[Azzdodd]

This rain has basically turn the pig area into a swamp I have dug a gully by the side which seems to drain the water pretty well. But there still upto the knees in the mud I keep changing the straw in the arks but they go in once an it's wet again I'm worried about pnemonia. My thoughts were as they all cuddle at night would I be better off giving them none just the solid wood floor? There just not 'dry' in bed due to the straw getting so wet

[adamhfc]

Thicker straw bed on top of the solid floor if they have no where dry to get out of mud your looking for problems and am sure braking one of the 5 freedoms

[Azzdodd]

That was the point I was trying to make the floor would be dryer without straw in there I use the triangle arks an can't just keep adding more or the sows won't get in

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Its a tricky one in this dreadful weather isnt it. And its hard when you are trying to do your best for them. You could put a thick layer of shavings, megasorb / equsorb on the floor under the straw?


Im not sure where the water is coming from to wet all the straw but some bedding is better than no bedding especially in this weather even if its getting damp. Could you make it thicker or place pallets in their bed with small hole wire netting tacked on then place the straw on that with shavings below to catch the moisture below.

[Backinwellies]

when I worked with outdoor pigs they used to put a heap of straw outside the ark door .... a sort of door mat I guess .... expensive I guess but might work

[harmony]

Straw will take up the damp from the atmosphere hence it wont last as long in the wet conditions we currently have. Also as you say they will clean their wet, muddy legs on it every time they go in.


Are they growing pigs or sows? Obviously you wouldn't want growers to slip back.


The idea of some straw outside the door is a good one or maybe a thick layer of bark shavings. Even better would be some hard stand such as road plannings or concrete slabs.


I think arks without floors are better as long as situated somewhere high and dry. Pigs make their own bed in the earth. They are well insulated and that is what they would do in the wild. Pigs are warm enough as long as not in a draft. The problem with just providing a wooden floor is the risk of them knocking joints or slipping depending on the wood.


Recently two sows who I put to the boar wouldn't go in his ark and I was very concerned to see no sign of one of them the next day as it had been a very wet cold night. There are spare arks in the paddock and she was in none of them. Eventually I found her in a deep earth nest they had made under some branches at the far end of the paddock. Perfectly dry.

[Marches Farmer]

I think the doormat idea is a good one, although you'll probably need a lot of material to start with as it'll just get absorbed into the mud until the area is fairly solid.

[SallyintNorth]

When you clear out some of the old straw to make room for some dry, don't take the old stuff away but leave it in front of the door to make a doormat.  It'll help dry some of the wet off them as they go in.

[Bionic]

When you clear out some of the old straw to make room for some dry, don't take the old stuff away but leave it in front of the door to make a doormat.  It'll help dry some of the wet off them as they go in.

It was very wet when we had our weaners earlier in the year. Because of it this was the first time we have needed to clean them out. We did exactly as Sally has suggested and put everything that had been on the inside outside their door. It wasn't perfect but I think it did help and other than inviting them into my own bed I don't think there was much else we could have done for them.

[Cosmore]

Same problem here with mud, luckily a friend was cutting down some trees etc., for a neighbour across the road. He was using a chipper to reduce the branches and had loads - and I mean loads of small chippings he wanted to get rid of. He was more than happy to pop across and spread the chippings outside the arks and where the 'trotter fall' had made matters worse in the paddock. It's spread really deep and so far has held up even after some heavy bouts of rain. It's helped save the straw in the arks no end.

[Azzdodd]

Thanks for the replys guys like you all say it's hard to judge what to do for the best....I have always out the straw by the door ways (sows often doing it too) but the rain here as been out off this world (north wales) an I am going to try the no straw its for sows who have just gone in with the boar but are in good condition I've put some rubber matting in there to save any hazards off slipping an guess it will be warmer than wooden floor....in the process off trying to sort a concrete shed for them locally...

[hughesy]

We've had experience of every combination of floor/no floor, straw/no straw etc etc. Our soil is very heavy and poorly draining so mud is a big problem. We've got 8 or 9 arks some with built in wooden floors, some with loose wooden floors and some with no floor. I've found I need to play it by ear and see what works best for any particular ark in any particular location. Currently we have one that has no floor at all and no straw, but is very dry inside and houses the cleanest and driest pigs we've got. At the other end of the spectrum I had to move two sows yesterday despite having a wooden floor and straw because the whole set up had become waterlogged. The liquid mud outside had built up so that it rose over the wooden floor inside. Our boar and his two current ladies have a wooden floor but no straw. I got fed up of them taking it all outside as soon as I gave them a fresh bale. They seem to be happy and dry on the wooden floor.

[Marches Farmer]

If you can rig up some sort of porch arrangement for next Winter, to keep the ark entrance area dry, that would help too.

[harmony]

Rubber mat a very good idea!

[shygirl]

we had a floorless sty with a rubber mat, shavings, then topped with straw.
personally I think more land is the answer to mud problems. or a concrete stable for extreme weather, or seasonal fattening.
ours used to roam the woods and mud wasn't an issue as the tree roots bound the ground. deep boggy mud isn't fun for anyone.