# Raising Clean Pigs?



## Denna (Mar 30, 2011)

The hubby and I are contemplating raising a few pigs. However we've run into a difference of opinion on how this should be accomplished.

Both of our families raised pigs when we were younger but by very different methods. 

My family raised them in a large pen (not pasture) with lots of mud and water for wallowing and plenty of room to play in.

His family also had a pen, however, from what I understand the floor of it was a slanted raised wooden floor, which was hosed out twice a day, and was covered with a tin roof. They provided no mud or water source except for what was provided for drinking for the animals.

The MIL is suggesting to make sure to have a smaller pen so they don't have a lot of room to "run around and lose weight".

My question is what would be the benefits/disadvantages for both ways aside from the obvious of cleanliness?


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Well, I am sure you will hear differing opinions here also. When our sows are two weeks away from farrowing, they go to the farrowing house which has attached porches. These porches have grate floors so the liquid waste drains down through the grates. The solid waste is cleaned off once a day. 
Our butcher hogs and the dry sows and the boar are in a dirt floor pen. We keep a big bale of hay in with them so they can eat hay and tear some off for bedding and to trample some down to keep the mud down. Hogs need shade in the summer. They wallow in mud to protect their skin from sunburn and to cool off. A little clean mud never hurt any pig. Hogs running loose will be leaner and in my opinion, won't use their grain to put on weight as effeciently as a hog kept in a pen. However, in the end it comes down to a matter of economics, personal preference and convience.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Enough room for exercise actually makes for better pork, in my opinion. 

I clean pens every day and don't have mud wallows. Pig poop is stinky and attracts flies. I like it kept under control.

Pigs need shade; they can get sunburn. If the day is exceptionally hot, I will spray the pigs off. They will play in the spray like children play in a sprinkler.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Pasture raise them if you want clean pigs. They will find a place to wallow in. They will poop away from their food and you will have fantastic meat. 

I would never raise pigs in a small pen. If you want good meat and clean animals I would not go that route.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

The statement, I prefer clean pigs seems a little like an oxymoron to me. Pigs will eat most anything including cow manure; in fact they love to root around in cow patties. Pigs will wallow in a stinky hole, even if they can find another place to wallow. In fact wild pigs prefer to gather at the same old mud hole where all the other pigs wallow and defecate. Have you ever seen an old boar or a big old sow after a wallow in the pond? Believe me, they don&#8217;t look clean and they don&#8217;t smell too good. Hogs tend to choose a nice place to wallow and they go back to it, the water soon becomes muddy and sour, even if it is located near a pond or ditch. You might never raise a hog in a pen and that's your right, but don't think they will stay nice and clean running in a pasture.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Do you raise pigs Linn?


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

We just slaughtered one this morning that came out of his winter pen. He had some muddy feet but his hide was clean and dry. Give them bedding and they do fine.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Yes we do and have raised hogs off and on for over thirty years. The main reason we raise penned hogs is that over the years, hogs have destroyed a lot of hog-tight fences for us. Our hogs used to run out in what we still call the hog pasture. I have witnessed just what I posted so I do know how hogs behave. Pigs do not find a clean wallow, they go to the same old spot in a ditch or a pond because they have "wallowed out" a place that they like. I guess you didn't read my first post or chose to ignore it. How many hogs do you have?


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

When I raised the large farm hogs and and now that I'm raising the AHH hogs, like the rest of my stock, they roam free on the acreage within the perimeter fence. I've never had a fence problem with any of the pigs. Perhaps they are content with all the space, their needs are filled, who knows; but I'm not complaining! -G-

The pigs are always clean. The large hogs had 8 foot round tanks, 1 foot high, to cool off in. Used a Shop Vac to empty the large tanks daily. They were rinsed and refilled. 

The AHH hogs have kiddy pools. The kiddy pools are easy to dump out the water. Then rinsed and refilled. This is also done daily.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

linn said:


> Yes we do and have raised hogs off and on for over thirty years. The main reason we raise penned hogs is that over the years, hogs have destroyed a lot of hog-tight fences for us. Our hogs used to run out in what we still call the hog pasture. I have witnessed just what I posted so I do know how hogs behave. Pigs do not find a clean wallow, they go to the same old spot in a ditch or a pond because they have "wallowed out" a place that they like. * I guess you didn't read my first post or chose to ignore it.* How many hogs do you have?


No, I missed it. Sorry.
I raised my first pigs 32 years ago, but they were always pasture raised.
We only raise feeder pigs now on pasture and simply have not experienced what you have.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

If you can I would suggest you pasture the pigs. This way they graze (basically free food) and spread their manure and urine to fertilize the fields. Properly done this breaks parasite cycles minimizing the need for de-worming. The term to google or wiki is Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing. We co-graze with sheep and poultry which works very well. We typically have about 300 pigs at any one time with about 40 breeders or so.

If you are using a large pen type space then consider sub-dividing it into four or more smaller sections and rotate the pigs through the spaces, planting something fast growing behind them. This is rotational grazing on a mini-scale. Again, you're growing some food for them and this will result in less soil compaction and you're breaking up parasite life cycles. The key is to go over 21 days days off for each section (I like 30 days) and then on again but you want to do the on timing more by forage depth than by time.

We have pig ponds, wallows and brush for the pigs, all of which they enjoy and utilize.

Providing plenty of hay or straw bedding will also help. Hay has the advantage of they can eat it and it is more nutritious than straw. We have a fair bit of alfalfa and clover in the hay we use for winter as well as in our pastures. This helps to boost the protein levels.

See: http://flashweb.com/animals/pigs

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop


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