[paulrollings]

This weekend I arrived at my small holding and immediately spotted my two Southdown rams acting strange. They were staring intently across the field to where I keep my pigs.  Its like the sheep had turned into "pointer dogs" and were shouting "squirrel" (re the movie Up).  I looked over to where they were staring and saw my 3 OSB trotting across the field.

OMG the pigs had escaped !!!!!

About an hour later I finally had them back in their enclosure (with the help of an emergency apple). The pesky pigs had tunneled under the stock fence and pushed their way out.  I spent the rest of the day bashing in extra stakes and pins. 

The pig enclosure is about 40m by 20m (100m circumference) with posts and stock fence and after this experience I was nervous that it wouldn't hold more concerted attacks. So as extra precaution I erected a spare 50m electric sheep netting around half of the enclosure.  (I didn't put the sheep netting on the inside as I haven't trained the pigs on electric fence and knew they would get into trouble, so am using it as a safety net).

Fast forward a day, I get home from work to find new tunnels, fortunately none had broken through, but the clever pigs had only attempted to tunnel in the areas without the extra layer of sheep netting.  I promptly added another 50m stretch of sheep netting and so now the whole 100m is fenced with stock fence and a second layer of electric sheep netting. 

I just hope this gets me through to the weekend when install a electric wire on the inside of the stock-fence which should stop them trying to tunnel out.

I have a webcam near to where I keep my pigs.  I keep nervously checking it from work just in case I see a pig on a motorbike jumping the electric fence.

http://paulrollings.com/weather/webcamimage.jpg

Pigs are clever things ..... I wonder what awaits when I get home tonight .....

[HappyHippy]

Oh I sympathise 
Are they gilts maybe coming onto season ? (That seems to be my prime break out time) Or, if they've turned all the ground over completely they could be a bit bored and looking for adventures further afield 

Hope the extra fencing does the trick  but if you do see them speeding off on a bike, you've got to share the footage 

[Mammyshaz]

Glad they are back home safely......for now    I will bemwaiting for the quad ding pig piccies too.

What telltale sheep you have, spoiling all the fun 

[ppd]

  They are probably working on a design for a ladder by now - if they can't go under then up and over
Oh and I love the film UP 
Pauline

[Mrs Snoodles]

Went to look at the webcam, got all confused cos it came up a black picture...then realised it's nightime    took a while.....
The wire will sort them out, keep it fairly close to the ground and that'll keep those naughty snorkels in.  Little devils!

[SallyintNorth]

Love those naughty OSBs 

We had a similar experience a couple of years back, bringing our Blue Grey (semi-feral) cattle in from the Fell, nearly home, just turning up the road to the steading when - a dark shape on the road spooked the cattle and foxed us.  Similar size to a sheep but not the same shape, too thickset for a deer...  of course it was the OSB porkers, the ground was frozen so the buried strand of barbed wire wasn't able to do its job and the insufficiently taut sheep netting had not held out against the questing snozzles.     Thankfully those piggies will follow me anywhere for a rattling bucket, so were soon recaptured, and the cattle, although they live a semi-feral life they are very docile so were not too hard to round back up and bring home.