Pigs without bathroom smarts

[Sweetened]

We started in on pigs with two feeders. They were very tidy, kept the bathroom inconveniently located by the gate. Once they were butchered, we picked up two weanling golts and a weanling boar. They have ZERO bathroom smarts. They go anywhere and everywhere, including in their shelter and they smell AWFUL when they come out of there, warm and steaming in our cold winter days. I have tried piling poop in an area and removing it constantly to no avail. I have even found poop ib their food! One thing i have always heard is how pigs never poop where they sleep. Well, i have the exception to the rule.

Any suggestions? Come the spring they will take over the over wintering pasture the sheep and goats use and id rather not lose the whole pasture to bathroom if i can train them to go in one spot.

Thanks!

 

[mysunwolf]

I've found that sometimes this is just the way certain pigs are. Another common reason for pigs to start the behavior of pooping anywhere is confinement, ex. if the sow was heavily confined they would have learned from birth to weaning that you poop where you sleep, or if they are weanlings and they are penned too close they will start going anywhere as well since they feel they don't have enough room to designate a poop area.

 

[mysunwolf]

Oh, and forgot to add that you will not lose the pasture to poop area, that is where the pasture will grow best You will lose the pasture to wallow area!

And I apologize, I have no advice for training pigs in this area. I'd suggest to start with pigs that were kept in a large, clean space from birth and to keep their space that way as the best method.

 

[Sweetened]

I can see how that would make a difference. One gilt came from a small and very wet, mucky pen, and the boar was stall raised. The other gilt came from a friend and they were very bathroom savvy -- i assume that changed with the other two.