The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: clydesdaleclopper on July 06, 2015, 06:28:53 pm
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I was obviously labouring under a great misapprehension when I thought that pigs would confine their toileting to one or two areas ::) Is there any way of encouraging them to confine it a bit. Wandering over 1.5 acres of long grass every day poo picking is not really how I want to spend my day. Any suggestions?
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Cheaper than joining a gym, or paying for compost, surely... :roflanim: :roflanim:
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Why are you picking it up? Seems like hard work to me. Have you got a customer for it? ;D
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Sadly not! They go where they feel like ::)
Do you NEED to poo pick every day? My big field is nearly 2 acres and I don't pick it - but it's rested every winter, never overstocked and copes fine :thumbsup:
Different if you had them in a small area, but with that range I think they'll be fine (assuming you're talking about a few weaners and not a herd of fully grown pigs ;))
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There are 3 of them (Kune Kune weaners) but they were wormed with Dectomax when we collected them and I don't want all my earth worms to die.
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I think your worm anxiety is a bit too serious. Not much chance of that happening.
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It is a valid concern as certain classes of wormers have been shown to have a very serious impact on earth worms. I have spent years trying to improve my soil so don't want all of the good work to be undone.
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OK. My first step would be not to use those types of wormer. Next would probably be not to keep pigs on the land. Depending on your soil type you could be looking at serious erosion if they clear the vegetation, followed by severe compaction. I don't think keeping pigs and soil improvement are easy bedfellows. Maybe the KKs will behave as they are supposed to and not root but I wouldn't bet on it.
If you're keeping a few pigs on a large area why worm them at all? We never worm ours and wouldn't do unless there was a problem. Routine worming was invented by the pharmaceutical companies to keep your money flowing into their coffers.
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It is a valid concern as certain classes of wormers have been shown to have a very serious impact on earth worms.
Can you cite your authority ?
There have been several studies, and all that I have read previously indicated some effect but none were 'very serious'.
Generally it seems to be thought that in standard concentrations there is some impact to worms in burrowing ability and cocoon production.
From memory pour-ons have more impact than injectables, and I suspect your pigs were injected.
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OK. My first step would be not to use those types of wormer. Next would probably be not to keep pigs on the land. Depending on your soil type you could be looking at serious erosion if they clear the vegetation, followed by severe compaction. I don't think keeping pigs and soil improvement are easy bedfellows. Maybe the KKs will behave as they are supposed to and not root but I wouldn't bet on it.
If you're keeping a few pigs on a large area why worm them at all? We never worm ours and wouldn't do unless there was a problem. Routine worming was invented by the pharmaceutical companies to keep your money flowing into their coffers.
they were wormed by the people we bought them from
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With the amount of land your 3 are on and the dose they got and the fact they are spreading it all over the field the earthworm population need not be worried !
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With the amount of land your 3 are on and the dose they got and the fact they are spreading it all over the field the earthworm population need not be worried !
I guess I'm being a bit precious huh
I have already had comments about how spoilt the girls are - but they do need cuddles and belly rubs on a regular basis throughout the day ;D
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How are the boys getting on with them ?
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They have taught the pigs to play tag with them but as the pigs are faster than them the boys cheat and climb the trees :roflanim:
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Like this you mean?........... :) ?
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The wormer will only stay in their system for a day or two after that it will be all gone so no need to carry on poo picking, unless you want too
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The wormer will only stay in their system for a day or two after that it will be all gone so no need to carry on poo picking, unless you want too
Not quite true as the withdrawal period is 28 days ,so at a guess id say it stays in the system for ??? You guessed it 28 days !!;
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I guess sometimes it can be tricky to get the tone right with these messages..... Yes a 28 day withdrawal will give the most thorough clean out but that is for trace levels in the meat. The GI system will be clear in a couple of days so the faeces will have most of the contamination in the first 48 hours.
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I guess sometimes it can be tricky to get the tone right with these messages..... Yes a 28 day withdrawal will give the most thorough clean out but that is for trace levels in the meat. The GI system will be clear in a couple of days so the faeces will have most of the contamination in the first 48 hours.
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Not being picky at all just curious but do you have any proof to back up the above statement ?
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Verdifish, you are quite right that the supplier label date of 28 days is the best thing to follow and you are not being picky in asking. There is plenty of proof regarding how different animals excrete various drugs in the science literature and of course at the detail level this is species and even individual animal specific to specific drugs but the major pathways are consistent, I had responsibility for AH drug development in 2 major pharma companies, including work on some of these wormers so my comment was based on knowledge, but I don't have papers in front of me it is not right to imply not following the suppler label except under Vets guidance. I was merely saying that poo picking in the first 48 hours is important, after that less so. Maybe worth asking your vet, although they are not necessarily knowledgeable on clearance rates.
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but as stated previously, even the first 48 hours will cause little issue :)