Hog Fence Location/Help

[Fire-Man]

I got this posted in the Pig Forum but not getting any responce. I wanted to start this tomorrow but I would appreciate some thoughts and advice so I am cross posting it here.



Some years back I planted about 2 1/2 acres of corn to store and feed the chickens(had around 100 chickens at that time). The wind blowed down some of the corn so when I gathered it I found 3 young hogs at a deal so I fenced in the 2 1/2 acres. Two years ago I raised 3 hogs in this fence and Now I have 4 hogs in this fenced in place with No shade except for the covered 10x10ft stall. I am planning to keep raising a few hogs each year so I want to set them up a better place. I was thinking of fencing in about 3 acres of woods which has about a 1/2 acre shallow water hole. This hole usually holds water until summer but then thats according to how much rain we get. I will have no problem furnishing them drinking water. I was thinking I would also fence in about 1 acre of the open field beside the woods to make around 4 acres total. I was also planning to take down the 2 1/2 acre fenced in section which is about 150yrds from where the new fenced in area will be. Maybe keep the covered stall (its poles are in the ground)and make a strong hog/cow paneled section around it to keep a boar when I have one. I can not find anyone close to me that has a boar to breed to. I do not want to deal with having to load a sow and drive a hour away etc to get her bred. My thoughts are to get a young male pig and raise him to he gets old enough to breed a sow I have. Then put him in the freezer. Then months later find another one or a different blood sow to breed to my boar or sow I raised from a pig. My thoughts are to put a sow that is in heat into a hog box I have and pick it up with the frontend loader and carry her to the boar/breeding stall. When business is taken care of I will carry her back to the 4 acres.

Any of you Hog raisers have a better Idea or do you think this will be a Good Plan?

[LittleRedHen]

I have raised hogs off and on over the years. I would just raise a young boar up and let him range with the girls. Wait til you know she/they are bred and then toss him in the freezer. Outside of breeding time he won't mess with the girls in any wrong way and with that kind of space I am sure you could keep him happy. You could just keep him. I just had a 750 lb boar butchered and he tasted fine! no taint! he was raised on an open system like yours. I didn't raise him though but i received him and two sows in exchange for a Bull I had. The two sows went to the butcher too and were said to be 500 lbs each. They were all range fed and were great tasting

[Ironbutt]

You can fence a small area close to your current pen for a boar pig to live with a connecting gate. Then you can raise the boar pig separate from your other pigs. When the sow comes in heat open the gate and let him in to bred ,a week later return him to his pen.
I leave my boar with open gilts & sows up to the time they are expected to farrow then remove them to separate pens to farrow & raise her pigs. After her pigs are weaned, I leave her in her pen a week to get some condition and then return her to pen with other sows & boar.

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by Ironbutt

You can fence a small area close to your current pen for a boar pig to live with a connecting gate. Then you can raise the boar pig separate from your other pigs. When the sow comes in heat open the gate and let him in to bred ,a week later return him to his pen.
I leave my boar with open gilts & sows up to the time they are expected to farrow then remove them to separate pens to farrow & raise her pigs. After her pigs are weaned, I leave her in her pen a week to get some condition and then return her to pen with other sows & boar.

I can not let the old fenced section join the new one because they will be about 150yrds apart. If I have them connecting, I would be closing off my main road as well as cutting a 150 yrd wide field into. It would be better to just tear down the old stall and reuse what I can to rebuild it in the new location. I guess my problem is the boar is brother and sister to one sow and my other two sows are ruptured and I do not want them bread. So I was going to keep him seperated and find another sow. I was told that when a female goes into heat that a boar will tear out to get to her if his Fence is not strong and it would be better to keep him at a distance. Just trying to figure out the best way. I did not know the two sows(which are sisters) were ruptured until after I got the boar. I got the boar and his sister together right after they were weaned. I was going to grill the sister at a young age, keep the boar to breed which ever sow I decided to keep. The smaller sow showed a rupture soon after I got the young male then in a few weeks the other sow had a repture about the size of a silver dollar show up. Maybe it would be best to freezer the boar and the two reptured sows and keep the boars sister and find another boar.

[coup]

had a neighbor that had around 10 sows, pigs and boar,,,he had a single strand of electric wire about 6 inchs from the ground......lots of acorns and bread,he got along good for several years inbreeding......later he would talk someone in to bringing a boar and leaving him for several weeks,promising to give them a pig from every litter,,,,he always told them he didn't get any pigs......he would give us half for butchering one and putting his half in a freezer just halved....

he got my boy started by giving him a sow pig,,boy was to give him two piglets when he got them.....neighbor wanted boy to keep his two till butchered,,,we split ways about then........

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by coup

had a neighbor that had around 10 sows, pigs and boar,,,he had a single strand of electric wire about 6 inchs from the ground......lots of acorns and bread,he got along good for several years inbreeding......later he would talk someone in to bringing a boar and leaving him for several weeks,promising to give them a pig from every litter,,,,he always told them he didn't get any pigs......he would give us half for butchering one and putting his half in a freezer just halved....

he got my boy started by giving him a sow pig,,boy was to give him two piglets when he got them.....neighbor wanted boy to keep his two till butchered,,,we split ways about then........

I do not want a neighbor like that, of course I would tell him where "He Could Go" and see if he needed a "Ride" to get there.