Author Topic: Pig, sheep and chickens together? (Read 3549 times)

Liz Kershaw · « **on:** December 01, 2016, 04:35:36 pm »

Hi all,

I have been offered a (very) young tame Tamworth sow - we have a two acre, well-fenced area of orchard with some brambles which is grazed by our small flock of Ryeland sheep and our free range chickens. We've never had pigs but I'm tempted by the offer of this Tamworth. My question is, would the pig mix in with the sheep and chickens or would there be bullying/massacre/general disasters? She'd be very handy for grubbing up some of the brambles and rough ground but it wouldn't work if she had to be kept separate. Any advice would be very welcome.

Liz

Bionic · « **Reply #1 on:** December 01, 2016, 05:01:50 pm »

Liz, I don't think it would work.

Firstly my understanding is that you will only have 1 pig. She should have companions of her own kind.
Secondly. If you intend to fed pig nuts it will be an issue as the food for pigs needs to be kept separately to that of sheep/chickens. There should be no cross contamination and I doubt you would be able to make sure this is the case if they both share the same field.

I expect there will be some more reasons so I am sure others will respond.

PK · « **Reply #2 on:** December 01, 2016, 05:13:26 pm »

The pig(s) will churn up the ground and reduce the grazing area for the sheep. I'd fence them off in a separate paddock for this reason.

harmony · « **Reply #3 on:** December 01, 2016, 07:11:20 pm »

In broad terms they would all run together in the paddock and probably you won't have any issues. At times I have horses, sheep, pigs and poultry in the field BUT not 24/7. You will need a pig shelter which the sheep will possibly go into, small sows grow into big sows you don't want her to stand on and injure your sheep. Feeding times will be a problem if they don't have separate areas and the sow will dig up here, there and everywhere. So, no as a 24/7 solution not recommended.

Liz Kershaw · « **Reply #4 on:** December 01, 2016, 07:52:45 pm »

Thanks everyone, I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a possibility - hadn't really thought through the feeding problem though. We could keep her away from the chicken food, but not the sheep food. And I hadn't thought about the shelter either ... I will say no.

thank you for all the excellent advice.

adamhfc · « **Reply #5 on:** December 01, 2016, 08:38:02 pm »

Also pig may eat the chickens

harmony · « **Reply #6 on:** December 01, 2016, 09:50:11 pm »

Quote from: adamhfc on December 01, 2016, 08:38:02 pm

Also pig may eat the chickens

Always possible but my pigs make no attempt to eat the chickens in a free range situation. I have seen chickens pinching pig food at feed time and getting away with it. Pigs are carnivores so they could realistically like lamb or chicken!

Alex_ · « **Reply #7 on:** December 02, 2016, 11:57:33 am »

Quote from: adamhfc on December 01, 2016, 08:38:02 pm

Also pig may eat the chickens

I saw a video on youtube about a woman whose hens were disappearing at night from her barn. She couldn't find any left over feathers from a fox attack or any other signs from predators. So one night She sat in her barn and waited.

Late that night she was drifting off until she heard an awful noise and quickly grabbed her torch.
Now the chickens liked to perch at night on the gates of the pig pen that was in the barn. So the pigs who fancied a midnight snack stood up and swallowed one feathers and all in 2 seconds flat.

jward · « **Reply #8 on:** December 10, 2016, 04:43:43 pm »

My sows eat hens if they're daft enough to fall into their stable. I did have a boar who was jumping up at the shoulder height wall to grab them off it in the night. He cleaned out about 15 in a week and I was sick of finding the feathers. He never did seem to like the cockerals though...needless to say he went for a ride to the market.