We have a feeder pig who is ready for slaughter. We have an appt next month with a butcher, but it is about an hour away. A friend offered to let us use her open trailer with hay bales stacked and tied around the sides to haul the pig. She is just shy of 200lbs now and relatively calm unless she is hungry. If I make sure she has plenty to eat for the ride and the hay bales are stacked high enough she can't see out, will she be okay?
How to transport a pig
- Thread starter Truscifi
- Start date
Hillsvale
Loving the herd life
Keep in mind we have to drop our critters off at 7pm after we get home from work for the next day cull...
Evening before her ride feed her dinner.
Next morning she needs to skip breakfast so she will be hungry
That evening she will do most anything to get dinner.... have a piece of pie or something sweet on hand, they can tell the difference and will fly for something sweet... really! Apple pie is what the last guy got... whipped cream and bananas are how we moved our pregnant sow into her birthing pen.
This trailer... when you say open do you mean it has railings but not solid sides... or a flat bed with no sides? If its a flat bed with no sides I would find something else... if she's upset she could find herself on the wrong side of the bales and you'll be hunting for your pig in the ditch.... we have a trailer with the rails and have closed the sides and front with with plywood and the back with a wooden slat fence for lack of better terms. The plywood is fixed to the rails on the sides with u bolts and reinforces on the top at front and back for safety and durability (very quick to remove should we desire). Our pigs are gentle too... until you try and get them onto a trailer. This is where the pie and the hungry pig come in!!
Good luck.
Evening before her ride feed her dinner.
Next morning she needs to skip breakfast so she will be hungry
That evening she will do most anything to get dinner.... have a piece of pie or something sweet on hand, they can tell the difference and will fly for something sweet... really! Apple pie is what the last guy got... whipped cream and bananas are how we moved our pregnant sow into her birthing pen.
This trailer... when you say open do you mean it has railings but not solid sides... or a flat bed with no sides? If its a flat bed with no sides I would find something else... if she's upset she could find herself on the wrong side of the bales and you'll be hunting for your pig in the ditch.... we have a trailer with the rails and have closed the sides and front with with plywood and the back with a wooden slat fence for lack of better terms. The plywood is fixed to the rails on the sides with u bolts and reinforces on the top at front and back for safety and durability (very quick to remove should we desire). Our pigs are gentle too... until you try and get them onto a trailer. This is where the pie and the hungry pig come in!!
Good luck.
- Thread starter
- #3
Hillsvale
Loving the herd life
pigs are afraid of squeezing into tight dark spaces... with a trailer 4' wide and hay bales on either side you'd have a live sausage.... I can't imagine how big that piece of pie would need to be to bribe that pig to go in there! lol
enggass
Chillin' with the herd
Ok, I will have the same issue when the time comes. Probably 150-200lbs Guinea Hog. Will be using a pickup with high wood sides. Plan on putting some hay in as well as a rubber mat so to avoid slipping. How would I get him into the pickup?
SuburbanFarmChic
Overrun with beasties
Pigs are not good at seeing. We get them loaded by wiring stock panels together into a cage. They really can't see this cage very well and consider it open space. Then we get them good and hungry and lure them to the loading ramp and toss the food in the cage and in they go. If you are worried about it do some practice runs in the weeks leading up to the big event. It will also get the pigs used to being loaded.
We've also used 2 1 x 10s with a sheet of plywood on it as a ramp. Hinge to stock panels to the side or make a U with one across the top. For our heavier pigs we had to put some pieces of lathe across it to provide traction.
We've also used 2 1 x 10s with a sheet of plywood on it as a ramp. Hinge to stock panels to the side or make a U with one across the top. For our heavier pigs we had to put some pieces of lathe across it to provide traction.
