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Author Topic: kks over winter  (Read 6153 times)

harry

  • Joined Mar 2009
kks over winter
« on: August 11, 2011, 08:48:51 pm »
how well do KKs over winter as mine will be 6 months old by jan 2012.

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2011, 09:10:21 pm »
No idea  ;D but i will be interested to read what people write back :) i will have a few kk and kk x gos over winter this year lol

thestephens

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • aberdeenshire
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2011, 09:28:58 pm »
no problems at all as long as they have a cosy ark and some extra food, we had a really bad winter last year and it didnt seem to bother them, great photos, pigs in snow!

little blue

  • Joined Jun 2009
  • Derbyshire
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2011, 09:33:52 pm »
yep, give them a good house & plenty of bedding and they'll be fine

We had piglets born in October who have thrived through a harsh winter...  One of the hardest things is keeping their water liquid when its -18 degrees!

they did all cuddle up, do you just have the 2, Harry?
They'll grow a nice thick coat which they will moult off in the summer, keep an eye on their extremities - pink ears & noses need encouraging into the straw to dry and warm up
Little Blue

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2011, 09:41:13 pm »
We're planning on having the stud boar and castrate together and the 3 females together.  They've got 2 wooden arks and 3 plastic ones.  The plastic ones we're going to put pallets around the outside and pack them full of straw to insulate them.  Good news :) going to put loads of haylage out for them (as mine don't seem to eat hay :( grrr ) so they always have a food source and give them hard feed too

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2011, 09:30:57 am »
Mine all do well outside too  ;)
It's worth putting a floor in (it can be a couple of old pallets with some thick board on top) just to keep them off the ground - it also saves their bedding from getting as wet and needing changed. From about November onwards I stop pulling out the straw and completely changing it (unless it's wet or soiled of course) and just add more so that it forms a good deep bed to see them through. More pigs = more warmth, but our adult boar was out on his own for a while last year (refused to come into the shed  ::)) and was fine - even preferring to eat snow rather than drink the water I had lugged all the way up there for him over snow and ice and risk of breaking my back  ::) ;D
Kunes LOVE playing in the snow - have your camera at the ready  ;)

Sylvia

  • Joined Aug 2009
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2011, 04:47:30 pm »
Karen, would a rubber cow/stable mat do in an un-floored ark?

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2011, 04:49:58 pm »
We're hoping that all the piglets will be gone by winter, but if not then they'll be in with the other females.  Will take on the pallets and boards idea for the flooring :) at the moment they're on thick beds of straw and it's still dry in there even though we've had lots of rain.  I've got a mahoosive bales of straw (so heavy we can't move it even though we've taken 1/3 of it away) so when we get the floors done we'll have way enough bedding.  The stud boar and castrate will hopefully be together and their ark has a plastic floor in it already so we'll just really bulk up the bed.  We've got 2 plastic arks for the females that we won't put floors in but we will do it to the wooden ones as there will be 4 arks between 3 females (and possible weaners) so i think they'll have enough space

Fingers crossed we'll only have the stud boar, castrate boar, 2 adult females and one juvi gilt (about 6 months old) over winter.  If we have to keep some of the piglets on then so be it :) they'll have lots of haylage to munch on all day and hard feed.  

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2011, 05:38:24 pm »
Karen, would a rubber cow/stable mat do in an un-floored ark?
It would definately be better than nothing.
I'd try to have it so the mat came up the inside of the arc slightly to form a barrier to any water/snow/ice on the outside (if that makes sense) if you're really worried about them being cold a layer of shavings under the straw really helps the 'cosiness' factor.
But, if they've got a bit of fat (and what Kune doesn't  :D) and a buddy to snuggle up with they should be fine.
A wee bit of fun (depending on how mad you are  ::)) is to go out when it's snowing and throw some of their favourite veg on the ground - they spend hours digging through the snow to find it  ;D ;D ;D
HTH
Karen x

harry

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2011, 08:40:41 pm »
yep, give them a good house & plenty of bedding and they'll be fine

We had piglets born in October who have thrived through a harsh winter...  One of the hardest things is keeping their water liquid when its -18 degrees!

they did all cuddle up, do you just have the 2, Harry?
They'll grow a nice thick coat which they will moult off in the summer, keep an eye on their extremities - pink ears & noses need encouraging into the straw to dry and warm up
no got 2 then thought theres now way these 2 will make much difference on the ground i want cleared so got 2 more

little blue

  • Joined Jun 2009
  • Derbyshire
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2011, 10:38:01 am »
then they'll be toasty warm all together!
Little Blue

Hillhead

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2011, 03:18:30 pm »
Our Kunes are outside all year round and seem to do well in the winter.  They have arks with floors which we clean out regularly, we just give them some extra straw, nuts and veggies and they seem quite happy.  As previously mentioned the main hurdle to jump is trying to stop their water freezing over we did try a tennis ball floating in the trough but they took it out and played with it! :pig: :pig:

little blue

  • Joined Jun 2009
  • Derbyshire
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #12 on: August 13, 2011, 05:23:34 pm »
oh yes, and if you feed them mash rather than pellets (goes further!) make it up warm ... if you have outside facilities of course :)
Little Blue

harry

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2011, 06:26:13 pm »
i was told today to watch hard frozen ground effects on their feet, or is that for big pigs

little blue

  • Joined Jun 2009
  • Derbyshire
Re: kks over winter
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2011, 09:00:05 pm »
All pigs
:)
Little Blue

 

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