Im thinking of getting a feeder pig this spring for the meat and to clear some ground. I dont have enough fencing can I just tether it to a tree or post? I dont wont it injured, there are alot of small trees around which I dont want but could the pig strangle itself or break a leg or something?

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 28, 2000

Answers

I know very little about pigs.But just in case nobody else replies,they really don't have much of a neck and from what I have heard,cannot be fitted with a collar,so what would you tie him by? They are also notoroius for being hard to lead or move around where you want them to go.I would make a stout wooden pen with stakes at the four corners,maybe with wheels on it,and move it around every day.I have no idea how pigs are with electric fence,but you can get portable new zealand fencing and move it every few days.We use it for our goats and it is wonderful.If you want the trees out of the way,you might be better off to get a few brush goats.But they can strangle pretty easily if the collar is wrong and they are not watched and checked up on every few hours.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), January 28, 2000.

You can put a harness on a pig by wrapping it around their legs/shoulders/neck like a figure 8, I think cats are leash trained with this type of thing, but putting it on a feeder pig is another story. You would have to start out with a weaner, or better yet get a tiny baby and bottle feed it so its used to it from day one because even a weaner will have fits if you put something like this on him.It will flop and squeal like nobodys business. A portable electric fence works great, just make sure its low to the ground and check it a few times a day to make sure it isnt grounded out.I've leash trained baby pigs but then they turned out to be pets. If you decide to tether a pig, make sure you do it on a cold day because with all its thrashing about it could have a heat stroke.

-- Julie (juliecapasso@aol.com), January 28, 2000.

I think it might be to stressful to tie a pig .Electric fence works great for us.We have a solar charger and very rarely does our boer even go near it , our sows never do .You will be amazed on how well they will clear the land

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), January 28, 2000.

We raise pigs. I would highly recommend NOT Tieing them to a tree. This could be very risky and you could loose the pig to strangulation. Our pigs stay in with a 3 strand electric fence which we use a reasonably priced solar charger to run. Should you make a pen or small pasture for them remember that as they grow they become more stronger and can bust out of a poorly constructed fence. I speak from experience on this as we have chased down our first hogs more than once because they busted out. If you play with them a lot they will become friendly and they are so smart too! But whatever you do please do not try tieing them.

-- Bernice Raymond (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 29, 2000.

Stan, I once used a puppy harness for a small pig, but it was only to walk her around our farm under supervision. Why not consider getting two pigs so they can have each other's company. Don't eat them. Just let them clear your land. Susan Means

-- Susan Means (PeaceSeeker2000@aol.com), February 01, 2000.

Electric is THE recommended method for containing pigs in a fairly portable enclosure. Also, two pigs will do better than one. They like the company, and they eat competitively, so they will gain weight faster if you have two.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), February 03, 2000.

We raised our first pig for meat last year. My husband build a 10 x 10 portable pen, similar to Saladin's portable chicken pen. He used scrap oak boards, used net wire, an old door that is cut in half for the door, and old tin. About 1/3 of the back of the pen is covered in tin to provide shade. That same 1/3 have tin on the sides for wind protection. There is a 2 foot section of this cut out to provide a breezeway, though. The other part of the pen is open at the top. We don't use the door at all until we drag the pig out before we harvest it. When we feed it, we mix up the feed and milk in a rubber feed dish and lower it in the pen with a pitchfork. We usually have to fool the pig--pretend to be putting the food down in one place and then raise and move it to another to set it down. Otherwise he sticks his big head in the dish and tips it--spilling his dinner. We use an old bucket for water and have to secure it in or he gets it out and plays with it and spills the water out. As for getting two--just be prepared for double rooting!! They can sure dig a hole. We move the pig pen around the orchard everyday and twice a day in rainy weather so that the ground stays relatively intact. We also ring his snout when he young. If you have other animals around, they all make friends and commune in animal language I'm convinced. The dog regularly goes up to the pen and sits or reclines against it while the pig appears to lick the dog's head. What a sight!! The few chickens I let range also fly in the pen and scratch and the pig never bothers them. We just took one of our sugar cured hams down yesterday and cut it. After the struggle of cutting the huge thing up (and not really knowing what I was doing), I said it had better be good after all that work. I fried a few pieces to see if I was going to have to soak it and it was absolutely delicious. It was definitely worth the effort. Last year's pig loved the extra milk we gave him, but so far the pig we have now just sloshes the milk out to get to the mash. He doesn't seem to care for it--at least yet.

-- janie dye (jdye_24088@yahoo.com), April 10, 2000.

Stan, pigs are so easy to raise and you will love the taste of home fed pork if that is to be the end result. We just put 2 in the freezers last week, had fresh side meat to sample this years pork and it was very tasty. If you live close to a bakery or bread outlet, you can buy bread, 40 loaves for $2.00 and pigs love it. So do cows, horses, chickens, ducks, geese etc. As for tethering, any animal will get used to anything if you have patience and start very young, keep a close eye on it the first few days, and the tether is usually on a harness which you could make of canvas and nylon straps bought at a GoodWill outlet. Good luck. Ravens Roost Farm Maureen

-- Maureen Stevenson (maureen@mtaonline.net), October 02, 2000.