Author Topic: houses (Read 2444 times)

bucketman · « **on:** November 14, 2014, 03:10:21 pm »

I am sure it must have been asked before but here goes. How big a house for 4 pigs I know hard to say but just a rough idea. If you say I will be using 4x8 boards as the basic building block. Also should it have a floor and the last question the land they ,the pigs will go on is about 80ft x 80ft It also has some tree's for shade is this big enough
work on getting 4 pig's. Oh is sort of get them next spring and keep till this time next yr

CharingPorkPantry · « **Reply #1 on:** November 14, 2014, 05:25:29 pm »

Hello,

If it is just weaners you are housing then a simple triangle house using the intended 4x8 boards will be well big enough I would say. If your land is new then you don't really need a floor in my opinion, just keep laying straw for them. If it is already muddy then a floor is a good idea, it also helps strengthen a DIY house which you definitely need!

Size of pen really depends on your land. We are heavy clay and have to have enough pens to keep them moving around or they just get sludgey. Friend of mine just up the hill keeps his on a patch of paddock roughly the size of your plan and never really struggles to grow out on just that. Drainage is the key.

Watch your trees aren't anything too special or too small as they may get excavated!

Becca

bucketman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 14, 2014, 06:58:16 pm »

Thanks for the reply. It will just be weaners to fatten up. Right the house 2 bit's of Ply making like a tent shape will it need ends putting on. Could give them more land but then they would not have trees for shade? As for the tree there years old so no worries there.
So this sounds ok

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #3 on:** November 15, 2014, 10:05:10 am »

They'll be pretty big by the time they go - the previous owner of this farm kept pigs in one of his fields and they did a lot of damage to the roots of the 300 year old oaks - one fell down last year.

Sudanpan · « **Reply #4 on:** November 15, 2014, 03:35:35 pm »

We have kept 4 pigs for fattening from weaners up to 6 months ish - our homemade pig ark is 2 x (4x8) sheets to make an 8x8 floor area - with 3ft high walls and then tin arched roof. The pigs are fine in it and there is plenty of room for them still at the end of their time with us.
At the beginning that size is actually too big so I section off the back half of the house with a wall of straw bales, otherwise the weaners will mess in the ark instead of going outside. As they get bigger they generally do their own remodelling of the inside to get the extra space needed

Our paddock is about 20m by 20m and again seems to be plenty big enough on our land - I start them off in a smaller area and give them new areas as they get bigger - it seems to work quite well.

Fowgill Farm · « **Reply #5 on:** November 16, 2014, 08:57:19 pm »

see http://www.gospbc.co.uk/so-you-want-to-keep-pigs-part-2/ and http://www.gospbc.co.uk/so-you-want-to-keep-pigs-part-1/
hth
mandy

bucketman · « **Reply #6 on:** November 17, 2014, 09:32:27 am »

Thanks for all the replies. Will read the 2 web pages now and no doubt come back with more questions. Wont be getting the pigs till the spring. But just want to get everything sorted