Winter: better to raise a feeder pig in a barn stall or large pen?

[theawesomefowl]

Hi everyone! I am a birdloving nerd, aka awesomefowl of BYC. I have 12 chickens: 5 layers, 3 goofy little silkies, and a pair of breeding Seramas.

I'm new to all of this, so i don't know the answer to this question, and my second reread of "Raising Pigs" isn't in at the library yet. LOL
We have a small fenced in area that was a garden, whihc still has some bulbs and solomon seal, but which I could possibly use for the pig. I would build a windbreak in it. If I was to keep the pig there, woulf any of those plants hurt the pig were he to eat them?

We also have a smallish (but big enough) stall in the barn we could possibly use. Which is better in the wintertime? I will hopefully get the pig this month, but in the spring I would move him outdoors anyways. The pig would only be here till about July as he would be a 4H project.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jhm47]

First of all, we have no clue as to where you live, and the climate where you are located. This would determine which enclosure would be more suited to your pig.

As to a 4 - H pig (again, we have no idea which state you're in, and states have different rules), but my children raised many grand and reserve champion pigs in 4 - H, and we usually got them born in February. This made them about the right weight in early August. We kept them on concrete, but they had a fairly large area to exercise. We fed them on commercial hog feed, and many of them gained in excess of 2 lb/day. Older son had one that gained 2.35 lb/day. This one weighed 320 at state fair time in early September.

In our state, the feeder pigs are weighed in March, eartagged with rate of gain tags, and each pig must gain a minimum of weight in order to be shown. I believe it's 1.6 lb/day. Been awhile, so I don't remember for sure. Genetics have increased the gain of pigs over the years, so the pigs that we thought were fast gainers then would be at the bottom of the class today.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Sorry!!
I live in upstate NY. It gets COLD in the winter! ! !
So I was going to keep it in a stall so I don't have to walk down a hill in the winter carrying water, then move it in the pen for the spring.

 

[theawesomefowl]

sooo......can you keep hogs on a wood floor?

 

[theawesomefowl]

My dad is going to let me get the piggie! (p.s. I know I sound like an absolute greenhorn saying piggie--its not as bad as you think....) lol

 

[freemotion]

Yay! I hope it goes really well for you. I don't know about the wooden floor...I have a plywood floor in my pig hut but they are on pasture so they have an outlet for their need to root. Without that, they might work at that floor until they find a loose spot and tear it up....maybe. Just a thought. When I was a kid, our pigs tore up a cement floor that was old and cracked...they got a bit loose, then quickly tore up the entire floor!

 

[CountryFried]

Yay! I hope it goes really well for you. I don't know about the wooden floor...I have a plywood floor in my pig hut but they are on pasture so they have an outlet for their need to root. Without that, they might work at that floor until they find a loose spot and tear it up....maybe. Just a thought. When I was a kid, our pigs tore up a cement floor that was old and cracked...they got a bit loose, then quickly tore up the entire floor!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have random concrete all over my yard, one being a slab 8' by 44', probably 8-10" deep, I'd LOVE to get rid of it LOL.

Now how do I get around the whole "gotta be penned 100' from neighbor housing".....


On topic, I'm in LA (Lower Alabama!), so our winter is mild (non-existent?), and my 3 boys are hanging out in a 16' square "tractor" that we move once they've rooted up most of the roots and such. We're raising them to eat, but their main purpose this go-round is to clear some of our land. They are doing a fantabulous job of it

 

[anthonyjames]

CountryFried,

Got any photos of the tractor you keep your pigs in?