Pigs for woodland

[jade35]

Just seen some GOS on countrywise @Exfarmer it is a big wood may we never see the piggies again it may be a real extensive operation

@llamedos Think this thread is going to be good fun How many acres is the wood? What type of woodland? Perhaps the mob stocking boys will be able to give some advice on how frequently to move them. One good thing is they should help to open up the undergrowth. Should have some good woodland flowers afterwards and if the worst comes to the worst there seem to be several sharp shooters advertising their skills

 

[llamedos]

Well my knackery is a live animal capture specialist perhaps 2ha, mixed woodland native trees, oak rowan birch beech plenty blackberry on the edge, one bit down toward the lower bit is full of himalayn balsam plenty bluebells, which I wouldn't want ruining really, edge that seperates it from us is stock fenced& DS walled not had a good look through it yet

 

[jade35]

I would think the best idea would be to fence a section off if possible and if you are doing this over several years then rotate the sections. Hopefully with a low stocking rate the pigs will just open up the undergrowth. Have just found this http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/woodland-activities/keeping-pigs-in-woodlands/

A couple of the other websites say that pigs do not eat bluebells because the bulbs are poisonous

 

[Paddington]

Well my knackery is a live animal capture specialist perhaps 2ha, mixed woodland native trees, oak rowan birch beech plenty blackberry on the edge, one bit down toward the lower bit is full of himalayn balsam plenty bluebells, which I wouldn't want ruining really, edge that seperates it from us is stock fenced& DS walled not had a good look through it yet

At least you have some fencing as a start. We always wanted to woodland graze our pigs instead of runs in the field and a few years ago new neighbours moved in across the valley with over 20 acres of amenity woodland (whatever that is). The previous owners had got a grant for planting trees and they must have put in several thousand a few feet apart- after ten years with no management you literally could not see the wood for the trees. It was suggested that we put some pigs in there to clear the undergrowth. We would have had to fence the whole wood with electric fence, carry water up there daily and use machetes to clear enough ground for a shelter, so we didn't bother. Still a pipe dream though and good luck with your project.

 

[llamedos]

@Paddington I think this was how the woodland came about "amenity" but by previous owners to the ones in now.

 

[6910 Buzz]

Can u keep pigs beside a waterfall/river without fencing it?

 

[pipkins]

Not all upright rated pigs are equally hard work- our middle whites are very laid back. Sometimes lop-eared pigs are hard to move as they can't see, so tend to be stubborn. But any traditional breed will do well in woodland, probably too well, so a compromise could be a modern X traditional breed.

I wouldn't give them a huge area til you've honed your pig-wrangling skills as you'd likely not see them again. If you get them from a breeder that uses electric fencing you would get away with using that to section them off and keep feeding them a bit every day so they still 'rely' on you, providing the perimeter was secure so it wouldn't matter if they went off on a jolly out of their designated area.

 

[pipkins]

Upright eared...

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Not all upright rated pigs are equally hard work- our middle whites are very laid back. Sometimes lop-eared pigs are hard to move as they can't see, so tend to be stubborn. But any traditional breed will do well in woodland, probably too well, so a compromise could be a modern X traditional breed.

I wouldn't give them a huge area til you've honed your pig-wrangling skills as you'd likely not see them again. If you get them from a breeder that uses electric fencing you would get away with using that to section them off and keep feeding them a bit every day so they still 'rely' on you, providing the perimeter was secure so it wouldn't matter if they went off on a jolly out of their designated area.

We had to laugh when moving my daughter's sow recently - trying to get her to go in a shed she hadn't been in before. Followed the bucket to the door but wouldn't go in the door (had to step over a threshold). Daughter lifted her ear so she could see out and she walked right in

 

[6910 Buzz]

Would they cross the river tho?

 

[Agrivator]

Pigs can swim, but aren't too keen. And the leaner breeds will have less buoyancy than the fatter breeds.

Anyone who has dipped lambs will know that Texel cross lambs are less buoyant and more likely to panic than Suffolk crosses.

 

[6910 Buzz]

Would they cross a shallow part

 

[Davey]

Would they cross a shallow part

Yes

We have a stream that runs through our woodland in the winter months and they love it

If it's too fast flowing or deep you will need to fence them away from it otherwise you'll lose them down river. They can swim and like water but they can also drown

 

[Old Boar]

I have a lake (swine lake) in one field and the pigs regularly used to swim across it. In summer they used to lie in the shallows almost totally submerged with just their noses like snorkels poking up. They were pretty good at going across the stream too.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

I have a lake (swine lake) in one field and the pigs regularly used to swim across it. In summer they used to lie in the shallows almost totally submerged with just their noses like snorkels poking up. They were pretty good at going across the stream too.

You sure you didn't keep hippos?

 

[Old Boar]

Covered in mud, they looked quite similar, but smelt better!

 

[6910 Buzz]

Be a shame to fence it of and have to carry them water

 

[Dry Rot]

Pigs were traditionally kept in woodland and so long as they are not pressed for food, would surely have enough engrained sense not to eat poisonous plants? Contrary to some opinions, I found Tamworths lovely pigs to keep. I think I was the first to get them in this area and had to take the sow about 150 miles to the nearest boar in my Renault 4 van!

On the way home, after her brief holiday, the sow dismantled my home made pig guard and ended up completing the journey looking out through the windscreen with her front feet on the passenger seat!

Yes, do have a catching/loading pen and feed them in it regularly. I managed to entice the younger pigs into my trailer with a trail of pig nuts but the boar was not falling for that. In the end, I chased him around the field with the MF135 and gave him a shunt up the backside every time he stopped. After a few hours he realised the only safe place was inside the trailer.

Fencing needs to be doubly secure and if I had pigs again (unlikely) I'd have Rylock with a couple of electric strands on the inside. Pigs cna throw a mound of earth over a single electric wire surprisingly quickly. The result, for me, was a rotavated front lawn, the job completed in one night.

I buy my pork at the super market.

 

[Paddington]

We have a corner of a field fenced off with stock and three strand electric fence for our pigs. I was careful putting in fence posts as their is at least one drain emptying into a small pond, but then forgot about it. Pigs did a spot of overtime one night and not only found the perforated pipe but dug it out of the ground before chewing through it, wallows 'r us. I repaired the pipe and covered it with some (heavy to me stones). Next day the stones were distributed around the run. We no longer use that run.