[YoungRasher]

Hi All
 I posted this in the coffee lounge and I've been told I'll get more info If I post it in this one.

  The land we bought last year has got 2 acres of woodland with it which up until now we haven't touched. When we finished hay making at the weekend I decided to have a go at exploring it again. This is where the problem started. Its so thick and heavily packed that I can't access most of it. My question is what is the best way to clear the ground? Pigs were my first thought but then I wondered if there would be any poisonous plants or trees.

I'll try to get some pictures uploaded so you can see what I'm dealing with. There seems to be a lot of plants/shrubs that are in flower at the minute and these are the ones that are blocking the path. The whole piece of land borders on to a managed woodland and what I have has self seeded over the years.

I just wanted to see what other people would do with it.

If I do use pigs. how do I work out how much food to give them if they are eating all the plants? any info would be great.


Thanks.

[shygirl]

we had our adult pigs in our overgrown woods for 2 years. its been empty for 6 mths now but today the weeds are still 3ft high so to have any real effect to need to concentrate their rooting by confining them to a certain area at a time. we chose to let them enjoy the whole area but they have made a real mess, its difficult to walk over the ruts and the weeds have just grown back covering the bumps. the dense pine woodland section hasnt been dug up too much but younger hardwood areas have big clods everywhere. i dont think young weaners will do much workwise til they are 4 mths old, choose a hardy hairy breed if there are lots of stingers. we had tamworth, gos and tamxgos and they coped fine.
feeding wise, they wont get many calories from the weeds or grass as they cant digest it very well so just feed as normal. adjust their feed inline with their condition and exercise.
its a great way to rear pigs though, they are much happier in woodland.

[Small Plot Big Ideas]

We are just about to get a couple of Tamworth weaners although our woodland is well established but isn't as overgrown as you describe. There has been no livestock in these woods apart from the wild rabbits and the foraging chickens for some time (we only moved in May so it could be longer).

The feeding advice I'm planning to follow is to split the recommended quantity into two separate feeds and if they don't eat it all within about 15-20 minutes then reduce the quantities a little until they do finish it..

I'd also agree with the advice about limiting the area to small sections at a time tio get the best from their efforts!

I hope this helps

[YoungRasher]

Thanks, This is all great to here.

What are people paying for weaners at the minute. I've heard locally of people giving them away.  I don't mind paying a fair price for some if anyone has some near Bakewell/Derbyshire.

[Small Plot Big Ideas]

Maybe it's just me but I'd be a little cautious of people giving away weaners...

I think that most people are charging something like £30 - £40 or more depending on the age and breed. The two that we're getting on Saturday are a little more than that because they are already almost 12 weeks old