Hygiene question for pigs

TomYaz · #1 08/15/13, 07:41 AM

When your deisgnated pooping are is next to the slop trough, how does one not accidently poop in the slop trough forcing the master to clean it out before feeding?

Master says the trough cant be moved.

FarmboyBill · #2 08/15/13, 07:58 AM

An ya cant keep hogs from occasionally rapping in the trough. Facts a life.

am1too · #3 08/15/13, 08:05 AM

Depends what your pig is.

TomYaz · #4 08/15/13, 08:34 AM

Ocassionally? I seem to do it everyday! Very embarassing! Maybe I should have back up radar implanted on my rear to warn me if I get too close to the trough.

7thswan · #5 08/15/13, 09:35 AM

Move the trough, get a bigger area. Pigs will keep themselves clean if you let them. Our pigs did not poop where they slept eather. We really liked our pigs and they liked us, it's why we nolonger raise them. We have a neighbor do it, but I do think about it,but DH will not.

TomYaz · #6 08/15/13, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7thswan

Move the trough, get a bigger area. Pigs will keep themselves clean if you let them. Our pigs did not poop where they slept eather. We really liked our pigs and they liked us, it's why we nolonger raise them. We have a neighbor do it, but I do think about it,but DH will not.

Yes they poop in an area they chose, but happened to be near the trough...cant move the trough its in the only practical spot. Ah well...

edcopp · #7 08/15/13, 01:01 PM

More pen space per hog. Hogs will keep a neat house if given enough space. They will eat in one place, sleep in a different space and poop in yet another spot.

As a former landlord, I can confirm that Hogs keep a better house than some people.

TomYaz · #8 08/15/13, 01:19 PM

As a former landlord, I can confirm that Hogs keep a better house than some people.

I Never had pig tenants. Fixed up the rental nice, had it in a desirable area and charged appropriatly. Knock on wood all the tenants probably kept the place neater than when I lived there. Never late on rent either.
Been renting 12 yrs to 4 different people. If you have slum looking and slum priced rental, you get "low rent" tennants. When my Dad owned the place before I got it, it was a low-rent slum of a house, and the tenants acted to that level.

watcher · #9 08/15/13, 03:14 PM

I've found hogs to be fairly clean critters. They like their wallow, feed tub and potty as far from each other as their area will allow.

But cattle! I've often seen cows standing in the pond one sucking up water and their other end spraying it out at the same time. I've also seen them dosed by their fellow herd mates with both kinds of waste and not seem the least bit concerned.

And chickens, ugh. I've seen them peck flies off piles of their own poop and their accuracy isn't good enough for them to get ONLY the fly, if you know what I mean.

gone-a-milkin · #10 08/15/13, 06:14 PM

Going potty in the water results in fresh clean drinking water being provided each and every time.
Pretty smart, really.

**highlands** · #11 08/15/13, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7thswan

Move the trough, get a bigger area. Pigs will keep themselves clean if you let them.

Hmm... That's a mighty fine Myth I hear repeated a lot - it doesn't fit reality at all. We have 400 pigs on 70 acres of pasture. Sometimes they're (relatively) clean, sometimes they're dirty. They're always clean by a pig's standards but that is different than my standards. Realize pigs like to roll in the mud. And if there isn't any mud available they'll make it by urinating in a spot to make it muddy. Pigs standards.

redgate · #12 08/15/13, 10:45 PM

Not just mud either! We are raising our pigs in a forested lot with lots of pasture, trees, and brush to browse. It's 2 pigs in over 1/2 acre lot, and we rotate to other lots every few weeks. Sometimes they are spotless, sometimes filthy from mud. But the worst of all is when we rotate the cows through with them. Those pigs LOVE to roll in the fresh cow patties! It's disgusting, and they just can't figure out why I won't pet them afterward!

TedH71 · #13 08/15/13, 10:59 PM

Pigs don't have sweat glands so they get hot easily. They have to cool off and if you don't give them an area to cool off, they'll create it themselves. You basically force them to do so. They're far from stupid.

7thswan · #14 08/16/13, 06:11 AM

Mud covered pigs are normal, pigs in their own poop is not.

willow_girl · #15 08/16/13, 07:32 AM

A pig smart enough to use a computer ought to be able to figure this out on his own.

TomYaz · #16 08/16/13, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willow_girl

A pig smart enough to use a computer ought to be able to figure this out on his own.

Lady, I may be a smart pig, but you know how some smart pigs just cant get their s*** together?

JoePa · #17 08/16/13, 02:09 PM

Pigs are the dirtiest animals that exist - and they stink the most - I knew a guy who owned a pig farm - he took me through it a couple times - man - how the guy was able to live even near them made me wonder - when you apporached his place you could smell the pigs a mile or two away - he and his family literally stunk from the odor that surrounded the place - years ago there was a farm near our place - and as a boy I would cut through the farm on my way fishing - they had a pig pen in one of the fields - I'd stop and watch the pigs for awhile - the pen was all mud and when one would take a crap there was a mad rush by the others to get there first and eat it - when I saw that I couldn't eat pork for a long time -

ET1 SS · #18 08/16/13, 05:57 PM

I fenced in an area of woods, about 2 hogs per acre.

The only time that they defecate near their feed is in winter. They throw their feed bowls around a lot. In winter they poop anywhere that avoids the feed bowls. With each fresh layer of snow, the old poop gets covered and they start over again. When temps warm up again, the layers of snow and ice go away and the entire paddock is a thick layer of poop.

But otherwise, they never poop near their food.

They do dig up swimming holes. They enjoy rolling in mud. They do not poop near their swimming holes either.

fixer1958 · #19 08/16/13, 08:27 PM

Give them more room. I had mine on a couple of acres and they had a designated pooping area. An occasional deuce would be dropped around the feeder but it was minimal. The thing that got me was when I refreshed there mud hole was when they first stepped in it they would pee.

If I had a choice of animals to raise it would be between chickens and pigs and I have raised several hundred meat birds and as far the stinking mess avoidance I would chose pigs as the best nostril discomfort avoidance hands down.

Although there was this one time I had to go to the doctor one morning. I had a minor amount of pig discharge on my boots. I noticed it and was looking for a reaction. All I got was a nostril flare. I enjoyed that because I didn't like him anyway.

We had a potbelly that lived in the garage for 10 years. I knew his habits. He would only poop or pee in the garage if it was raining or snowing. He had free roaming privileges. Like one of the dogs but he had to squeeze through the dog door.

redgate · #20 08/22/13, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoePa

Pigs are the dirtiest animals that exist - and they stink the most - -

In the words of Joel Salatin, any odor is a sign of poor management. We are finding that to be too true. We have spent a couple of years experimenting with eliminating odors, improving our management methods, etc. Now, on about 7 acres (really only about 1 acre used at any given time due to the rotational nature), we have 3 cows, a bull, 2 5-month old calves, a standard donkey, 5 goats, 2 pigs, meat rabbits, 3 barn cats, 2 guardian dogs, and too many chickens. The only smell you MIGHT sense on a humid day is the broiler chickens in the portable tractor, and I have no doubt that even that smell would be eliminated if I moved the tractor twice a day instead of once. Folks walk right past our pigs every day and don't even know they're there unless they are seen.