How NOT to Keep Hogs

Grow some food and stuff!

Moderator: matt walker

How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby George Collins » Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:10 am

Image

We used to have a barn, then we had Katrina and now we don't have a barn.

On the west side of that barn was a cement floor laid on a slant and designed to house hogs on death row. Once we lost the barn we had to make do. The first hog pen we had was built log cabin style out of sweet gum (i.e. weeds). It was perfect in that the hogs were unable to get out but it was terrible in that the floor of the pen quickly turned to slop and and there was nothing we could do about it for it was too fragile relative to its considerable weight to be moved. What we needed was a pen that was easily moved so Youngblood conceived of the pen shown in the picture. However, he quit keeping hogs before putting it into use.

I build my present home across the road from him, decided to try my hand at raising hogs, and got permission (along with a cussin) to use his pen.

I drug it to my house, set it up, bought two pigs, dumped em in and all was groovy until . . .

They got big!

You couldn't keep the dern things in the pen.

Once when I was very young, I asked, "Daddy, are hogs strong?"

"IS A HOG STRONG?! Boy, a hog get his nose under it he c'n pick up the side of a barn!"

A lesson I relearned the hard way. I figure they escaped this pen no less that ten times. I thought we had lost them twice but their hunger for store bought feed kept'em coming back to the house. The way they escaped was that they would pick up on the side of the pen and in doing do would lift the metal post(s) clear out of the ground. Since the posts were attached to the hog panels out of which the body of the pen is made, the post would clear the ground and then act as a brace holding the pen in the air high enough for them to escape.

I had to come home from work three times at least to fetch em back in the pen. Usually wasn't very hard to do . . . but a headache nevertheless.

Youngblood cussed me good for wanting to start keeping hogs again. A couple days ago, seeing how much trouble I was having keeping them penned, he told me, "When we raise our hogs next year, we're gonna have us a pen with a ceeement floor!"

I kept my mouth shut.

The hogs right now are in Youngblood's trailer and we are taking them to the processing plant in the morning.

I'm REALLY glad to be shed of them things and out of the hogs business until next year.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby matt walker » Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:12 am

I have mixed feelings as slaughter approaches, but it is a relief to be free of 'em for the winter. Not to mention bacon. Anyway, I've had really good luck with a single hot wire about a foot off the ground. I moved my hogs four times in the six months I had 'em, and in each location the fence was crappy welded wire on T posts. The trick was the first enclosure was really secure, and I trained them to the hot wire in there. After that, they never touched a fence again. I could have fenced 'em in with dental floss if I put a hot wire 6" in from the fence and a foot off the ground.
User avatar
matt walker
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1806
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:50 pm
Location: North Olympic Peninsula

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby George Collins » Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:54 am

Matt,

I started charging up a solar powered 'lectric fence power source thingy yesterday morning.

As long as civilization holds up, I'm about to become the local zen master on 'lectric fencing.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:40 pm

Its good to be a Zen Master off something, I expect 'lectric fencing is as good a thing to Master as any. :lol:
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby Lollykoko » Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:50 pm

George, I'll be interested to know how that works for you.

I have a new roll of "sheep and goat" fencing that we will be using eventually to mark off some pasture ground for livestock of one form or another. After starting a section of fence (near the road to say "Not Welcome") I was told that the proper way to use the 4 foot high fencing was with 6 foot posts. They said that then you wrap a "hot wire" a few inches above the ground, install the fencing a few inches higher than the wire, then top it all off with another "hot" strand. If I can use solar, it might be do-able.
User avatar
Lollykoko
 
Posts: 575
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:04 pm
Location: Howard and Miami Counties, Indiana

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:12 pm

The solar fencers can push a charge for quite a distance. I do not think there is a problem haveing the unit charge 2 wires, one high and one low. A good friend of mine used a solar charger to keep critters out of his garden and he uses the 2 wire system. I have looked at them and thought that they were surprisingly afforable. Especially is you do not have electric service on the place yet.
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby Lollykoko » Thu Mar 08, 2012 2:16 am

Not having electricity on the place yet is one of the biggies. I refuse to pay REMC $15 ~ 20K to come drop wire in a hole I dig from the road to my house site. We may spend that much (over a few years) setting up our own personal grid, but that is another story entirely. :D I have been looking into some smaller, stand alone solar applications. A couple of years ago I located a source for solar well pumps. A tad more expensive than a standard pump, but no monthly fee for usage.

I'll have to start looking at systems, I guess. If there is going to be livestock of any sort, they need to know where the boundaries are. Yeah, I know I'm dreaming.
User avatar
Lollykoko
 
Posts: 575
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:04 pm
Location: Howard and Miami Counties, Indiana

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby George Collins » Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:14 pm

Minus the posts, with enough materials and a solar charger and the assorted paraphernalia, I bought enough fencing to span a 1/2 mile of boundary for right at $200. The Solar unit cost $133 alone and is rated for 5 miles of fencing.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: How NOT to Keep Hogs

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Thu Mar 08, 2012 2:42 pm

I thought the solar fencing unit was just over $100 when I looked at them several years ago George. I think that is a real bargan. The 5 mile range is very good as well. They work well and do not have much maintainance. I do not know how long the back up battery lasts or how many years of electric production you get from the photo cells. But for the price I really like the solar units. Especially in Lollys case where there is really not anyother options.
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5


Return to Garden, Pasture, Forest

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 12 guests

cron