# hauling a pig in a pickup



## wlf89 (Oct 24, 2011)

i am wanting to go buy a pig and dont have a trailer but have some sideboards to go on my pickup. fromt the floor to the top of the sideboards are 4ft do yall think that is plenty to keep a 275-300lb hog in?i have the side boards and front and back boards all the way around and very sturdy with no give to them.


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## Huntinfamily (Aug 14, 2010)

Could you borrow a large dog crate from someone? Thats what we use. Once you get them in there they just lay down and don't get bounced all around. Never tried moving oe not in a crate in the back of our truck so I really can't answer but thought some sort of crate or cage would make it easier


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## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

I would use cattle panels to make a roof on the boards, or just make a 5 sided cage from cattle panel (open bottom) and strap it in the truck with tie downs. I pick up piglets in my truck, but even with a topper on, I used a dog crate. I borrow a trailer to haul them to the butcher who they're over 200lbs tho.

I blame my typos on my DROID 2 and Tapatalk!


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## oink (Dec 28, 2010)

I have done this with sows and boars, mostly Large Blacks which have a pretty calm disposition. If you have a piece of plywood or mat to put on the floor of your bed it will help with their footing and stress. A little straw will encourage them to lye down.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

My DD took a Landrace to the butcher for us the day after she got her license. He was in a two horse trailer with about 12 inches between the top of the trailer and the top of the door. He jumped out part way to the butcher's. She had her 9 yr old brother with her and with the help of a farmer who happened by they got him back in the trailer, boarded the door all the way, and got him to the butchers'. She was afraid that if she lost the pig the first trip by herself she wouldn't be trusted with the truck. (She had been driving equipment for years)---I told her I would have probably driven away and left the pig.I don't know the three of them got him back into the trailer out in the open. But in answer to the question---if your pig decides to leave the back of your truck it can and will. You need a more secure way to haul it.


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

wlf89 said:


> i am wanting to go buy a pig and dont have a trailer but have some sideboards to go on my pickup. fromt the floor to the top of the sideboards are 4ft do yall think that is plenty to keep a 275-300lb hog in?i have the side boards and front and back boards all the way around and very sturdy with no give to them.


I made rack out of full size 2x6 board i cut on my sawmill. 4ft. from floor to top of rack. This on 3/4 ton pick-up. Across top 3 boards to connect the sides. I tacked field wire on top. I hauled 7 220 lb. Yorks and one 250 lbs. Berkshire 
250 miles. No problem. After a few miles they all relaxed and went to sleep.
Hauled a 400 lbs. Hamp/Duroc boar 100 miles with no problem. Just be sure to place something across the back window to protect it.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

For years I've been hauling my riding mount in the bed of my truck. Also bovine, swine, poultry.


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

I maid a wood cage for my flat bed 1 ton dodge, Its maid out of 2x10's & 2x6's, It has a cattle panel for the top & rear with a door built in. Works great for hualing pigs and calfs. The hard part is getting the pigs up the ramp into the truck, They dont like steep inclines to well. 
Helpfull hint, With hold feed from the animal for a day, Then put a good amount of feed in the back of your truck. Makes loading some what easier


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## Rusty'sDog (Oct 14, 2010)

Put sides on your ramp so that they can't 'see' that they are leaving the ground. Hogs don't like to leave _terra firma_.


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## enggass (Nov 23, 2011)

How do you direct the pig to the truck/ramp? Is that where the depriving breakfast and then food bribe comes in handy? Also, what do you recommend for a ramp?


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Just have to tell this story. Friend of mine bought a boar in the southern part of the state. Picked it up and were driving through St. Paul (big city) on the way home. He had a rack on his pickup. His wife driving. Pig got owly in the middle of St' Paul and had his hooves on the tailgate, ready to jump out. Friend told his wife "If that SOB gets out, hit the gas and get the He!! outta here!"


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

wlf89 said:


> i am wanting to go buy a pig and dont have a trailer but have some sideboards to go on my pickup. fromt the floor to the top of the sideboards are 4ft do yall think that is plenty to keep a 275-300lb hog in?i have the side boards and front and back boards all the way around and very sturdy with no give to them.


All depends on the pig. Some will stay in and some will not even slow down as they go over the sideboards.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

tinknal said:


> Friend told his wife "If that SOB gets out, hit the gas and get the He!! outta here!"


A friend of mine puts lightweight safety chains on his trailers. He says if it comes off the hitch, he doesn't want to be tied to it. 

I made a simple cage out of rebar bent and welded. The door is another rectangle of rebar that has loose wires so it flops open or closed. Covered it with regular fencing with a 2X4" mesh. We've hauled many pigs and smaller hogs in it, plus chickens and turkeys and goats. We sometimes loan it to people buying weaners so they can get them home. It's always come back. It is lightweight and easy to toss in the pickup. If you make it bed length, the tailgate makes sure it stays shut if your tie wires come off for some reason.


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