Pig Pasture Rotations

I feel like I'm 98% comfortable with my pasturing system for the pigs, so I thought I'd share how I approach it.

This is what a paddock looks like right before I move them. You'll notice that the grower have a separate feeding area delineated by an electric fence wire that just tall enough for them to get under, but not tall enough for the sows. You can also see the wallow in the middle of the photo. Pigs need a wallow when it gets hot like this. One of the ways I know that it's time to move the pigs is that it starts to smell just a tad barnyardy near the wallow. The pigs won't defecate in it, but they will urinate in it.

Here's a view from the old paddock looking toward the new paddock. It's important to wait to feed them until you move them to get them motivated to cross the old fence line.

They hardly do any rooting when the soil gets this dry, but they do tend to root along the fence line, for whatever reason. On rare occasions they will root up the line enough to ground out fence, but I usually move them too frequently for that to happen.

This is just another view of the old paddock. The pigs are following me because they haven't been fed yet. Note that they won't eat all the grass, and they don't graze like a cow. They like young grasses, clover, thistle roots, and young horsetails. I try to keep the pasture between 6 and 12 inches tall.

After turning the power to the fence off, I start rolling it up. I use a single strand of wire, and I have a mix of aluminum and steel. I have more than I can currently use, but I've found that I prefer the steel. It kinks more often, but it breaks less. When the fence breaks, I just splice it right back together. I'm cheap! I use temporary step-in posts to support the fence. I wish they made higher quality posts, as I find they don't last that long with the sun exposure and abuse that I give them. I have a collection of reels and pieces of wood that I use to roll up the fence. I use what is handy.

There is a ditch here, and I know the pigs won't try to cross into it. If I had more posts, I'd lay out the new paddock before taking this one down, but at the moment I need these posts to lay out the new one.

This paddock already had two sides fenced, so I needed to only string the fence on the other two sides. Here you can see the spacing on the posts. This side is the most critical as it separates the boar from everyone else.

After wiring up the fence and removing the dividing fence. The pigs come right through with some pig feed motivation waiting for them.

When two rolls meet, I just temporarily splice them together and wire the spool to the fence post so that it doesn't ground out. Low tech, but it works.

The fence doesn't need much tension as long as there are enough posts, but occasionally I will need to go back and adjust a loose section. I find that twisting the post works well.

I like to use this opportunity to walk the old paddock and take note of any pasture issues. For instance, I noticed these thistles that are about to flower and need to get whacked back asap. The pigs are weird about thistles. They like to eat the roots at times, but other times they won't touch them.

I have a cheap water hose I made using thin, cheap tubing that runs the length of the pasture with tees every couple hundred feet or so. I just let the hose sit on the top of the ground year round, and it's on it's fourth year so far. It cost me about $100 for 1000 ft. This is where I'll hook up the garden hose to water the pigs and flood the wallow.

Here the pigs are already exploring the wallow right after I hook the water up. They get hot quickly this time of year. Not pictured is the tank with the float valve that is their drinking spot. I have another tee with a valve that allows me to control the flow to the wallow. I want just a trickle. This is where having my own shallow well comes in handy, as I don't need to be too worried about wasting our metered residential water.

The last thing I do is drag the shelter a few feet into the new paddock. At this time of year, it's more for shade than anything. I was able to get by this year with one shelter for 3 sows and 12 piglets, but I will definitely need more next year. (I had another for a bit, but they didn't use it, preferring to squeeze into the shelter).

The whole process takes me about an hour (normal daily chores take about 15 minutes right now), but it's worth it to see the pigs happily gobbling down the clover I planted last year. This system works well for 15 pigs, but it should work for 150. I'll get the opportunity to see, as I just signed a four year lease with my neighbor for an additional 5 acres of pasture!