The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: MR C CHICKS on December 14, 2010, 09:12:23 pm
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Can anybody help please !!!!! . We have 7 large white pigs that are four months old and until recently have been as good as gold. But a week ago our electric fence battery failed and they escaped into the larger field which also has a few sheep and our Xmas turkeys. We have now replaced the battery but each time we go to feed them there they are in the field again. running straight through the wire until we feed them when they run back in. We are new to pig keeping but this is our third lot of pigs and have had no problems previously. Can anybody offer any advise please. CHEERS
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a stronger electric fence a mains one 7000 volts should keep them in
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We use an ordinary car battery with our electric fence and that's plenty of volts, don't want to fry them. Do they have something to keep them occupied in the pen? If they've rooted it all up, maybe you could try a horse ball tied to a pin? A bale of straw should keep them happy for a few hours, too.
Since you have sheep you may have some metal fencing lying around to use in conjunction with the electric fence? The grass is always greener on the other side, even for pigs. ;)
:wave:
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'Fraid you are going to have to retrain them to the electric.
To do this, you'll need to create a small fenced area (maybe around their ark) say 20ft * 10ft, and loosly fence this with stock wire (few posts in the ground, doesn't need to be professional - say 6 vertical posts - one in each corner and an extra one on the long sides, 25 m stock wire - total cost say £40). Put electric on the inside. If you are not already using horse tape (the white stuff) then change to this - pigs see it much more clearly than polywire or just wire.
Pigs will touch the electric, but not be able to go forward through the stockwire, so will back off. Leave them in this for three days, so that they get used to this again. Then remove the stockwire or move them back to old area.
Use two strands of horse tape in their old area - one 6 inches above the ground, and the other slightly higher to give a visible barrier at shoulder height. Again horse tape makes this "barrier" much more obvious
Finally make sure battery doersn't run out again !
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And if this doesnt work (although it is sure to) cover the stock fence so they cannot see through. (We once had some escape artist tammies and it worked with them) ;D
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And if this doesnt work (although it is sure to) cover the stock fence so they cannot see through. (We once had some escape artist tammies and it worked with them) ;D
Like it !
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we have pallets lined with stock fencing! nothing gets out of those pens!!!lol ;D ;D
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Ok many thanks for all your advise . Still learning but will take all your ideas on board.
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The Joy of pigs Mr Chicks is that you never stop learning. I find this site invaluable (hope that's the right word my English is disappearing today).