Hog pen question/suggestions

[skyhightree1]

I sell hog halves and figured instead of buying from a friend all the time id try to keep some on hand that I raise. If I need more I would buy from him. I was wondering if anyone thinks this is a bad idea. I want to keep maybe 4-8 hogs at a time and thinking about making the lot out of wood posts and Hog panels. My question is has anyone ever used panels and nailed them to wood posts about an inch above ground and then just put the hot wire from a box directly to the panels ? I don't even want the hogs to get the idea of getting on the fence and trying to root out is why I wanted to use the electric.

 

[jltrent]

I have never done that, but I have used just high tensile wire bout a foot off the ground or less with a good strong charger. The only time and that was once they ever got out was when they rooted dirt up over the fence.

 

[skyhightree1]

I thought about that too but I just would feel more comfortable with the panels incase something like that did happen they still got more fence to keep them in. Know what I mean? Do you still fool with hogs?

 

[Bigfoot]

I raise hogs for many years (don't miss it). I always had 3 boards. One nearly in the ground, and the other very close to each other. Hot wire standing out from that about 6 inches off the ground. I sold smoked sausage, at Christmas, and sides all winter.

 

[lavacarancher]

My Dad raised hogs and tried the electric wire at the bottom of the fencing but it didn't work. Hogs soon figured out they could root dirt up over the wire and short it out.

 

[skyhightree1]

I thought about boards too but I like the panels best. I guess like everything else trial and error and see what happens. I can see where they could root up dirt on the wire panels and short them out. BF that gave me an idea of a wood board in front on the panel close to the ground or in the ground so the dirt couldn't get up on the panel to short it out.

 

[wacocowboy]

When I was a kid we had real nice pens brick walls and tin roof. I would like to have a set up like that but probably to expensive.

 

[skyhightree1]

Heck I never thought about bricks I got tons of cinderblocks that could be used for one. If I felt like putting in a lot of work I would fix up a portion of our old hog houses.

 

[dun]

Concrete floor with a gutter down the length of it. I got a bunch of old metal office partitions at the dump and built the pen from those with 2X4 heavy gauge welded wire on the front. Threw a couple of pallets with plywood nailed to them so the hogs could get off of the hot/cold concrete. Back half was covered. Set it up with a sewage pit/lagoon at the end of the pen to hose the crap into. They would learn within a couple of days to crap and pee in the gutter close to the outgoing end.
If I was going to do pigs again, that's the setup I would use again.

 

[skyhightree1]

That sounds like a good idea concrete is much easier to clean and build a slant so piles up in a make shift septic pit. I could pump it out and spray it on some pastures.

 

[M-5]

It won't matter if you do hot wire or not it still has to gone around every day with a hoe and clean out the dirt and stuff. You got to sell pretty high to break even on hogs.

 

[skyhightree1]

It won't matter if you do hot wire or not it still has to gone around every day with a hoe and clean out the dirt and stuff. You got to sell pretty high to break even on hogs.

you got that right... I figure with brewer grain being cheap or free it may be worth trying to see how it goes worse case scenario I'll have a ton of pork to eat

 

[Bigfoot]

I hadn't out and out lost on cattle many times. I've never lost on a tobacco crop. I got tired of losing on hogs. Plus they tear up everything in sight.

 

[skyhightree1]

I tell you what I have done extremely well on for meat sales is goats

 

[greybeard]

Goats sell well here too, but the real $$ is in alpacas and chinchillas--and those feathered things that peck along the ground going 'cluck-cluck-cluck. They're made,,,, of chicken!!! 8)

 

[skyhightree1]

Goats sell well here too, but the real $$ is in alpacas and chinchillas--and those feathered things that peck along the ground going 'cluck-cluck-cluck. They're made,,,, of chicken!!! 8)

:lol2:

 

[slick4591]

Best hog pen I've seen was panels concreted in the foundation along with the posts. It was built much like what Dun described with the gutter at the end so you could wash everything off, and concentrate the waste at one place. Most hogs will crap away from their food so it's better to plan accordingly.

You got the chicken thing right! I cater to the young backyard chicken gals and they don't mind spending money on purdy chickens or chickens that lay purdy eggs.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Two options with hogs.

Cement floor with block walls or

Layering. Layering is where you put up a fence and then use whatever you can find to patch the holes that they tear in it(more fence, panels, bricks, pallets, rocks, posts, logs, etc) Never remove the old fence. Just keep adding to it. After some years it will become almost impenetrable. That's the method we always had to use :bang:

 

[Caustic Burno]

I sell hog halves and figured instead of buying from a friend all the time id try to keep some on hand that I raise. If I need more I would buy from him. I was wondering if anyone thinks this is a bad idea. I want to keep maybe 4-8 hogs at a time and thinking about making the lot out of wood posts and Hog panels. My question is has anyone ever used panels and nailed them to wood posts about an inch above ground and then just put the hot wire from a box directly to the panels ? I don't even want the hogs to get the idea of getting on the fence and trying to root out is why I wanted to use the electric.

You better hope you never get feral like we have you would go broke.
I don't know anyone here that doesn't have at least one or more hog traps.
Who came up with this notion people buy pork?

 

[dun]

Who came up with this notion people buy pork?

The lucky ones that don;t have them running wild.