He is more like a dog than a pig but is getting very strong and we are getting a bit nervous of him.  He's getting pushy and after hearing stories of how mean pigs are, I am just waiting for him to turn from playful to aggressive.
He does love to be scratched on the belly and his chest and will roll over for his lovings!    

When we went to pick him up, I saw the adults (at least 10 of them) all in the pen and they were pushing and biting each other. 
I was so nervous to bring a pig home!!  I thought "what am I getting myself into!!"   But he's turned out to be a lot of fun and I am not looking forward to taking him to the butcher.


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## Alice Acres (Oct 31, 2012)

He could be eating them (the eggs), but be aware that egg production is linked to day length. So unless you have lights on to keep your daylength long enough, your egg production will drop. When the day are short enough, egg production stops.


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## Cornish Heritage (Oct 31, 2012)

> When I feed him there are also a ton of chicks/chickens piled in his feed dish pilfering


Yes our chickens eat with the large Blacks each day as do the turkeys & the geese. The pigs do not snap at them/ Everyone has plenty of space so boredom is not an issue either which I think can make a difference. 

Our chickens are all free range so if they decide to lay where a pig has access the pig will eat the egg - only natural. Someone just provided them with a free treat.

Liz


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## PinkFox (Mar 2, 2013)

i think alot of folks also forget tht breed plays a prt...Comercial meat breeds have been bred for one thing, to grow big, fast...
like with ANY othe rbreeding practice, when you favor one specific trait you often loose others...
so many of these comercial breeds are bred with absolulty NO goals for personality/temperment, as long a they get bit enough to butcher in the shortest time on the least amount of feed who cares what thier personalities are like...

(same goes for breding dogs, cats, cow, rabbits)

so if your looking for a breed that can share pastures space with others, look for a breeder whos got pigs sharing pasture space with others...
id suggest going for smaller or heritidge breeds that are known for their pleasant personalities and doile tempemrnets, in large breds the large black, and the GOS pigs come imediatly to mind, and in small breeds th AGH and Kune stand out...

i mean every animal is individual and sometimes no amount of selective breeding will give you exactly what your looking for (ive met mean animals in breeds supposedly super docile and visa versa) but at least reaserching and choosing specifically baed on some desired traits and finding a breeder who also works with those desired traits gives you a much better chanc of getting an animal you ENJOY!


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## secuono (Mar 2, 2013)

You only have half an acre fenced? Where do you keep everyone?


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