Pig Fence

[roneil76]

anyone have any idea how much $ I would need to set up a small outdoor pen to rise a few pigs to eaten size. 1-3 pigs. from scratch. no metarials or idea what i'm doing. litterally no clue.



also. I have plenty of chickens and ducks. how would eggs do as an additional feed.

[Up North]

Ryan - Yes eggs make a suitable feed addition.
Here's one way to build a small homestead hogpen:
Purchase:
(6) combination hog/cattle panels (36" high X 16' long)
(12) Steel T-Posts, 5 1/2' tall
(1) Small roll of 12-14 gauge galvanized wire
Place the combo panels to form a rectangle with one panel used for each end and two panels for each side. Drive T-Posts in, setting them one at each corner, and one every 8 feet. Complete by wiring the panels to the T-Posts and wiring the corners of panels together securely.

You may need to rent, borrow, or buy a T-Post Driver Tool. This and a pair of pliers to cut and twist wire is the tools required.

I will let you take the above materials list and shop your local sources for pricing, as they may be different in your area than they are here.

[nomad7inwi]

We are using a combination of Free Pallets and recycled t-posts with found woven wire for our breeding pigs, Cost for that pen was about $4 for the wire I used to attach everything.

Don't forget if you are just raising for the summer you'll need shade. We made a tarp tent. We used 2 of the t-posts already sunk for the pen and sunk 2 more for the other 2 corners and then put a taller 1 in the middle with a top cap on it and attached the tarp corner to the 4 posts. The taller post in the middle stops the rain from collecting in the middle of the tarp. That was the most expensive part of the pen.

We did but a feeder from a neighbor getting out of pigs. Its about 6 ft tall and he was happy to be rid of it for $5. You'll need something sturdy for water too. We got a steel trough at auction for $5. If its empty they can tip it, when its full they don't.

[roneil76]

thank you all so far. I've got many ideas poppin in my head all ready here. I guess $ is the issue. I have some 2x 12 x 16 planks. but isnt wood a bad choice?

[BlueHeronFarm]

For $150 you can get a portable, movable electric poultry net and move the pen often. You do need to buy a charger to go with it.

For even less you can just define the pen with a wire or two and use lastic stakes. (Though our new piglets have been busting out of their 2-strand, so we just added a third. The little nut jobs)

[highlands]

It doesn't take much. You need:

1. fencing - $300 - first a physically fenced space to train them to electricity and then ideally a larger area to let them out to graze. Cost for a good (>1.5 Joule, ideally ≥6 Joule) charger is about $100 to $200. Step in posts or insulators maybe $50. Polywire $30 to $60. Ground rod $10. Misc $20. That will give you a decent fence that will likely last for five to ten years. For the physically tight fenced area pallets work great. Put a hot wire inside them on insulators at low and walking nose heights.

2. food - $150 per pig in bagged small quantities last I knew. Grazing can greatly decrease this cost. Good free pre-consumer food like dairy and such can also greatly decrease the cost. Food is the big cost on pigs.

3. piglets - $100 each around here right now if you can find them. Cost varies greatly with location, age, season, etc. Fall is the best time to buy pigs if you're looking to save money on the piglet cost. They grow fine through the winter although they will eat a little more as they need more calories for warmth.

4. hay or pasture depending on the season is a good thing.

5. "Small Scale Pig Raising" by Dirk van Loon - the best book I've seen. Get it. $10 or so.

It is just about as easy to raise four as it is to raise one and by being in a group they grow faster because they are competitive feeders. By raising extras you can sell them and amortize the costs a bit for your fixed things like fencing.

Housing doesn't need to be fancy. A lean-to works great.

See this:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2005/08...-for-meat.html

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

[Faith Farm]

I would do as Walter describes except instead of polywire use
a 12 gauge wire if you intend to leave the fence up for more than
a year. The cost is about the same but I believe it gives a better bite.
It may be harder to work with but it lasts forever. When trimming the
weeds around it a wacker won't cut it and poly will burn when tied to
any metal gate handle or other metal wire. Just from my experience.