Need a pen, quickly

[Martlet]

I bought some land last year and I've been slowly clearing it and adding animals. A neighbor recently offered me a feeder pig, but I only have a week to clear some trees and get the pen built. Having never dealt with pigs, and since I'm not sure this will be the permanent home for it, I've built a decent shelter and would like a non-permanent fence.

I'm thinking T-Posts with hog panels, then run three strands of electric inside the panels. Will this be enough? Hog Panels aren't the sturdiest and I've heard horror stories about pigs running through fences. If I put T-posts every four feet would that be enough of a visual deterrent when supplemented with the electric wire, or should I use electric rope or tape since it's more visible?

Or am I just COMPLETELY off in my thinking and need to go in a different direction?

Any help for this newbie would be greatly appreciated.

 

[samssimonsays]

I dint know much but I do know they do better with a buddy and toys. If you cant get it a buddy, Give it toys and space. @Ferguson K @Devonviolet @babsbag may be of more help. I am drawing a major blank on others names right now

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings @Martlet and welcome to BYH What type pig? How much space are you allocating? IMHO, hog panels with T posts every 4', with electric inside should be more than adequate. Since your pig will be starting out pretty small, I'm sure it'll learn quickly to avoid the hot wire(s). That should stick with him/her as it grows out. I'm assuming you'll be processing it for your freezer, so it shouldn't get to be 600+ pounds... I do concur that pigs are very intelligent and get bored easily so do best with a partner and toys/distractions.

I believe @misfitmorgan is an experienced pig person, and @purplequeenvt & @jhm47 have chimed in on some pig issues in the past. Also some others are @Pamela @arrowti There are others as well. Maybe some of them will jump in here.

Good luck, and I hope you'll share some pics as you proceed! We're a bunch of pic addicts here.

 

[babsbag]

I raised two pigs in a 10x16 dog kennel and had no problems with them destroying anything. They did dig a lot and I constantly watched for them digging out but they never did that either, but got close. Some people lay a 2' strip of hog panel on the ground next to the fence, inside the pen, so they can't dig out. They weren't hard on the wire at all, just the digging part was what I worried about.

We did build a hog panel perimeter pen about 16x24 just in case they did get out there would be another pen to contain them until we caught them but they never got out.

Our neighbor raises them in hog panel pens all of the time with no problems. T posts are about 6' apart. He raises one at a time, for fair; it seems to do ok alone.

I suspended a sprinkler over their pen and it was on a battery timer so that it came on every hour for a minute. Didn't make much mud, just enough to keep them happy. I gave them a big rubbermaid tub to lay it too, and put it under the sprinkler so it always had some water in it. Also used a pig nipple waterer for their drinking water. I ran a garden hose to PVC and then wire tied the PVC to the pen and attached the nipple. Nothing permanent and nothing fancy but they always had clean water to drink. It is HOT where I live so that was a requirement for me, I don't "do" water buckets.

 

[Martlet]

Great responses! Thank you so much. I'm not sure what breed it is, since it was just offered to me. I'm trying to find another as a companion, and because a friend would like a pig as well. I had planned to add pigs to my homestead, just not this quickly. I'm fine with it, I just don't want to make a structure too permanent. I don't mind building it a big solid shelter, since I can move that anytime. Good fencing can be harder, though.

I'm thinking of making it 16 feet square for 1 or 2 pigs (if I can find another). From what I've read that should be enough. One they are trained to the fence, I can always expand it if needed. I have the room, I just need to cut the tries and put up the fencing.

I don't know much about pigs. We just bought this land last year. So far we've been successful with Maple Syrup, Chickens, Blueberries, Vegetable Garden, Bees, and red worms. We'll see what happens next.

 

[Ferguson K]

I think your own set up will be more than enough.

 

[Baymule]

I raised 3 feeder pigs last fall and took them to slaughter in March. They were Large Black/Berkshire mixed. I built them a hut with the idea in mind of using it for other things after the pigs were gone. I built it on skids and right now it is in the back yard providing shelter for the lambs I weaned. Here is a link on the Hawg Hut.
http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/hawg-hut-or-goat-or-sheep-or-dhs-new-digs.32088/

and here is a link to my hog raising thread.

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/feeder-pigs.32154/

Hope this gives you some ideas. Pigs aren't all that hard to raise and we are sure enjoying the bacon, sausage, chops, roast.....you get the picture.

 

[Ferguson K]

Our pig pens are hog panels with t-post a every 8ft. Rowdy hogs get extra. The only time they really ever test a fenceline is when they're hungry or out of feed.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep, very content to lay in some mud if belly is full. I cut lawn with bagger on mower just so I can toss it to the pigs! They graze it & do well. Keeps them happy between their other feedings. They can't sweat, so trees and shade will be ideal for them in hot climate. Mine love to get a hose bath & roll around in the mud.

 

[misfitmorgan]

All good idea so far...ditto on it all. T-posts every 4 ft with electric seems a bit overkill though i must say. We have field fence with alternating cedar and t-posts every 10ft..and a single hip wire of electric running on the inside.