Need ideas for pig pen using found materials..

[CoopCrazy]

So my folks have decided that since im the animal guy in the family that i get to raise a two pigs for them. I also have to build their enclosure. Any ideas on size, materials would be greatly apprecited. I think i can get my hands on some really sturdy pallets made to what ever size i want. I have a friend that works at a saw mill and will trade custom made pallets for a few of our trees.( Which lord knows we have enough of.) Any ideas?

 

[jlbpooh]

This is a picture of our pig pen. It is made from pallets that are 4'x16'. They are made from 2x6's and 4x8' and weigh 4-500 pounds a piece. We stood 4 of them up and screwed them together. Then for winter we covered 1 end, parts of 2 sides and put a top over part of it to make it warmer and to help keep the straw drier. Excuse the mess in the picture, my husband was in the process of redoing the bunk feeder and I had taken this picture because the guineas were sitting on the top edge. We dropped 2x8x16" blocks down in between the slats of the pallets so if they dig from the inside, the blocks keep sinking in to the mud and the pigs can't get out. We also put wire on the inside because 1 little one came out between the boards above where the blocks were. Thankfully the guineas had cornered her and started yakking.

 

[gaited horse]

I will post pics of my pig house tomorrow. I made house out of pallets. and the pen out of damaged hog panels

 

[CoopCrazy]

Awesome thanks for the ideas. I think palletts are the way to go. They want way too much for hog panels here. The idea of the bricks inside the pallets is great I have never heard of that before.

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

Seriously, build it like your are containing godzilla. They are strong and tenatious. Also build with a plan of how you will get them into a livestock trailor to go for butchering and make feeders and water dishes unmovable. There is nothing worse than fighting with pigs on a daily basis. It's all about infastructure.

 

[jlbpooh]

My neighbor that used to have pigs is the one that suggested putting wood down in between the two layers of the pallets to keep the little ones in. He is the one that helped us put it together with his tractor after one pallet fell on my back while my husband and I were trying to stand them up. We didn't have enough wood laying around, but I had stacks of the blocks. Some are 8x16 and some are 18x18. I figured as they dug under the edges, the blocks would be heavy enough to keep falling deeper so they couldn't get out. They have dug some holes as much as 2 feet deep and haven't escaped. We had 4 pigs in there originally, but 2 went to slaughter a few weeks ago. There are still 2 left in there. My husband used a backhoe and dug a pit behind the pen. Then he took out 1 block. When we get a lot of rain, like we have lately, it is a self cleaning pig pen, ha ha. He gets in there once a week to do manure duty also. We give them straw for bedding, there is a 50 gallon water trough, and the bunk feeder shown in the picture to hold the feed, bread, and whatever else they end up getting. He cut the legs off the bunk feeder, buried it up to the bottom with sand, then took metal strapping and attached it to the inside of the pen. It is sturdy enough to be used as a bed by them, which happens frequently.