New Pig Pen Area....FINALLY!

This has been a work in progress for a few months. the previous owners didnt care much about the land and just had trash scattered everywhere.

We finally have this area cleared and have set up some of the pig fence, nothing is finalized. I still want to add a feed area, a shelter, water and a I'll be running a stand of electric fence along the bottom.

Can I have suggestions on dimensions of a pig shelter that would be suitable for 2 grow outs?

The total area I am preparing for them will be between 800 - 1,024 square feet. I am thinking of dividing this into two or three sections and rotate them to give the land some chance of recovery.

Give me all your tips and tricks!

It looks very impressive - and expensive! I'd be inclined to hammer in some stout posts at the corners and at every spot where the gates meet. I can envisage a determined pig getting his snout into a gate and uprooting a section. But the electric fence should do the trick. I know one fellow who confines his pigs with just the one electric strand and nothing else.

Hi JJ. Do you intend to keep your pigs in this area or are you going to move them on later and grow in the ground that they have cultivated/manured for you?

The idea will be to keep moving them. I believe in letting animals disturbed the soil and allowing it to recover. I might just plant a cover crop in this area as the soil quality is very poor at the moment.

jjstyle wrote:The idea will be to keep moving them. I believe in letting animals disturbed the soil and allowing it to recover. I might just plant a cover crop in this area as the soil quality is very poor at the moment.

Well your ground will be greatly improved by including a pig break in your rotation. I would remove the larger stones as the pigs root them up. I would closely confine the pigs so they cultivate the ground intently before they are moved on. while the pigs are placed elsewhere I would let the plot grow weeds etc, and when sufficient has grown but before it seeds bring the pigs back. This will clean up the plot no end.

I’d put a single strand of electric wire near the bottom of the fence ...you’d be amazed at how clever they are at getting under fences

Oops sorry just noticed your comment on the electric wire

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/animalhealthwelfare/animalwelfare/Pig_Welfare_Booklet.pdf
Gives information on house size etc

I would like to second running electric tape around the bottom of the pen. Pigs are very clever.
We have pigs and piglets, and one of the big pigs would daily push one of the piglets against the electric tape to see if it still has electricity running through it. If the electricity happens to be off, general mayhem and madness follows