[P6te]

 Last weekend we took 2 pigs on their final journey, both Saddleback x OSB. They were not the easiest to load but went in the trailer eventually. They unloaded easily and we then went to collect 5 more pigs that a breeder had kept for us. These are also Saddleback x OSB that are now 19 weeks old.


When we arrived we took the trailer down the field and backed it to the gate making a suitable entrance to the ramp using the run gate and trailer side gates to guide them in.   The run they were in was a fenced with twin electric wires to 3 sides and stock fencing on the other.  We managed to get all 5 to the loading area without any trouble but when we looked to move them into the trailer 2 of them just ran through the gate (which we had completely overlooked and was absolutely useless to contain them) and 2 ran back into the run and only one ended up in the trailer! 

So, 2 pigs now on the run but reasonably contained within that wider area so we focused our attention on the ones in the run (the one in the trailer was secured with an internal gate across the front) …. We now got 2 hurdles (not actually hurdles, probably crowd control barriers with a solid top, bottom and side bar and vertical bars welded between) to assist and repeated the exercise, albeit the pigs were not in such an accommodating mood by now. So with more coaxing we got the pigs back in position and felt confident that this time we had them!  Pig boards to hand and the trap was closed …. Did they go in the trailer??? No … they ran straight through the hurdles stretching the steel bars as they went!! So, even more pigs now on the run and just one in the trailer and it’s starting to get dark.

Additional help now arrived so with 5 of us attempting to corner 4 pigs surely we’d be ok?     We managed to return all but one pig to the run ready to go again …. One of the pigs went into an ark so it was decided to trap it in there with a pig board and one person go in and grab it (getting desperate now) …. 19 weeks old … weighing in at 30kgs plus …. So in the ark he (not me!) went … just as fast as he went in the pig shot out through a weakness in the corrugated side of the ark!  By now this  exercise was looking rather like catching rain water in a colander; it was suggested that we just shoot them and save on slaughtering costs!
Time to calm down (pigs and us) and re-think strategy ….     

The people we were getting them from have their pigs about 120 metres away from their house and stables but frequently walk pigs up the field through the yard and into the stable and thought the pigs would readily follow the bucket with food (as if they hadn’t eaten enough that had been put down to tempt them …) They have been keeping pigs a lot longer than us and know what they are doing  (right!!).  With 4 of us with pig boards to keep them moving the right way and one leading with a bucket off we set … up the field and just as we were entering the yard 2 of the pigs decided that they didn’t want to play any more and made a run for it. The other 2 carried on and eventually were in the stable.  Myself and one other stayed in the field attempting to round up the 2 on the run … joined by the others once the 2 were in the stable. So … its now getting dark and 2 pigs (almost entirely black pigs) running free.  This escapade included passing through hedges and into a field with cattle and horses who just added to the ‘entertainment’. These 2 eventually ended up back in their run where they started having crashed through arks, hurdles, gates and hedges and finally electrics - squealing as they went. It’s now dark, really dark … the sun long since set … one of the pigs was rugby tackled in the run and somehow carried squealing like mad all the way to the trailer (that by now was 120 metres away by the stable). The 2 pigs in the stable were carried (squealing) to the trailer and we now had 4 pigs ready to go but unanimously agreed to give up on pig 5 … we had after all been on the go for 3 hours with a trail of destruction left in our wake!   


We took the 4 home and unloaded them straight into our run without any trouble where they quickly settled down for the night and at 10pm we had our evening meal!  So … we still have 1 pig to collect and plan on getting her next weekend when we hope she will be in the stable waiting for us.  We have already paid for her and her upkeep otherwise I think we’d just leave her there!


But … pigs, don’t we just love them? ….. well … possibly not quite so much at 10pm last Sunday night.


Pete
 

[Bionic]

Oh, I can picture it sooo well. Lovely piggies        and one for next week 
Sally

[plt102]

The first time we tried to load pigs we tried to herd them with no success whatsoever. Now our technique is to let them miss their supper the night before and then back the trailer to the gate of their pen filled with fresh straw, bucket of food and some veggies or their favourite slices of nutty bread. Patience and rattling of the bucket has only not worked one morning when we were a little short of time and rushed them a bit. We just sit and wait for them to go in of their own accord :-)

[Mrs Snoodles]

It doesn't sound like the people you brought them from had given much thought to how things were going to happen. Why on earth hadn't they kept them in the stable the night before? blimey,  What a palava for you!   Full marks    for retaining your sanity and a sense of humour. You are very very understanding customers! 

[Kitchen Cottage]

 

[rispainfarm]

We had someone once who brought over two gilts for our OSB to serve, They had to cancel on the day as they could not load the gilts. It turned out that their ramp had been touching an electric fence and the pigs were getting shocked everytime they stepped onto it. They did eventually realise and brought the pigs over another day, but it took us five hours to load them when they came to leave. They would not go near the ramp.

[benkt]

I feel your pain. When we  first went to collect  our two sows we managed to separate them out from the herd and walk them over to the stables where we could back the trailer up to the door. But then they just sat down and refused to budge so had to come home empty-handed!

So...not to totally  thread-hijack but.... we tried to separate our sow off from her weaners on Saturday and totally failed to get her to move out of the field, through a gate but over the line of electric that we've been using. She's a big old girl and you can't move her if she doesn't want to go. I don't want to withhold food from her as she's got eight weaners on her so reducing feed and luring with a bucket seems out of the question.  - so any ideas for the next attempt this coming Saturday?

[kja]

I feel your pain. When we  first went to collect  our two sows we managed to separate them out from the herd and walk them over to the stables where we could back the trailer up to the door. But then they just sat down and refused to budge so had to come home empty-handed!

So...not to totally  thread-hijack but.... we tried to separate our sow off from her weaners on Saturday and totally failed to get her to move out of the field, through a gate but over the line of electric that we've been using. She's a big old girl and you can't move her if she doesn't want to go. I don't want to withhold food from her as she's got eight weaners on her so reducing feed and luring with a bucket seems out of the question.  - so any ideas for the next attempt this coming Saturday?

in reverse with a big bucket over her head (one of those tubby buckets are best) keep a tight hold of the bucket and walk forward she will keep walking backwards, think of it like a hood they use to move a horse what they cant wont freak them.

[Kitchen Cottage]

kja - I'd been told that.... I tried it on the micropigs...... she ran forward.... over me... leaving me flat on my back in the mud..... I hadn't admitted that before

I've done it with my own tame pigs though

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[kja]

Kaja - I'd been told that.... I tried it on the micropigs...... she ran forward.... over me... leaving me flat on my back in the mud..... I hadn't admitted that before

I've done it with my own tame pigs though

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its all in holding the bucket and you pushing i have seen it done on a full grown boar before be live me if you hold the bucket right you can move a pig anywhere in reverse 

i will ignore the micro pig bit  sorry i am in the they don't exist camp so try not to use the word.

[bloomer]

KC is in the no micropigs camp i believe, have you seen the photo's they're huge!!!

[kja]

KC is in the no micropigs camp i believe, have you seen the photo's they're huge!!!

yes i have. its the MP word i get annoyed at the more people use it the more the uneducated belive they exsist  i think a better title for them would be  the mythical pig same initials but more to the point 

[P6te]

At the time we either had to laugh or cry .... and thankfully (in the main) we managed to 

....... but at the end of the night we REALLY had had enough!!

[Mrs Snoodles]

I feel your pain. When we  first went to collect  our two sows we managed to separate them out from the herd and walk them over to the stables where we could back the trailer up to the door. But then they just sat down and refused to budge so had to come home empty-handed!

So...not to totally  thread-hijack but.... we tried to separate our sow off from her weaners on Saturday and totally failed to get her to move out of the field, through a gate but over the line of electric that we've been using. She's a big old girl and you can't move her if she doesn't want to go. I don't want to withhold food from her as she's got eight weaners on her so reducing feed and luring with a bucket seems out of the question.  - so any ideas for the next attempt this coming Saturday?

We've had this problem in the past, that line is a REAL barrier.   We just kept putting bits of food down and took it super slowly, even walked away from it all at one point to do other jobs.  Just backed off totally. 

[Fowgill Farm]

You need to cover where the electric fence was with a big wadge of straw or a tarpaulin or they just won't cross it, a bucket of apples or veggies helps too.
Mandy