# Pig shelter/pen question



## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

So tossing around getting a pig to raise for the freezer (got this idea when the hundreds and hundreds of pounds of acorns started falling off the trees).

I raised some pigs when I was young (like decades ago) and they were not my favorite farm animal. So I think I pretty much blocked everything I knew about pigs.

So I was wondering the minimum size pen I should make for one or two weaner pigs (I'm thinking of a red wattle or big black or a mixture of the two). I figured I would just get hog panels and put in some t-posts for the pen. I also need to know what kinda of shelter they would need? Is a basic lean to good enough?

Our weather here is pretty mild in the winters (I say that as it's raining like crazy) and it does get warm for summer but I know you have to give them a mud bath area and have it in the plans.

I would love to me able to move the pig/s into the pasture but not sure how great my pig herding skills are for foraging and I don't think my snooty/snobs does would feel about that so guess they are only going to have the foraging available in their pen and what I feed them (which I hope to gather a lot of these acorns and bag them up before they get soaked and ruined).

Thanks in advance for any information!


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I'm actually considering pigs too. I like the sound of guinea hogs -- they're a great size for homesteaders and pets so there would be a good market for them, and I could still use the meat without being completely overwhelmed.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I dont' own any pigs but I have read a few books about raising them. If you aren't going to raise them on pasture then the size of pen they need is really up to you and your prefence because everyone will have their own opinion on this. I prefer to give my animals alot more than is required. But the books say 250 sq ft per sow for dry lot, on flatter terrain or where rain amounts are greater you may want to double the amount of space. Housing can be 3 side and 8x10 to 8x16 ft.
Some will tell say limit their space because you want to fatten them up...others will say it's better to let them have plenty of room. Not sure if I helped you any


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> I'm actually considering pigs too. I like the sound of guinea hogs -- they're a great size for homesteaders and pets so there would be a good market for them, and I could still use the meat without being completely overwhelmed.


I had a Veterinarian at a class I attended a few weeks ago, put up on his slides a picture of the guinea hog they raised for the freezer. Said it was the best pork he ever tasted!

But I don't know if I really want to raise hogs versus just pick up one (but I've been seeing that having two makes them eat more and grow faster) and raise it to freezer. I still have that teenage aversion to raising pigs for some reason. but it just makes sense to have something that can help clean up some extra food we have here. I have eggs galore and figured I could scramble them up eggs, I usually raise way more in the garden then we can eat and the chickens/goats had a lot of goodies this year, the acorns that are crazy right now and of course future goat milk.

My uncle suggested finding a pregnant sow and that I would be better off raising them up. But if I even entertain the thought of raising pigs I would want a heritage hog and the guinea would be high on the list if I could find any around here. I see a lot of Red Wattle, Tamsworth, Big Black, and so on around here for sale.


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## Arkie (Sep 25, 2012)

Pork; unless 90% of the feed is free (and unsaleable for cash) you can buy it at the store cheaper than you can raise and pay for butchering/curing. Notice all the large pork producing areas are where the grain farmers can convert grain to meat cheaper than they can transport it.. 

Bob


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I have been researching pigs lately.. and guess what one I want!?! Guinea Hog!!! I actually met two of them a couple of weeks ago at a farm I went to to buy a freezer lamb... anyway, they were SO nice, docile, out on pasture and very friendly. There is a breeder around Portland, OR called Cascade or Cascadian Farm.. and they sell weaners or breeders. As soon as I have my land and the money I'm getting 2!!!!


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

Raised up a lot of pigs for the freezer. They are really pretty cool. My husband made one of ours the beer pig and regularly stood outside the pen and fed it beer straight from the bottle. Anyway, our pen is just hog panels and t posts. We have a simple leanto shelter just big enough for two large hogs to lay in together. They keep each other warm with a little straw. The pig pen is about 32 feet long and 16 wide. We use crusher fines as they drain well. Yes we do keep a water hole when it's warm. But, we only raise them to about 6 months old and most of that time is cool as we get our pigs in the fall. I like to raise in the fall because of the lack of bugs, and it's easier to keep pigs warm than cool. We try to get them in Aug. Or Sept. They will help you eliminate waste, eating garden produce, eggs (mine usually like to pop them in their mouths..in fact I have to keep reminding my kids that the good eggs are for us!), weeds, hay, just about anything. I find pigs easy to raise if they have enough room. They poop in one place and you can clean out their pen from time to time. Make sure they are eating something interesting when you do though because they are also very curious. But the real thing to keep in mind is that homegrown pork is so much tastier and healthier than what you get in the store. Hope you give it a try. P.S. If you do try it and hate it just butcher them early. They'll still taste good. Oh yea and you really do need to raise two at a time. They do so much better.


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

We tried getting sows and raising our own babies and failed miserably. It was awful. Figuring out how to get them bred was a problem, one ended up getting killed by the boar, one died in labor with piglets that were too big for her and the last kept collapsing and never even got bred. I do not recommend pig breeding for the inexperienced. It is more complicated then it first seems. We had thousands of dollars in our pig breeding venture and not one pig. If you do go that route, get a really experienced mentor and listen well.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I want a Duroc. I already have my hog barn built now I just need to decided how much fence and buy AND put it up lol..The guine Hog is a good choice too!!
I used to work at a hog farm as a farrowing assistant. So I delivered babies, clipped teeth and tails, castrated, repaired ruptures ect.ect. It was hard work but I loved it.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

Used2bmimi said:


> We tried getting sows and raising our own babies and failed miserably. It was awful. Figuring out how to get them bred was a problem, one ended up getting killed by the boar, one died in labor with piglets that were too big for her and the last kept collapsing and never even got bred. I do not recommend pig breeding for the inexperienced. It is more complicated then it first seems. We had thousands of dollars in our pig breeding venture and not one pig. If you do go that route, get a really experienced mentor and listen well.


It's best to get a teaser Boar and AI them really. As for the one in labor when a sow has pigs that are that big you have to pull them but you have to be very careful when doing this because you can pull their heads off. You just reach in grasp around their head and pull. I'm not sure why the last one kept collapsing. 
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

Ya, we had a pig breeder and a vet out to help with farrowing that sow as soon as we realized she was in trouble. We were really on top of it, she was just built wrong. We did have that ghastly experience when trying to pull piglets too. Grrr. Anyway, I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it can be tough. You need the right sow, access to breeding or the willingness to keep a boar, and better facilities. We just had really bad luck over the course of two years.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

There is also the option of buying a feeder pig and finishing it out.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

The guinea hogs are small... only 100-200 lbs grown, so I think that kinda simplifies the breeding issues ? That makes is a lot easier for me to handle them and not be scared of them! I'm just 5'2" and those BIG hogs are SCARY!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I keep ND's .. what a surprise, dwarf everything!


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

Used2bmimi said:


> Raised up a lot of pigs for the freezer. They are really pretty cool. My husband made one of ours the beer pig and regularly stood outside the pen and fed it beer straight from the bottle. Anyway, our pen is just hog panels and t posts. We have a simple leanto shelter just big enough for two large hogs to lay in together. They keep each other warm with a little straw. The pig pen is about 32 feet long and 16 wide. We use crusher fines as they drain well. Yes we do keep a water hole when it's warm. But, we only raise them to about 6 months old and most of that time is cool as we get our pigs in the fall. I like to raise in the fall because of the lack of bugs, and it's easier to keep pigs warm than cool. We try to get them in Aug. Or Sept. They will help you eliminate waste, eating garden produce, eggs (mine usually like to pop them in their mouths..in fact I have to keep reminding my kids that the good eggs are for us!), weeds, hay, just about anything. I find pigs easy to raise if they have enough room. They poop in one place and you can clean out their pen from time to time. Make sure they are eating something interesting when you do though because they are also very curious. But the real thing to keep in mind is that homegrown pork is so much tastier and healthier than what you get in the store. Hope you give it a try. P.S. If you do try it and hate it just butcher them early. They'll still taste good. Oh yea and you really do need to raise two at a time. They do so much better.


Thank you! This is pretty much what I was thinking or hoping would work. I don't want to keep them around for long and I remember my pig breeding/raising adventure horrible when I was young.

I would love the guinea hog if I were raising, but thinking of just some freezer pig I will probably pick up one of the local heritage breeds and raise them up. I really was hoping to raise one, but I keep hearing the two so I guess I will get two and hope someone wants to purchase a butcher hog.

If all goes well with the first one in the freezer then maybe just maybe next year I will think of buying a breeding pair.

LOL I also want to know if the beer drinking pig tasted better then the non drinking one?


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