How to: Moving Pigs?

[JayColli]

Hey All,

Looking for some advice on how best to move a couple young Berkshires from their summer pasture to the barn for overwintering. They're fit, rambunctious and I'm guessing about 75-80 lbs so they certainly have more power than they did as piglets! I have a small trailer that I can pull behind my quad and it could accommodate them for the short ride so my plan was to enclose it a bit with pallets and lure them in some evening with tasty treats, back it up to the stall door once I'm in the barn and drop the gate to let them out but I'd like to know if there's a better/easier way that anyone knows of?

Thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sounds like the way I'd do it. Just some whole corn should get them to go where you want.

Just use it sparingly and they'll follow.

 

[amynrichie]

The hungrier they are, the more likely to follow the corn.

 

[JayColli]

They love their chicken leftovers so I'll likely roast one up and taunt them in with the fat, skin and giblets!

 

[donrae]

Sounds like about how I'd do it. Unless it's feasible to simply walk them from one area to the other, coaxing them along with feed. Pigs are a challenge to move, for sure.

 

[JayColli]

They're pretty energetic and seem to rip around after dark without running into anything so I wouldn't trust them to walk with me even if they were really hungry. I'll be moving them next weekend so I'll post some pics on the ordeal!

 

[farmchick897]

I've seen a farmer successfully move his full grown pigs with a 16 foot welded panel that you bend around and make a circle out of it. Secure with zip ties or whatever and then place it over them and move them that way. I have little pigs and some of them follow a grain bucket but my males usually won't go where I want them too. So I set up a crate and run them into it and just move the crate. Works for a little pig, might be tough for a large one.

 

[donrae]

I want to see pics.

Or video! that would be even better

 

[JayColli]

I've seen a farmer successfully move his full grown pigs with a 16 foot welded panel that you bend around and make a circle out of it. Secure with zip ties or whatever and then place it over them and move them that way. I have little pigs and some of them follow a grain bucket but my males usually won't go where I want them too. So I set up a crate and run them into it and just move the crate. Works for a little pig, might be tough for a large one.

I saw a few videos of people doing just that but they don't like to be separated and I'm afraid two in one hog panel hoop might be too much to handle so it'll likely have to be trailer time next weekend...

 

[JayColli]

Just as an update for everyone I had my pigs escape on me Tuesday so once I was able to lure them back in with some feed and close them in for the night I set to work on a hog moving not trailer! The pigs were happy to go right up a pallet I used as a ramp and ate happily as I boarded them in. I drug the trailer with the makeshift pallet sides and slapped together ends up to the barn and backed them into the stall - definitely the way to go!