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  • From: Leslie <cayadopi AT yahoo.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] pigs
  • Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:44:17 -0800 (PST)

Thanks,
 
Permanent mud hole - not likely in the desert.
Hmmmm, rooting up things, might be good idea - for large areas I want to
"weed"... LOL.
Definitely won't forget what they are raised for.
I don't think I could raise them in a trailer - seems mean.
 
One of my brother's comical statements when he heard me discussing various
locations w/dad - he wants to put them some 1200 feet away from the closest
water line,,,, when I pointed out the obvious issue with that,,,, he says not
to worry about them needing water, they will drink when it rains...  Ya
right, like that happens a lot here in the desert.... not even once a month
most of the year....   Course he didn't have enough rain where he had them
either, so needless to say, his pigs did not exactly thrive, although he did
shower them with love, they were severely malnourished.
 
Speaking of shower, do they like being "scrubbed" when getting a bath, or
just getting wet and then rolling in the dirt?
 
I was also thinking of using the pig manure (mixed with other manure) to make
"manure tea"... have you tried that for the veggies?

If hand tamed, can you turn them loose in a large area and then  convince
them to come back to a penned area easily, like you can do with chickens,
horses, etc?
 
One of my neighbors in FL had the most gigantic sow I ever saw.... they built
her a grassy pen area that was surrounded by a concrete wall about 3 feet
high or so - I figure there was a reason for having such a strong fence for
her............. LOL.  Not to mention that wild pig who kept trying to bust
the walls down in the barn.
 

--- On Sat, 1/17/09, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:

From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [Homestead] pigs
To: cayadopi AT yahoo.com, homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2009, 8:31 PM


Leslie wrote:

>
> At some point, I want to raise some pigs, and I'm wondering if there
> is anything in particular I should think about for site selection.
> And, is the pig area super smelly, if so how far away from my mom's
> house in particular should I be planning,,,, I think she wants to
> forget some of her farming roots.... i.e. the smell of pigs....
>

Just like everything else, there are a dozen ways or more to raise pigs.
In these parts, people pen them up with hog panel or run low electric
fencing, or raise them on a wooden deck. If you go with the last option,
a small wooden floored trailer works well, and you can take them right
to the processor if that if what you decide to do, no loading antics.
Some people have pastured pigs, just here, most folks keep them penned.
We raise a few pigs every other year or so. You want to raise two or
more at a time, because they will eat competitively and gain weight
faster than a single pig in a pen. Pigs are smart, strong, and like
human companionship. They can quickly endear themselves to you, so we
always name them after food...Moo Shoo, Bacon, Jerk, etc. so you don't
forget why you have them. We raise pigs in a 16x16 pen made of hog
panels bolted into a square, and I just moved the pen around. One of my
neighbors raises his on a landscape trailer, another uses electric high
tensile. Pigs root and dig a lot...they are natures tillers and will
till up any area you put them in. If you don't want them to dig, you
have to ring their noses. The deck method prevents digging, the
electric fencing method almost mandates ringing noses. If you move pigs
around, they really don't smell that much. If you go with the
trailer/deck method, you just wash off the boards/floor. Personally, I
think pigs are healthier if they are on dirt and can root up to their
hearts content. They eat grubs and roots and grass and weeds and stuff
and I believe it makes them healthier, and of course, they really enjoy
it. I figure if you gotta live in a pen, you should have some fun. I
also provide bowling balls and other large toys(like a tire) to push
around for entertainment and amusement. They like to dig, but they also
like to be clean and appreciate a good shower with the hose. They
absolutely need clean water to drink.
We also find that the smell is less of an issue if we raise them in the
winter. I have a large plastic water tank in a metal that is opened up
like a huge doghouse. We toss a bale of hay in there and the pigs
nestle into the hay. The tank/pighouse gets rolled around as the pen is
moved. As for site selection, anything you might use as a future
garden, a nice level area, or if you don't plan on moving the pen,
choose a spot where you want a pond. If you don't move pigs around
their poop their feet will create a mud that will compact into a nice
pond. this is the way the old timers used to seal ponds-they would run
pigs where they wanted a pond. So, if you go with the movable pen
method, you really do have the move the pen else you will create a
permanent mudhole.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure the fencing is good and sturdy.
There are several people on the list who have also raised pigs, so just
ask away..
Too bad Granddad isn't here to post his classic "I hate chasing
pigs"
story. Loved that one!

Bev



--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge
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>From cayadopi AT yahoo.com Sat Jan 17 22:51:07 2009
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:51:06 -0800 (PST)
From: Leslie <cayadopi AT yahoo.com>
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Moveable fencing with electric & solar - good idea.
 
We had a terrible "bloom" of weeds in the desert this summer.  Some kind of 3
1/2' tall weed my parents haven't ever seen here in the many years they've
been here.  I think I'd love to put them to work doing that !    So how small
of an area are you considering to be "small" for that purpose?  And how many
strands of wire?
 


--- On Sat, 1/17/09, Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com> wrote:

From: Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Homestead] pigs
To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2009, 9:10 PM

Pigs don't stink, given the option. Right now, what I am using for
pasture needs to be plowed and replanted, so mine just run with the
goats. That is not going to be practical after this year.

Electric fencing works really well with pigs. I have a solar fencer,
so it's easy to move them around in a small fence. If you close them
in a small area they will root it up and you can move them every so
often. Hog panels work well, too.

I've seen a raised wooden deck for raising them, but a hog needs to be
on the dirt in my mind. Hogs are good left to run in corn fields,
peanut fields, etc. after the harvest to finish them.

Hogs go off to one side of the pen to poop. Hog poop stinks. It's good
fertilizer.

There are lots of things that you can get hogs to do for you like
plowing. Pigs are smart animals and they need another hog or a
"friend". I do two hogs, but they are both part of the goat herd and
follow them around. I throw a little corn or acorns in the goat
bedding and the hogs do me the favor of fluffing it up, keeping it
dry.

Rob - Va
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>From erthnsky AT bellsouth.net Sat Jan 17 23:27:57 2009
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Leslie wrote:
>
>
> One of my brother's comical statements when he heard me discussing
> various locations w/dad - he wants to put them some 1200 feet away
> from the closest water line,,,, when I pointed out the obvious issue
> with that,,,, he says not to worry about them needing water, they
> will drink when it rains... Ya right, like that happens a lot here
> in the desert.... not even once a month most of the year.... Course
> he didn't have enough rain where he had them either, so needless to
> say, his pigs did not exactly thrive, although he did shower them
> with love, they were severely malnourished.

I don't know about your brother...
Pigs need a LOT of water. Their food is slop not because the food itself
is gross, but because they like their food 'juiced', mixed with milk or
water. The soupier/stewier/juicier their food is, the better they eat
it. The last few weeks, I would soak their feed in goat milk for a
couple of hours or overnight..practically sprouted the corn..lol..they
loved it. If you feed them dry food, at least have clean water available.



>
> Speaking of shower, do they like being "scrubbed" when getting a
> bath, or just getting wet and then rolling in the dirt?

They love being scrubbed..they like scratching, and they will, of
course, allow you to scratch their butts and bellies all day long.<G>
If they start swinging their head back and forth, that is a sign of
aggression. Pigs are kind of scary when they get larger....be careful
around them, they swing their heads right before they bite, and they
bite what is to their side, not what is in front..snout gets in the way
of that.
Here are a couple of pig pages

http://www.animalbehaviour.net/JudithKBlackshaw/Chapter3e.htm

http://www.psyeta.org/hia/vol8/brewer.html

>
> I was also thinking of using the pig manure (mixed with other manure)
> to make "manure tea"... have you tried that for the veggies?

I use horse manure for manure teas. Horse manure is more solid and can
be 'bagged' in a burlap sack. Pig manure is 'looser', if you get my
drift. Best to leave the pig poop in place..Let the area age a bit and
you have a nice, tilled, fertilized garden area. (Pig sh*t) is hot poop,
must be aged. Theoretically I think it would be fine for tea mixed with
something more solid, but I personally would have no desire to shovel it.

>
> If hand tamed, can you turn them loose in a large area and then
> convince them to come back to a penned area easily, like you can do
> with chickens, horses, etc?

Maybe, but I wouldn't trust it-they are too smart.

--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge




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