# farrow shelter for pasture pigs



## kountrycritters (Aug 23, 2005)

i have 3 sows due with in weeks of each other they all are in a pasture (electric fence) with the boar, all are gentle.

our climate is upper 20's to mid 30's for a few nights at a time and it usually rains when a cold front comes through.

what kind of shelter should i build for the sows to use when itis time for her to have babies. should i build each
their own hut and hope she uses it or build one large shelter so they all can go under including the boar. right now they all sleep together in the pasture with no shelter.

any suggestions

thanks


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Make a portable A frame structure for each sow. You can drag the A frame to an unused portion of the pasture at each farrowing. Within the tight area at the bottom edges of the A frame it becomes more difficult for the sow to crush a pig and straw bedding will pile at the sides also to encourage the pigs to stay there as opposed to under the sow. A Google search should give you some plans.


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## kountrycritters (Aug 23, 2005)

thanks thats the idea we are heading towards but input from others are always useful 

thanks


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I raise Berkshire/ Hampshire crosses and I'd recommend moving the boar to his own pen when the pigs come, just to avoid cannibalism. Also, if you have a big wallow for the sows, you should consider fencing them off of it so the little pigs don't drown.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

The A frame hut should have an 8 inch high board at the bottom of the door opening to prevent the pigs from exiting the hut until they have some age on them. If it is cold outside nail a piece of carpet or burlap in place for a door.


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## kountrycritters (Aug 23, 2005)

thanks, keep it coming we all learn from these little hints


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## djuhnke (Oct 7, 2004)

(Putting on my carpenters hat). It should take 4 4x8 sheets of plywood + 5 2x4's. Lay 2 2x4s on ground and drop 4x8 plywood on top. Nail/screw together (to form the skids to move and keep off ground). In both sides of board nail 2x4's. This will be your footer you can nail side of triangle to/thru. When making top of triangle, use last 2x4 also as footer. with remaining sheet of plywoof, cut to size of triangle and nail/screw. Make sure opening is per agmans advice of 8 inches (very good advice) of border board.

Let us know how it works out.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

You need to build something along these dimensions. No floor is used and the area of the dirt floor needs to be around 7' x 7' as less pigs will be crushed. The sow will stay where her head is near the door. This is better than what I would need here in the sunbelt as I would only farrow in the spring and fall.
http://www.pfi.iastate.edu/E-HUT Farrowing Pix.htm
http://www.pfi.iastate.edu/OFR/EHut Frame color.htm


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

With those temps you won't need much. Mainly just block the wind (windward wall), stop the rain (roof) and have a deep bed of hay for them to be off from the others while they farrow. Our sows farrow in the brush most of the time ignoring the nice sheds and dens that are around. We've had sows farrow out in the brush in the snow without a problem. Silly girls.


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## PlowGirl (Nov 16, 2005)

Hey All,

New to this site, moving on from lurking. I use welded wire cattle panels covered with tarps. Very portable, even for weaklings. Set tposts or even rebar the width you want the panel to cover. wire panel to the tposts and then tarp the thing. you can over lap the panels and make the "tarp quonset" as long as you want. Enclose one end with a shortened panel. I would suggest removing the sows, individually, or the boar from the others until the litters are at least a couple of weeks. The sow will be unusually protective and the others overly curious. Otherwise, expect a good 30 to 40% loss from trampling, usually by momma herself. Good luck.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

PlowGirl said:


> I would suggest removing the sows, individually, or the boar from the others until the litters are at least a couple of weeks. The sow will be unusually protective and the others overly curious. Otherwise, expect a good 30 to 40% loss from trampling, usually by momma herself.


We keep our herd together (40 pigs) and have no trouble. It is a mixed age group with the boar, big sows, smaller sows, growers, finishers and piglets. They are out on pasture in the warm weather and then in a garden corral (150'x40' with three dens for 40 pigs) for the deep snows of winter. We have no piglets losses, no trampling or crushing, etc. The mothers farrow separately from the group and then rejoin the group within a few days. The little piglets join in. No problems. Perhaps the area you give them is too limited or something.


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

highlands...I would be interested in what your average number of weaned is per litter. You arrangement is very unusual among any producer I have ever read or known. I do know that you seem to have a huge area for your hogs...like you said, maybe that is the secret. I guess in the wild, the situation on your farm is normal isn't it? 

I wouldn't remove the sows from each other as they farrow, but I would watch that the litters are close to each other in age so that there isn't any milk robbing going on by the the older litters. I have heard about boars savaging youngsters too, but as often as not, I guess there are no problems. I wouldn't take the chance though.

Plowgirl...interesting idea with your farrowing huts! I like the way they sound. Highly portable and easily removed to avoid wear and tear. I am using the "a-frame" floorless huts with a roller on the entrance to reduce udder damage and keep the little rats inside for a few days.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

John Schneider said:


> highlands...I would be interested in what your average number of weaned is per litter.


9.8 overall for gilts and sows combined. We had a first time mother that pulled the average down this fall with only two piglets weaned - that's all she had but they're doing great. I may butcher her if she doesn't do a lot better next round. Her half sisters pulled the average up for her with 14 born and 14 weaned each.



> You arrangement is very unusual among any producer I have ever read or known. I do know that you seem to have a huge area for your hogs...like you said, maybe that is the secret. I guess in the wild, the situation on your farm is normal isn't it?


Could be. I've never done it otherwise so I don't know. I do know that I don't like confinement farming. My uncle does that and I've visited two farms that raise pigs in confinement. Ugh. For us this is the easy way as land is what we have in abundance. There are many other people who pasture to varying degrees. Greg Gunthorp does it in a much bigger way than I.

This year will be our first to farrow in the dead of winter. We'll see how things go. The pigs are all on the new terrace, which will be a garden (corn & pumkins) next year. You can see some discussion of their dens on my blog at these entries:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2005/11/winter-pig-dens.html
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2005/11/pig-house-warming.html



> I have heard about boars savaging youngsters


I would not keep a boar that did that. Call him sausage or dog food. Any animal that shows bad temperment gets eaten fast around here. I have zero tolerance for that sort of thing. We have children and I like my fingers and other body parts intact.


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

highlands...probably a discussion for another thread, but that is a good average and you are right about the animal's temperment. I agree completely and that is our philosophy around our farm as well. Greg Gunthorp may have a bigger operation than either of us, but I believe he still group farrows and I am not sure about his boar routines? I could be wrong, but I have read about so many pasture operations, I loose track. Seems like you have it figured out anyhow.


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## PlowGirl (Nov 16, 2005)

I run one boar and 6 sows on a 3 acre wooded paddock. The sows try to isolate themselves to farrow, but are generally disturbed by the curious herd. I've seen way too many just borns stepped on by momma when another pig comes poking around. It's much easier to take the sow out just before farrowing and reintroduce her once the piglets are able to move fast enough to avoid her hooves, usually under two weeks. Believe me the sows appreciate the solitude. The added benefit to me, is 20 to 30 percent more piglets raised to weaning, rather than trampled to death. I had one sow, due to farrow that didn't think I was moving her out fast enough, and went through the fence on her own. She farrowed out 30 feet away from the fence boundary and was much happier.


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## PlowGirl (Nov 16, 2005)

The "tarp quonsets" have worked the best for me. Also, since they're not permanent, the parts can be incorporated into other projects when not needed. The portability factor is huge for me too. Each time I rotate paddocks, the shelter goes with. I'm using the pigs to help clear/till 160 acres of wooded/rocky terrain, so I'm moving fencelines continuously.


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

Plowgirl..I am interested in your huts. They seems like a great idea! We are in the exact same boat as you...clearing the scrub bush with pig tractors, pasture farrowing etc. Great idea! Glad you shared.


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## GREEN_ALIEN (Oct 17, 2004)

I too use the tarp quonsets for my pastured pigs and maybe can offer a few details for construction not covered. Mine are more permanent as that suits my particular situation.

Materials:
-Welded wire cattle panels. They are 52" each so you are going to need at least 2
-T Posts. Figure 3 per panel and you only need em 3 feet long. (cut long ones down)
-2 sheets of 3/4 inch exterior grade plywood.
-2+ Pressure treated 2X4s.
-1.5" Deck Screws
-16' Wide tarp. Buy it long and use it on many shelters.
-Good quality grommet kit. Available at Home Depot, Wally World etc...
-1/4 inch nylon rope
-Roll of rebar tie wire or better is precut ties and a tie tool.

Step 1 - Location and orientation. Locate hut where it is high and dry, easy to get to and where nothing can fall on it. Orient it in a manner so that winter wind cannot blow in the opening.
Step 2 - Set the 4 corner T posts making sure not to be over 8 feet wide and a couple inches shorter than then total lenth your are shooting for. ie 3 panel huts are 156 inches long (52 X 3 ). Measure the diagonal to be reasonably square.
Step 3 - Wire 3 panels together with rebar wire. I do 1 tie per square. This will for a 16' X 156" panel.
Step 4 - Using a helper bend the panel to snap in place between the posts. Tie wire the very bottom wire to the 4 corner posts. It is important to do just the bottom and use several loops of wire.
Step 5 - Line up each edge a place 1 post at each seam where the panels were wired together step 3. It does not need to be perfect but if taking the time to do it, do it right....right? Wire the bottom to the posts with several loops of tie wire.
Step 6 - This can be done at any time and I prefer to make one up when I am looking for something to do (never). Spread the tarp out in the yard or on a garge floor and cut the length to 156 inches (if 3 panel), remember it is already 16 feet wide and it does not matter how much you bend a 16 foot panel, it is still 16 feet long. Next, using the grommet kit install a new grommet every foot to 18 inches all the way around. The more the merrier as the increase in grommets is in direct relation to a decrease in psi of force per grommet on a windy day.
Step 7 - Lay the playwood on the ground with the seam running left to right. Slide the 2X4s under it running up and down and about 2 feet in from each side. Use the deck screws (lots) to affix the ply to the 2X4s. You will be going through the ply into the 2X4s.
Step 8 - Stand the plywood panel up against what will be the closed end of the hut. While a helper is holding it, run inside and trace it to the wire panel shape. Remove and cut out with a jig saw. Make sure the seam runs left to right and the 2X4s are running up and down, it is very important for future strength. Next, I drill 1/2 inch holes about 2 inches in from the arched edge every 6 inches or so. This is for attachment.
Step 9 - Stand the panel in place and affix it to the wire panel by weaving the rope through the holes and around the panel wire.
Step 10 - If using 3 panels you should have one t post left over. Drive it on the outside of the playwood wall in the very center. This mixed with the 2X4s will provide excellent shear.
Step 11 - Finally, spread the tarp over the whole mess and weave it to the panels using the 1/4 inch rope.

All thats left is to fill it with a couple of feet of straw and lets the pigs check it out.

A couple of tips in addition. Try using wire cage rings to attach the tarp. They are much stronger and last longer than the rope. Use silver heavy poly tarps instead of the blue or green ones. They weather much much better and if attached properly will last for years. When driving in the T posts, drive them at a slight angle, they are much harder to root out if you use shorties. Don't use long t posts if you can help it as the portion out of the ground tends to be in the way at times.

The method described above is about 50$ more expensive to contruct and takes more time and attention but it pays off in the long run. The stiff rear wall adds shear in the breeze and keeps the structure stiffer which keeps the tarp stable. The more the tarp flops around the faster it goes.

If anyone needs more info or a better description, feel free to contact me via email if your feeling lucky. I wont go in to all the problems I am having getting internet at the farm but lets just say I only get to play on puter every couple of months when a holiday gravitates me nearer family. You can always try snail mail:

CRABAPPLE RANCH
c/o HOG HUTS
2390 RD U NE 
MANSFIELD, WA 98830

I am alway game to chat properly raised hogs, ie pastured, free range happy natural animals. I am slowing converting 23 acres to a full on free range facility for 300 butcher hogs a year.

Ted


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## .netDude (Nov 26, 2004)

highlands said:


> ... in a garden corral (150'x40' with three dens for 40 pigs) for the deep snows of winter.


How do you maintain water for the pigs in the winter?


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

http://www.pigparadise.com/arks.html

Some pictures of different options you could easily build yourself.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

.netDude said:


> How do you maintain water for the pigs in the winter?


We have continuous flowing warm (45Â°F) water from the overflow of our spring to all of our garden corrals. For example, bury a 50 gallong plastic barrel in the ground and let the water flow in. On the out flow make the pipe larger and put a strainer over the output have that lead down to the next garden corral and waterer. This greatly simplifies things and saves a lot of effort on our part as well as continuously providing fresh water to the animals.

If I did not have that I would install underground insulated taps to the garden corrals and then setup frost free waterers which can be made with insulated double plastic barrels. One trick I have not tried is a bobbing ball that seals the hole and the animals can then push it down to drink.

One year for piglets I made a 5 gallon pail with nipple waterers on it. That worked well except during the -20Â°F and below nights when the nipples froze up. I made it on a 5 gallon pail so I could bring it into the house to thaw it out when that happened. We fed excess milk in it.

Today I just made new chicken waterers. Basically 4 gallon plastic pails with lids, drill a hole near the rim, invert and put in a dish. Cost $1 if you bought the pails but I got them free as surplus. That is a bit cheaper than the 5 gallon chicken waterers that I've seen at the feed store which are almost exactly the same thing and cost $36 (ouch!!!).


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## Mulefoot (Sep 5, 2002)

kountrycritters said:


> what kind of shelter should i build for the sows to use when itis time for her to have babies.


I bought used Port-A-Huts to do my pasture farrowing in. They are the small metal 'hoop' huts. At a local farm sale they went for $10 each and it included the bumper guard that helps to keep the sow from laying on the piglets. The trick is to find ones that aren't all rusted out, if one can find any used ones at all.


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## RedneckPete (Aug 23, 2004)

Highlands... Thanks for posting. Lots of interesting ideas on your Blog. I loved it.

Pete


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## Greyrooster== (Sep 9, 2013)

My hogs are on real pasture. Not what some refer to as pasture raised with a feeder in the middle. I don't feed anything with my system. I don't separate pigs from others as when you put them back together you have a pig gang fight. I've never had any cannibalism. Perhaps it's caused by the wrong type of hog in the pasture. I raise Berkshires and Large Blacks. Sows need shelter (a dry place) where they can build a nest. A bale of hay will do. If you have long forage the sow will gather and build her own nest. Works for me. I wouldn't try to raise any type except true heritage type hogs using this system. Commercial hogs wouldn't do well on a forage only diet.


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## FarmerDavid (Jul 16, 2012)

agmantoo said:


> You need to build something along these dimensions. No floor is used and the area of the dirt floor needs to be around 7' x 7' as less pigs will be crushed. The sow will stay where her head is near the door. This is better than what I would need here in the sunbelt as I would only farrow in the spring and fall.
> http://www.pfi.iastate.edu/E-HUT Farrowing Pix.htm
> http://www.pfi.iastate.edu/OFR/EHut Frame color.htm


I realize this thread is 8 years old but it piped up so ill ask it here. I am getting ready to build a version of the above but I'm planning on a floor. My thinking is that in winter they would be off the cold ground or in extreme wet they would be raised. Am I thinking wrong? I'm planning skids so that its portable with 2x6 across them for the floor.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

David, you might try a deep bed system. This works well for us out on pasture during the winter with both the areas out in the open where many of the pigs like to sleep and those areas under open shed roofs. Hay, straw, wood chips, etc all make good bedding material. Let it build up and start composting.


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## Greyrooster== (Sep 9, 2013)

I have found that huts with floors are colder than those without. My hogs prefer hay or long grass they pull themselves. Seems to warm up better than wooden floors as there is always a space between the flooring and the ground that contributes to the cold. Earth beneath a layer of bedding seems preferred my all animals. can't beat mother nature.


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

agmantoo said:


> You need to build something along these dimensions. No floor is used and the area of the dirt floor needs to be around 7' x 7' as less pigs will be crushed. The sow will stay where her head is near the door. This is better than what I would need here in the sunbelt as I would only farrow in the spring and fall.
> http://www.pfi.iastate.edu/E-HUT Farrowing Pix.htm
> http://www.pfi.iastate.edu/OFR/EHut Frame color.htm



thank you for posting this!


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

tailwagging said:


> thank you for posting this!


Yes. Thanks for posting this. I will take a closer look at these when i get more time. I like the looks of them. Been looking for plans for small portable pens for sometime.

Best,
Gerold.


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

more
http://ejackson.net/FarmPlans/NorthDakota/swineplans.htm


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

farmergirl said:


> I'd recommend moving the boar to his own pen when the pigs come, just to avoid cannibalism.


I've read often of people worrying about boars hurting or eating piglets but we have never found that to be a problem. I cull boars intensely so that might be helping - only about 0.5% ever get to be breeder boars.

The few cases of cannibalism of piglets that we have ever seen were all by sows of other sows's newborn piglets. This is over a period of a bit more than a decade with a few hundred sows and about a dozen breeder boars all on pasture. 

It is possible that out in the fields it might have happened when we didn't know but then I would expect litters to be vanishing. That is in fact how we discovered one of the cannibals. At first we thought it was a fox but that didn't fit with our dogs guarding. Then we saw the sow in question doing the dirty deed.

There does not seem to be any genetic link - that is to say it doesn't appear to follow any lineage. Thus in the rare cases that this has occurred I've not culled back the lines.

It also does not appear to follow any season. Two cases were in the winter and two cases were in the bloom of the warm seasons.

I read an article that suggested a dietary deficiencies as the cause however we only see the rare cannibal show up and they're all getting the same food so that does not seem like the issue. There is plenty of food available and only one sow does it at a time spaced apart by years. 

I think cannibalizing pigles is simply a learned bad behavior that crops up. Perhaps they ate a dead piglet and decided, "Hey, these are good!" After all, everyone likes pork. That turned into a bad habit. Once they have that bad habit they keep doing it. There is the electric chicken trick but I have another cure: bacon.

My solution is quite simple - we cull them. I need to take a sow to butcher about once a month to turn over our breeders so those few cannibals volunteer.

This isn't to say one might have a boar that cannibalizes piglets, just that I've never seen it out of a large number of breeders. Be sure to consider the sows too as possible candidates. In my experience they were universally the culprits.


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## Greyrooster== (Sep 9, 2013)

I use a modified A frame. 6' wide, 8'long, 4' high. I make a bottom frame using pressure treated 2 x 6s. Then I make the frame from Pt 2 x4s. Imagine an A frame with the top cut off and flat. I make the back by trimming a sheet of PT plywood to size. The front I leave open but those in colder climates may with to enclose part of it. I have a large eye bolt on top which makes it easy to move from pasture to pasture with my tractor. It could be dragged as it is very strong. Using this the top and sides use shts of plywood without any cutting. A bale of hay inside and you're ready for anything. You can also use one or more hog panels on the front for a private farrowing pen. To reduce cost I believe one could use OSB board instead of pressure treated plywood.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

One of the beauties of pigs is they are so flexible and can adapt to so many conditions. A truck cap, a split water tank, a pallet shed, an A-Frame, a cave, a greenhouse, brush, the open sky with a wind block, they're not fussy.

The biggest trick is that every pig wants to be in the absolutely best spot. This means that if your sheltered space is too small then the pigs will crowd each other and some may get crushed. Ergo, build shelters large enough.


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## islandgal99 (Jul 13, 2013)

I had a surprise litter born outside, in a west coast winter, in an open-ended tarp shed. After I moved the babies, I lost one when it jumped out of the tub I was moving it in and ran off. I kept going back to the tarp shed where it was born to see if it had returned. 4 hours later at -4 degrees celsius the bed where the babies were born, in the bed that mom made, that bed was still so warm that I wanted to crawl up in it as I was cold after looking for the baby pig. It was like a thermal blanket under that hay and straw. If you don't believe how much heat a well made pig bed can hold, go see for yourself! It's pretty outstanding. I felt better about providing the open sided shed after that. And the baby pig (Ossabaw) WAS back at the nest the next morning looking for mom. He only suffered one day's worth of growth, and was right back to nursing and being a pig within minutes of being re-united with mom.

My nursing houses for the Ossabaws are square pallet houses, but with the non-solid side of the pallet on the inside - this creates a makeshift 'baby barrier) so the babies are not squished by the sow, and can move around the sow easy. They seem to like the fact that they can 'hide' when needed. I didn't loose one with these houses. These pigs are not huge like conventional meat pigs.


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