pigs to clear land

[jackie c]

My first year with pigs is going well. I have them in a 20 x 30 foot pen that I made with strong oak pallets. Works Great! Although I wouldn't recommend pine, or spruce pallets, they just would'nt hold up. This is going to be a wonderful garden plot next year. I would like to install an electric fence and pasture my next 6 pigs. I want them to clear some tag alder, dogwood,and willow that has taken over what was once a pasture. I would like to know what size of plot do I need to fence off to keep them well fed, but also to have just enough so that they kill off the tag alder and dogwood. Thanks in advance.

[Tango]

I'm not an expert but I'll tell you what my experience was w/ my domestic sows. I built a pen measuring 24 x 54 and they were about 150 lbs. when they went in there. It took them two months to clear it and I was giving each 2.5 pounds of hog feed everyday. The only cluster of myrtles, is still standing. They rooted around it and thinned it out considerably due to the root damage but they didn't kill it in the five months they were in there. My wild hogs are twice as fast to clear nutgrass but they are just as slow to kill trees. Long after the grass is gone the trees are still standing. A neighbor down the road put in about 6-8 wild pigs in a treed pasture that looks about an acre (could be less). Within four months the grass was gone. I don't see the pigs in there anymore but the trees look great. The pigs thinned out some palmetto scrubs but didn't kill any that I can tell. What may happen is that you will have to supplement them with feed after the grass is gone. They will kill trees but it has been my experience that the trees die due to root damage not from being eaten. Best wishes with your pasture. I use my wild pigs to clear my gardens also and never have to buy fertilizer

When you said you used oak palets, did you mean that you nailed the pallets together and form a pen? Did you have to dig into the ground and put in posts so that the pallets are secure?

The reason I am asking that is that I want to pen up my pig but i just don't know how to do it

Hope someone will help
Cheers

[jackie c]

I nailed them together and reinforced them with some scrap 2x6's that I scavanged. The 2x6's are placed on top, bottom and diagaonally, to tie it all together. It does help if the pallets are all the same size.
I have found the pigs to be rooting up to the fence, but not under (yet) I have had them in there since the beginning of May, so I hope they don"t go under. The fence is attached to the 'old' chicken coop, which is the pig house now..I hope these directions are clear enough.