Building my first pig pen...

[JakefromOhio]

Well I got out of work just in time to make it to tractor supply. I ended up with this no climb horse fence. 2x4 woven wire. Seems pretty stout and I don't think the little piggies will be able to squeeze through those holes as long as the fence is good and tight. So it looks like I'll be putting up fence in the morning!

 

[misfitmorgan]

With cheap fence you will be replacing it in short order, so you will build it now and again later. Also, pasturing pigs sounds just great, however have you seen just a few hogs spend a night rooting a field in Texas ? You will need a tractor with a scrape bucket on it's back to fill in the holes. And the cost ? When looking to buy a fence, look for the most heavy wire that is available, then the tallest ( 5 foot tall ). This will not only keep the wire from being streatched out of shape ( thin wire is the worst for sagging and streatching) by your animal rubbing it's itchy spot and the tall fence will help to keep the neighborhood running/ dumped dogs out. A couple of strands of electric wire on the inside of the fence as well as a quality charger is always recommended too to give longevity for your fences. The heavy type of corner fence post as well as it's construction will greatly help in keeping the fence from sagging and keep it tight. The field fence posts should be no more than 8feet apart. Gates are always best when they are very sturdy with heavy posts to support them. You are probably looking to buy the fence for pigs, but you never know what the future animals you may have later on, so it is best to buy the best fence now to accomodate future needs too. To keep just a couple feeder pigs in now, look into hog or cattle pannels and just build a small enclosure for them and add electric wire to keep them away from the panels.

We pasture our pigs...in michigan and they have yet to do any major damage to the pasture after 4 months. They made two wallows spots where the barn drains come out and they root around those but otherwise they just graze in the pasture. We have about maybe an acre total fenced for pasture...for 8 pigs.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Well I got out of work just in time to make it to tractor supply. I ended up with this no climb horse fence. 2x4 woven wire. Seems pretty stout and I don't think the little piggies will be able to squeeze through those holes as long as the fence is good and tight. So it looks like I'll be putting up fence in the morning! View attachment 19610

Congrats lol.....make sure you stretch it well and tight like a banjo or it will sag badly very quickly.

 

[secuono]

Pigs shove fencing up.

Woven fences are bendy and weak, compared to panels, they will shove up and escape.

With cattle panels or hog panels, they can't be bent.

So you will need to add to your fence to keep them off the fence. Hotwire, metal pole railing, wood.

Piglets will escape cattle panels.

 

[JakefromOhio]

Yea I wanted to get the panel's but they're 16 feet and my truck bed is 5.5 feet. I don't have a trailer so couldn't make it happen. I have a bunch of treated 2x8 that the previous owner left there so I plan to put one flush to the ground and one 12 inches up from that. Should do the trick. The fencing is much more sturdy than the welded wire or anything else I was able to haul in my truck so it was my best option.

 

[secuono]

Just bend them into a U shape with rope. Just use strong rope and not something that will snap and the panel whacks you in the face.
Our truck is 6ft. I curved 6 of them in one trip. Might have a picture somewhere.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I did that once - bent them so they'd fit in a small trailer. We NEVER got the bends back out.... Maybe we just didn't try hard enough, but I've got a fence with wavy fence panels now, ugh.

 

[Raiquee]

Hello!

We are also hoping to build our piggy shelter and fencing this year, for spring pigs next year. We are on 4.3 acres and it's wonderful. We will not raise pigs year round, and will alternate them with meat chickens (the pen will be dual purpose for that is what I mean). So my fencing and shelter needs may be different than yours. My plan is to use the hog panels, and line the bottom and out along the ground with chicken wire to keep bad animals out mainly. As far as shelter we are just going to put in a lean to, as they won't be around in winter.

Would love to see more pics! I like the wood supports vs the t-posts. I have my garden fenced in with tposts and I want to re-do it with wooden posts as I feel it looks better.

And hold onto that wire! Fruit trees? Gonna need it to wrap em so they don't get eaten. Pea trellis? Absolutley. Expanding the garden? Oh yeah doing that too. Plenty of uses for that fencing.

 

[babsbag]

@Raiquee Depending on predators the chicken wire will do nothing to keep them out. Hopefully at least for night time you will have a secure house to keep the chickens in. Also, I have only raised pigs once and they pick an area of their pen as the toilet area... it was pretty nasty after a few weeks so I cleaned it often but personally I would have to scrape the pen and bring in new dirt if I was going to keep chickens in the pen after the pigs. But maybe that is just me...IDK.

 

[JakefromOhio]

Hello!

We are also hoping to build our piggy shelter and fencing this year, for spring pigs next year. We are on 4.3 acres and it's wonderful. We will not raise pigs year round, and will alternate them with meat chickens (the pen will be dual purpose for that is what I mean). So my fencing and shelter needs may be different than yours. My plan is to use the hog panels, and line the bottom and out along the ground with chicken wire to keep bad animals out mainly. As far as shelter we are just going to put in a lean to, as they won't be around in winter.

Would love to see more pics! I like the wood supports vs the t-posts. I have my garden fenced in with tposts and I want to re-do it with wooden posts as I feel it looks better.

And hold onto that wire! Fruit trees? Gonna need it to wrap em so they don't get eaten. Pea trellis? Absolutley. Expanding the garden? Oh yeah doing that too. Plenty of uses for that fencing.

I planted my first garden this year and have come to realize that EVERYTHING needs fenced in! I ended up replanting my onions and corn 5 or 6 times each before I gave up on the corn and the onions finally took hold. Something was digging my pepper plants up by the roots and just leaving them lay and then the deer came in and flat topped all of my tomato plants and wiped out the beans and cucumbers completely. Fortunately the tomatoes survived and are doing well but other than the onions they're all I have left.