Mad escaping feeder pigs....

Hillsvale

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So our tam gilt had her first babies July 12th.... they were about the cutest things EVER even when they ran through the field fence to explore the main yard, our response to that was to put fishing mesh around the parimeter..... fast forward 5 months...

They push the field fence up into the electrics and once that occurs of course the electrics short out... they then pull up the fence and roam around the yard :th distroying everything in their wake. So last night in the torrential downpour we repair the fence and electrics and I take 2x12's attach them at ground level to the posts and use fencing staples to attach the field fence to the 2x12's... I have read mixed reviews of using barb with pigs, I would hate to have them cut themselves.

Any thoughts... its going to be a long 3 more months otherwise ?
 

animalfarm

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If you have an electric wire inside of a mesh wire, how high off the ground is the electric wire and is it on the piglet side of the fence?
 

Hillsvale

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animalfarm said:
If you have an electric wire inside of a mesh wire, how high off the ground is the electric wire and is it on the piglet side of the fence?
Electrics on the pig side, now roughly 14" off the ground.... their snout height... they are pushing stuff against is and shorting it out. They were actually still in last evening which shocks me... we did the wood bit I mentioned just at the front of their pen at the yard side, I wonder if they weren't just seeing an entertainment opportunity and with that route off limits not they have backed off for the moment.
 

SuburbanFarmChic

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I would put a second strand lower down. When they are rooting/shoving stuff around then snout height is closer to 6". Also it helps to have 6" or a bit more in between the electric strand and your backing fence. They need to hit the electric before then can touch the fence. The fence keeps them from busting through the electric and the electric keeps them from busting through the fence. That is the theory anyway.


Your alternative is to drop them down into an old cement silo base and then haul them out when you are done. L. And they still might escape.
 

animalfarm

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Yep, you need a wire about 6" from the ground for starting piglets. Keep the one 14 " up for later.
 

Hillsvale

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animalfarm said:
Yep, you need a wire about 6" from the ground for starting piglets. Keep the one 14 " up for later.
Not exactly starter piglets.... at 5 months old they weight between 120 and 150 pounds.

We did have the wire lower when they were babies but it shorted out from the rooting pretty quick. They haven't escaped since I put the wood at the bottom so perhaps they are waiting until they are bored again and will challenge that system later! :gig

Stay tuned.. I will probably eat my words in a day or so.
 

Hillsvale

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SuburbanFarmChic said:
Have the strand at 6" high be your grounding strand.
well since we are new to critters, this is our 2nd year.... and since Simon is the electrics guy and he struggles .... fill me in, how will that work, I thought as long as they piled junk on the line it would short out. Our ground is at the start of the electrics, are you saying move it to the end? :hu I think you need to come to Nova Scotia for an electrics conference! :clap
 
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