Sweetened
Herd Master
This is our first year with pigs. We picked up two feeder weanlings as a "lets see if we like this" and we do. When we bought them, there were chickens running around them, eating from their food bowls and crowing in their ears without issue and, until recently, we've never had a problem with them.
One of the pigs has been caught a couple times now killing a chicken that's gone in to scratch at their bathroom section to pick out any goodies. This never used to be a problem, and still isn't with the other pig, who wants nothing to do with the event. Short of electrifying the chicken (which I've heard works), we've tried yelling at him, whacking him with a stick on the ham and, yesterday, I grabbed the chicken and hit him with it as hard as I could. He knows, the moment he gets caught, that he's in trouble, but he still does it.
Now I've read it could be a protein deficiency, but that it's likely too late to correct as he's already gotten the taste for fresh meat. I've upped egg intake for them and will start boiling them every day to up the protein. Having read through a few forums, there's the whole "NEVER EVER EVER let anything else EVER in their pen, it's risky, blah blah." These posts are often countered by people who have been pasturing pigs for 10+ years without issue. "Well you're just LUCKY" say some, others agree to disagree. Some people say it's a space issue -- they're bored, not enough space to wander so entertain them, give them a challenge. How does one challenge or entertain a pig? How does one make games for pigs?
I will be putting up chicken wire today to try and stop chickens from entering through the pagewire. If they go over top, mind you, They'll be considered 'asking for it'.
One of the pigs has been caught a couple times now killing a chicken that's gone in to scratch at their bathroom section to pick out any goodies. This never used to be a problem, and still isn't with the other pig, who wants nothing to do with the event. Short of electrifying the chicken (which I've heard works), we've tried yelling at him, whacking him with a stick on the ham and, yesterday, I grabbed the chicken and hit him with it as hard as I could. He knows, the moment he gets caught, that he's in trouble, but he still does it.
Now I've read it could be a protein deficiency, but that it's likely too late to correct as he's already gotten the taste for fresh meat. I've upped egg intake for them and will start boiling them every day to up the protein. Having read through a few forums, there's the whole "NEVER EVER EVER let anything else EVER in their pen, it's risky, blah blah." These posts are often countered by people who have been pasturing pigs for 10+ years without issue. "Well you're just LUCKY" say some, others agree to disagree. Some people say it's a space issue -- they're bored, not enough space to wander so entertain them, give them a challenge. How does one challenge or entertain a pig? How does one make games for pigs?
I will be putting up chicken wire today to try and stop chickens from entering through the pagewire. If they go over top, mind you, They'll be considered 'asking for it'.