Raising pigs in the open: Part 1

In this article, it was revealed that an outdoor set-up for raising pigs could be profitable. However, the management of the animals needed to be vigorous and dedicated.

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Two factors have brought outdoor pig breeding back into fashion overseas and enabled it to compete with intensive farming on equal terms: three-week weaning, and mains-operated electric fencing with a real kick in it.

It has been said that land suitable for growing grain will also be suitable for outdoor pig farming, but this isn't strictly the case.

In wet seasons, heavy land spells misery for such an operation. The temporary pasture is churned up by the pigs' sharp hoofs, and soil impaction results from regular servicing trips by tractors pulling trailers loaded with feed or animals.

For a herd of pregnant sows, all that is needed is a single enclosure of a few hectares ringed by electric fencing, preferably double-wired for absolute security.

If sows are to be kept apart after farrowing to prevent cross-suckling, some laying out of individual paddocks is called for,

ideally on light, level, well-drained land.

If attendants and animals are to move easily in wet weather, 'poaching' of the land in the paddocks must be kept to a minimum.

As moving livestock and their requirements is a continual and timeconsuming task, a new system of arranging paddocks is finding favour.