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Author Topic: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat  (Read 13946 times)

Janette1970

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • North Lincs
Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« on: August 05, 2009, 03:05:05 pm »
A begginners question here:
 
I am thinking of getting 2 middle white piglets to rear for meat. My books haven't arrived yet and I was just wondering what the minimum size would be to make the enclosure for them. I think I have plenty of space but my husband is not so sure.

Do chickens and ducks have an impact on space if they are kept together?

I've got some work to do though to get the ground ready (take down old yew tree :'(, put up fencing, make an ark). I've got my eye on some belfast sinks on ebay!!!

Not much cash at the moment so must do the work myself and with help from teenage boys (3 sons).
We can't wait to get started. Just getting over a summer cold (or maybe swine flu :D) then we will be out working.

Any help would be greatfully received.

dixie

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2009, 04:16:21 pm »
Hi we started off with 2 boar weaners, built a pen sized 30'x30' roughly! my Dad built an ark from timber we already had, the pigs thrived although they dug up the whole pen!! as soon as they went we missed them so much we got some more!, we now have a sow, 4 of her piglets almost porker weight, a young boar and have just bought a 6mth old gilt to breed from! Oh and have since built 2 more pens another ark and have another ark being delivered this weekend! Pigs are addictive, great characters, terrible time wasters and the the best pork you've ever tasted!!  my chickens and ducks are kept separate, its not unknown for a pig to kill and eat a chicken :o  good luck and keep us posted on the progress!

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2009, 05:36:29 pm »
Might be worth considering something other than the belfast sink for feeding / providing water, you'll find you have to upend it regularly to wash it out - pigs are messy buggers when it comes to eating & drinking !  ;)
Our 2 were in 1/4 acre with an ark made from an unused oil tank, and like dixie's they dug the whole thing up (they had great fun doing it !)
On the chicken & duck subject - I suspect you'd end up with REALLY badly poached ground, and it might end up quite smelly  :P if they were kept together. I'm also not sure if they'll be happy to sleep in the same house - I wouldn't have thought so, but more knowledgable peeps than me will keep you right on that.
Hope you're soon better, enjoy your pigs, but be warned - they're REALLY addictive !
Karen

hexhammeasure

  • Joined Jun 2008
    • golocal food
    • Facebook
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2009, 06:17:03 pm »
I'm not too sure about this but wouldn't the pigs eat the chickens and ducks?
Ian

MrRee

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2009, 07:15:17 pm »
If you're going for the smallest area in which to keep pigs  (am confused why you wouldn't give as much as you possibly could) then I would suggest that you DO keep chickens in with them. The chickens will keep the soil clean of pests. I wouldn't keep ducks in there too,all three types of animal require three different types of housing. Chickens and pigs will be ok housed together if the pigs don't rip out/crush the roosting bar,ducks won't sit under a sh***ing chicken or lie next to a pig! Also,pigs keep their nests very clean and dry and you'll be constantly changing a whole arkful of straw each time,instead of a small roosting area if you house chickens and pigs together.
Personally,the minimum space I'd provide would be a 15 x 15metre area.As for clearing the land for the pigs,don't bother,they'll do that for you.Try to source a good supply of grass seed,and other understory, for after the pigs are in the freezer and let the land rest for 6 months in between batches of weaners.
Books are great as a start,but experience is better,and there's a ton of experienced pig keepers on here. Trawl through the posts in this section and ask any Q's you feel you need more info on,best of luck.......Ree
They don’t join cliques — more times than not, they stand alone — but they recognize and gravitate towards one another. Only warriors understand other warriors.

dixie

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2009, 07:30:28 pm »
MrRee, do you keep chickens in with your pigs?

Janette1970

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • North Lincs
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2009, 08:19:54 pm »
Thanks Ree, the reason I need to know the minimum is so I can prove to my husband that we actually have plenty of space for a couple of pigs.
I also need to know if the pigs need flat(ish) land? The best grazing for my piggys would be over quite a steep riverbank hump until this side of my bank is 'ploughed up' and re-seeded like you suggest. I am re-thinking my chuck plans as I need to keep piggys away from a protected copper beech (the chucks can live under here, next to nextdoor's chucks).
All neighbours are happy about me having pigs so long as they get a couple of chops out of it ;D
So now to the labourious task of reading up on all the paperwork I need to do as well as arrange fencing and housing. Is there 1 place I can go to (on the net) where I can get all the info/forms I need or is it a little more complicated that this?

Thanks again

Farmer

  • Joined May 2009
  • Sidway, Staffordshire
    • Farmeats.com
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2009, 12:34:11 am »
Hi...I'm assuming you know that you have to be registered to keep pigs and that you do have a CPH number...all the information you require can be found on the DEFRA website and if you want more specific information visit the BPA (British Pig Association) website or Middle White Breeders Club site.

what's suitable for some breeds may not be for others and Middle Whites do have a tendency to grow quite big, so you will need secure fencing and sufficient space to let them run off any fat. Sloping ground is not a problem, but they will dig it up and if you intend keeping pigs as a long term venture you should have additional space so that you can let the ground rest and recover - one large enclosure can be sectioned off using electric fencing with moveable pig arks...its cheaper than erecting permenant fencing/housing and easier to manage. Oh and make sure there is sufficient shade and fresh water available.

I have free range chickens that roam with our pigs but they are housed separately. I don't mix my chucks and ducks as their housing needs are different. Hope this is of some help, but best of luck anyway!

Regards
Farmer
 :farmer:

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2009, 07:40:49 am »
Tamworths are quite adept at coping with very sloping ground.  My GOS prefer flatter areas.  Our chickens and ducks free range as do one or two of our pigs, so they do go intogether.
Definitely separate housing. 
A friend's sow ate all of his young ducklings.  Another has a chicken catcher/killer pig. 

MrRee

  • Joined Jan 2008
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2009, 09:47:00 am »
I do keep my chickens in with the pigs Dixie.The pigs have one half of the barn and the chickens have the other half.They are both free to roam as the door is permanently open.

Janette,I don't know about the Uk regs,but here in France one can't keep pigs on land that borders water,they have to be kept 35 metres away to stop contamination of the river/stream.  The best place for you to get the info you need is here,for all the forms,as Framer noted, check out the Defra site.
 Also,you'll be wanting to source your weaners quite locally to cut down on transport time for them,so why not pop along to your local breeder (when you've chosen your breed) and have a chat with them,you'll get to see how they do it and will be able to adapt some ideas to suit your own needs. They should be only too happy to answer any questions and you might even be able to get a deal for feed through them........Ree
They don’t join cliques — more times than not, they stand alone — but they recognize and gravitate towards one another. Only warriors understand other warriors.

Bodger

  • Joined Jul 2009
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2009, 10:06:59 am »
I'm not too sure about this but wouldn't the pigs eat the chickens and ducks?

Our pigs once scoffed a brood of ducklings infront of us as they attempted to cross the pig pen.

With regard to pig pens, then the answer is as big as possible within reason. Having said that, pigs will live perfectly happily in a traditional pig sty. The more confined that pigs are within a pen, then the muddier it will be.

dixie

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2009, 10:18:30 am »
MrRee, thats interesting I'd have thought the pigs would see a chicken and think 'lunch'!!
As for space, if you're fattening weaners then too large an area would give them more space to burn off calories, perhaps taking longer to finish? Weaners are fairly expensive to raise for the freezer and I personally dont want to feed them longer than necessary, I took advice from an experienced pig breeder, who breeds for meat, for breeding and showing, and went with the recommended pen size. They have plenty of room to root and wallow etc so everyones happy. :pig:

Janette1970

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • North Lincs
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2009, 03:01:18 pm »
 :o Sorry to hear about the ducklings being eaten in front of you. That's terrible!!  :o

Thanks for the advice. I'm planning on placing my ark over two separate pens so I can open the door into whichever pen I want them to use. This should allow the ground to recover easily, although they will need time to establish a wallow!!!!

Does anyone have any idea about the water thing? This could seriously scupper my plans!!! The bank hump itself is 35' over the arc. but only 20' flat the other side before the river!!! And it is the Trent!The udercurrents are the killer (been in it!!!)

Is it true that pigs slit thier own throats if they try to swim or is it just a myth!! I know chickens don't do too well hence the hen house will be this side of the bank!!!


Been on the defra site and made a list of chain of events that need to be done!! Someone in the pub said I needed to register my 'herd' with another established herd!! Is this right?

I thought Middle White's didn't grow that big?!?!
Can anyone suggest a smaller cross breed that has a good temperament and good pork? Not too bothered about bacon or looks, they're all lovely to me! A cross breed might be cheeper for me to start with!!!

My uncle used to have a few pigs and piglets. I ought to ask him his advice but I know his were kept in a barn and were a more comercial breed (very large pink pigs). He stopped having them when the regs got tougher! I think he might try to put me off.
I know its a big undertaking but a pig is NOT for life!!! Just 6,7,8 months of caring and enjoying my pigs. Then its yum,yum, in my tum!! :yum:
Might need to buy another freezer though, or make sure I empty them in time!!!
How long can you keep the frozen meat in the freezer for?

Sorry for all the questions. I guess I'll still be learning after years of piggy rearing.

dixie

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2009, 03:22:49 pm »
Good idea to share the ark with 2 pens. I dont know about the water thing, try ringing defra. I thought middle whites were a large breed?? I'd recommend gloucester old spots, tamworths, berkshires or a cross breed of these types. They all taste good! See what you can get reasonably priced near to you. You dont need to register your herd with a herd! Firstly you need a CPH number, ring your local animal health office, thy'll sort that out, once you have that you can move pigs onto your holding with a movement form,then contact defra to register your herd and they will issue a herd number or you can do this before you actually get the pigs.  I'd keep the meat frozen for up to a year maybe more if it lasts that long!!

Janette1970

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • North Lincs
Re: Minimum space needed to rear pigs for meat
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2009, 05:07:03 pm »
Thanks Dixie   I had no idea you could keep the meat for that long... Thats fantastic.

Just rung for my CPH number BLIMEY that was so simple  Why was I so worried!!!

Having read through the defra guides and bits and bobs it looks reasonably easy paperwork wise!
 
Just need my fencing and ark and water troughs and food and straw and and and .......

Might be a few more months before I'm ready for my piggys.

I will ring about the river issue and get that sorted.

Someone did mention that I would have to pay to get a licence?!!? Not sure where he got that from?!!!? Can anyone confirm this for me?

 

 

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