Farrowing pens and huts. Pics please?

[Jayzandra]

We are having some trouble. Whenever we try to separate our pigs, they bust out to be back with the other pigs. And they have destroyed every shelter we have built for them.

We need ideas or advice. We normally only use the credit card for emergencies, but we've already spent so much money on this. Now we have to use the card. SO it needs to be durable and effective.

We have a boar and 2 prego sows due in 3 weeks penned together in 100x50sqft. We have tried sectioning off the females, but they bust out. We have used hogwire and pallets. My hubby wants to use chain link this time. Which I think should work, but I still feel like the gate will be a weak spot.

We also need help with the shelters. They destroy those too. Knock them over and push them around.

Could you guys please post some pics of your pens/shelters that have worked for you? We're going to rebuild them this weekened.

Thank you in advance.

 

[farmerjan]

Not chain link, they will work on it with their noses. Try getting rings in their noses, take them to a vet if you have to. They are obviously not going to stop rooting under stuff. If you are going to use the card, get the portable huts that look like a small quonset hut they are made for pigs. I have never had any hogs that tore things up that bad. We used pallets for pens for years. A good hot wire; use 2 or 3 spaced 4 inches apart, to teach them they cannot go/do what they want.

 

[farmerjan]

Try Port-a-hut shelters, I think there are others.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Chainlink will not work. We have chain link sections we use for temporary stalls in our barn and the pigs have no problem going thru them within a few days if they care too.

Get more pig panels...put those up and run a string or two of hotwire around the inside..that should stop them from going thru the panels and climbing on them. Electric wire works well on pigs, they hate electricity. As far as shelter goes if you could make the bottom 2-3ft out of cinderblocks and mortar and then build a wooden top that seems to hold up well to destructive pigs from what i've seen.

 

[NH homesteader]

Totally agree on electric fence! We use the 16' hog panels from Tractor Supply. Usually they're fine in that but sometimes we have pushy pigs, so we run a strand of hot wire. We leave it on for long enough for them to learn what it is and then we usually can turn it back off. They hate being zapped!

Our friend has a super nice pig hut, but I probably won't see them to get a picture in time. Ours is pretty makeshift but they haven't done any damage to it. We also don't have a boar.

 

[mysunwolf]

Also agree on electric, this keeps our 300+ lb sow off the hog panel fences. You have to have a good charger and keep the line clean but it definitely works for even the largest pigs.

As for shelter: if they keep destroying home-made shelters, I would agree with port-a-hut metal hoop shelters. They are pricey but will hold up to anything. Right now we have A-frames, apple crate huts, and pallet shelters, so we just play the patching-up game every fall after the pigs spend spring/summer destroying them.

 

[Jayzandra]

We had hot wire and it worked when they were smaller, but they tore it up too. Snapped the wire. Maybe we should try the rope kind instead of the wire kind. It's a solar box that pulsates. We also have one that's rated up to 10 acres that's constant, but it has to be protected from the elements and we'd have to run a VERY long extension cord....

My husband's friend that raises pigs for 4H keeps his pigs in chain link enclosures that are about 10x12, maybe. His pigs don't have any enrichment, so I can't imagine that they aren't bored out of their minds. They do get walked around once a day though.
My husband wanted to build our pig pens the same way as his friend, but I convinced him bigger was better and now we're having all these problems. So I'm pretty sure I won't be able to talk him out of the chain link again.

I'll look into the porta huts. The farrowing pens we build are going to be about 10x25 so it will be easier to catch the piglets when we sell them. These are just going to be sectioned off from the main pen so transferring is easier. I was thinking maybe enclose one end of each pen on the outside and put a roof so they can't push it and roll it all around?

 

[Jayzandra]

The last shelter was super sturdy and they busted one of the legs off. The broke the cement holding in the corner post and You can see where the yellow hot wire connectors were holding the hotwire. That's the gate. We put pallets and a tree stump where they getting out.

 

[Alexz7272]

I use hog panels from Tractor Supply and metal posts with thick gauge wire to tie it all. Also put some rebar hopped around the bottoms and drove them into the ground for extra strength. As for housing, I made a metal 'hoop' house, they cannot get under a side and flip it then or roll it. But I have never had a boar, so not sure how to boar proof it. Sorry!

 

[Alexz7272]

We made something very similar to this but with no floor or bottom part to the entrance. Bought all the materials from home depot, took about 2 hours. I can get a better picture when I get home.