How much space do pigs need?

[misfitmorgan]

We are super lucky and we have someone who will loan us a boar for breeding and then he'll go away. Also we will be cutting our male piglets so theoretically we could just let them stay with mom. Ours are mostly heritage (GOS /Chester Whit and Duroc). Their grandmother and mother are the friendliest pigs ever and allow other sows' piglets to mingle with theirs. We actually primarily chose them as our breeders due to personality of their lines.

Awesome then you shouldnt have an issue! We dont cut our feeder pigs just 4-h piglets.

 

[forester7]

Ok... after hearing some of the arguments, I am thinking of fencing them in pasture. How much pasture would I need for 4 pigs?

 

[misfitmorgan]

It depends a good deal on the land you have. Is it woods, grassland, hay field, dessert, etc. If your fine feeding them 100% throughout and just letting them forage for whatever they can find as a bonus you could go as small are 1/4 acre but they are gonna root that up a lot. If your wanting to do a true pasture system and have good woods or grassland, some kind of lush pasture you could do 4.....1/4 or 1/2 acre pens set up in a square and rotate them thru the pens. That helps cut down on things like rooting, parasites, and helps the pasture have time to regrow and more bugs,insects, worms, etc to move in again which will keep your pigs happier, healthier and cost you less feed. Totally up to you, standard pasture system for pigs is 10 pigs per acre and rotating as needed usually every few weeks. Standard drylot is 50 pigs per acre. Both of those last two will require supplemental feeding for the first and full feeding for the latter.

This site has a lot of info on pasturing pigs. The why's and the how's etc. http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2013/09/08/pig-on-pasture/

 

[GooderSan]

Looking into adding pigs to our herd. Probably just two feeders for now. We had a nanny goat for the last couple of years but have recently sold her and her kids. So now we have a 10'x5' stall in our barn just sitting there doing nothing attached to a 1 acre barb wire fenced, moderately steep, wooded pasture. Would this pasture be large enough to withstand the destructive power of large pigs? They would be sleeping in the barn, shared with another stall occupied by quail. I plan on running electric fence, would one wire along with the barbed wire (six strand about 6" spacing on the lower wires) be enough? Lastly, there are known predators in the area. Coyotes, neighborhood dogs, foxes. Would any of these be a possible issue with pigs? I would hope the wire would stop them, but we did have issues with our chickens/guinea fowl out in the pasture due to the smaller predators. Many more questions to follow in the next week or two as I establish the knowledge base before picking up some piglets. Thanks!

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH. There's a good bit of shared knowledge and experience in the various threads. Browse around and make yourself at home. Pigs are very smart and very strong, and if they want through that barbed wire, well, they'll just push right on through. A really stout (meaning high output) electric wire (or 2) will tend to keep them from challenging the fence, once they've experienced the hot wire. One acre seems like more than enough space, but depending on what's there, it may not be enough to provide all the nourishment they need. You may still need to provide them food. The coyotes or dogs would have to be pretty serious to try and take on adult pigs. Foxes wouldn't be considered a threat to anything other than young piglets really. We have a good group of active pig owners here, so post away and someone should be along to help you out. Glad you joined up. Hope you stay and share some pics and stories of how it goes for you.

@misfitmorgan @farmerjan @NH homesteader @Mini Horses and there are a lot more hog folks here as well.

Edit to add; you should put at least your general location in your profile so folks can have some idea where you're located. It matters when you ask for help/guidance. Also, there's a member from N Alabama who is presently selling some hogs and they'd be a really good deal for you if you're within reach.

 

[NH homesteader]

An acre is a lovely amount of land. How many pigs? They will root and make mud pits, so depending on what you mean by withstanding their destruction, maybe or maybe not lol. I don't use electric, I use hog panels, so I'll let someone else comment on that.

We are always careful with piglets because they could be taken by a coyote. But adults? I would be surprised! Not a lot wants to mess with a pig.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Greetings and welcome to BYH. There's a good bit of shared knowledge and experience in the various threads. Browse around and make yourself at home. Pigs are very smart and very strong, and if they want through that barbed wire, well, they'll just push right on through. A really stout (meaning high output) electric wire (or 2) will tend to keep them from challenging the fence, once they've experienced the hot wire. One acre seems like more than enough space, but depending on what's there, it may not be enough to provide all the nourishment they need. You may still need to provide them food. The coyotes or dogs would have to be pretty serious to try and take on adult pigs. Foxes wouldn't be considered a threat to anything other than young piglets really. We have a good group of active pig owners here, so post away and someone should be along to help you out. Glad you joined up. Hope you stay and share some pics and stories of how it goes for you.

@misfitmorgan @farmerjan @NH homesteader @Mini Horses and there are a lot more hog folks here as well.

Edit to add; you should put at least your general location in your profile so folks can have some idea where you're located. It matters when you ask for help/guidance. Also, there's a member from N Alabama who is presently selling some hogs and they'd be a really good deal for you if you're within reach.

I would agree with @NH homesteader not much messes with adult pigs. Two runs of electric wire if exposed to it at a young age should keep them in just fine, pigs hate electric. The barb wire isnt going to do you any good for any small livestock usually. As far as the acre being enough general space this link should be helpful http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2007/10/12/how-much-land-per-pig/ but i would say you should definitely have enough space for two pigs for butcher. They will not likely get all of their feed from it though, it depends where you live really.

If you provide a wallow for them with a sprinkler suspended or something to keep the area wet they will not make other wallows in the pen. Our pigs generally go out on pasture in spring/summer/fall and they dont tear up the pasture much but we always feed them before work(5:30am) in the warmer months. For winter atm our pigs go into stalls in the barn, esp anyone who is bred.

 

[NH homesteader]

Oh man I hope when we have a bigger area for my pigs they'll learn how to not destroy everything!

 

[farmerjan]

The only way to keep the pigs from "destroying" everything, like rooting, will be to put rings in their nose. They will then graze and utilize the pastures better, but will not be able to do their "pig thing" and root. You have to make a choice. 1 acre is plenty big for 2 pigs to have for room, but will probably not supply their nutritional needs unless with a forested area that has things like acorns etc. Wild hogs that are the bane of many farmer and ranchers, do alot of their foraging in wooded areas, and brushy places. You want them to gain weight, not just survive so added feeding would be the way to go and they will love you for all that playing space. Barbed wire will not keep them in, but like others have said, adding a strand or preferably 2 of electric and letting them get "hit" once or twice will teach them and they will stay in it.
Have never had an issue with foxes ever. When real little, momma hog would tear a fox apart trying to bother babies, when they are weaned and 20-30 lbs they are as big as a fox and they just won't be an issue. Coyotes will be a possibility, but hogs will bite back so doubt they will be a problem unless real little. Dogs might run them, but again, a hog will fight back if attacked. Most dogs just won't do it. A sheep or goat will run, but a hog when cornered is a ferocious thing. Most have very sweet dispositions, and they love the people who bring them things to eat. But I would never attempt to get after one that could turn around and get me. Their jaws are stronger than a pit bull. Most predators won't mess with them past the little tiny baby pig size.

 

[Bossroo]

Since you say that your land is moderately steep, add rooting pigs and some rain, you could end up with errosion / gullying that would eventually become quite a problem. As for dogs as predators, dogs are used to hunt wild boars, so keep that in mind too.