Transporting Pigs

[Drk_wlf]

My town is a horrible place to try and start a farm so we have to move all of our animals.

The first to go is our 2 pigs. The sow is around 500lbs and the boar is probably about 200lbs. My hubby is building wooden boxes that will double as movable pig hutches at their new home. He is bolting and tying them down to his flatbed trailer, so they shouldn't move.

The issue is we have a ramp, but what is the best way to load the pigs? They LOVE apples so we figure if we throw some apples in the crates they should just go in... I hope.

Also the trip is 8 hours! I know they will be fine without food that long but what about water? How often should we stop and give them water?

Has anyone else every transported pigs this way and this far away? I am having nightmare about this trip! I am so worried something is going to happen to my pigs.

 

[jhm47]

8 hours without water won't bother them at all. I'd love to be able to watch the loading process though! Be sure the crates are well bolted down. Pigs can lift incredibly huge weights with their noses. It would not be good if they lifted the crates off while on the road. Isn't there a stock trailer that you could rent/borrow for a couple days? It would be much safer, and it would be easier to load them.

 

[Drk_wlf]

8 hours without water won't bother them at all. I'd love to be able to watch the loading process though! Be sure the crates are well bolted down. Pigs can lift incredibly huge weights with their noses. It would not be good if they lifted the crates off while on the road. Isn't there a stock trailer that you could rent/borrow for a couple days? It would be much safer, and it would be easier to load them.

Nope, can't find any livestock trailers for a decent price and the only people we know with horse trailers live where we are bringing the pigs, so with the price of gas its not really feasable to go 16 hours just to get the trailer.

The boxes are made of ash so they are super strong and we talked to a local pig farmer and he said the way we are building them should be fine and that was how he transported his pigs before her managed to get his hands on a livestock trailer.

 

[Bossroo]

For your move... are you going to cross a State line? If so, you will have to get a Vet. health certificate, as most States will not be amused by an out of State animal without one and may confiscate them or put them in quarantene, then send you a nice fat bill. Good luck.

 

[Drk_wlf]

For your move... are you going to cross a State line? If so, you will have to get a Vet. health certificate, as most States will not be amused by an out of State animal without one and may confiscate them or put them in quarantene, then send you a nice fat bill. Good luck.

No, we are going from north-eastern NY to Western NY. You don't realize how big a state NY is until you dive from one corner to the other.