Pig Problems...

[Dinos_rock]

Ok, really long story, I am in FFA at High School and I’m raising a pig to show at the county fair. My pig is in a pen that is about 10 by 10 ft. at the school’s land lab. The pen next to mine is a goat and on the other side of my pen is my friend’s pig. My pig always knocks over her water bowl. I put the bowl in the corner so when she knocks it over, the water goes in the dirt outside the pen.

The other day I went to go feed my pig and there was another girl there and she told me that the girl with the goat next to mine was mad at me because my pig was getting water into her goats pen and that she wanted me to move my water bowl.:| The girl that told me this said not to worry about it. But I couldn’t move my water bowl because in one corner of the pen is a door that swings in, can’t put it there. In the other corner is the metal feeder that is bolted to the fence, can’t put it there. In the third corner of the pen is the wooden shelter for it, can’t put it there either. If I put the bowl in the middle, my pig will walk in it and knock it over easier. So it is in the only place left to put it. I left the bowl there anyway, I mean what can I do?

I can’t control what my pig does when I’m not there…

I even tried putting a big, heavy rock in the bowl, but it still doesn't help....

Well just after she told me this, I went to my pen and I noticed my pig bat was missing and my pigs bowl was moved across to the other side of the pen.

At first I thought, maybe it’s just a coincidence, because my pig has moved its bowl by itself, but only after it has emptied all the water out first. But the bowl was still full, it was just moved over. I looked around the whole entire pen and my pig bat was definitely gone. Well, I couldn’t just blame the girl with the goat because anyone could have stolen my pig bat and moved my water bowl.

Then today after school I went to go feed my pig and all the bedding was completely drenched with water, there was not a square inch of dry bedding anywhere!

Well, it had just rained yesterday so maybe the rain blew in and soaked everything. But then I looked over and all the other pens had dry bedding (and plus there is a roof over everything). Well maybe my pig knocked over the water bowl in the other direction to wet the bedding.

But the bowl doesn’t hold that much water and plus I hadn’t filled up the bowl all the way the day before. So today I spent over an hour cleaning out all the wet, unusable bedding. Well, unfortunately my only extra bag of bedding was in the back of my dad’s truck and he had to go to work extra long today (until eleven at night). So my pig had to go without bedding today.

I don’t want to point fingers, but it seems kinda suspicious when she doesn’t get her way and all my stuff is messed with. I would have just bought a new water bowl (one that can’t be knocked over) to stop all this, but my agriculture teacher said that they we going to get plumbing out there and a water system set up for the animals in a week or two. I don’t want to have to buy a new bowl if I won’t need it in a week. But anyway, I just had to vent my frustration somehow. I already told my parents and they are going to email my teacher, so hopefully all this will stop.

 

[Wildsky]

Can't you ask to have the goat and your friends pig switched - would that work?
Or perhaps there is a way to tie the waterbowl to something else....
(I know, my horse keeps tipping her water out - then it freezes and its like an ice rink)

 

[Ang]

Pigs will ALWAYS play with anything that is in their pen. Pigs are naturally playful and curious. You can try putting a bowling ball or a large rock (something that won't fit in its mouth) in with him/her to ease the boredom. Is there a way that you could put the pigs together? The bottom line is that goat girl needs to accept that pigs are the way they are. Perhaps a talk with your FFA adviser is in order. You could try to wire a pan to the gate but that may not work either. I have seen pigs destroy things that were supposed to be indestructible. Good luck!

 

[Picco]

Pigs love to play in water. My father's pigs always knock their water tub over and then play in the mud, but its not too much of a problem because they are in a large pasture. I suggest a flat back bucket that can be clipped or tied to the fence or wall. Or, if you don't want to buy another bucket, maybe you can build a wood frame to set your bowl into so the pig can't tip it over. I made no-tip feeders for my rabbits by making a triangular frame with boards and nailing it into the corner of the pen. You just set the bowl into the frame and its difficult for an animal to tip over.

 

[brooster]

Dont bother trying to make a bowl tip proof, the pig will still tip it over, the best thing to do would be to get a nipple drinker, but since you dont want to buy something new, you are going to have to work with what you have. I would wire a piece of plywood to the fence between the pens, and burry it several inches. Put the bowl where you normaly do. This will stop water from running into her pen, then i would dig a trench on the outside of the fence draining water away from both pens. This will keep water out of her pen, and your pen some what dry.

 

[Dinos_rock]

I can't dig because I forgot to say the floor is concrete.

Oh, yeah and just to give you an image of how wet it was, I went there after school today, 24 hours since I cleaned the wet bedding out, the concrete floor was still wet. But hopefully my brand new shavings won't somehow "mysteriously" get wet again....

 

[Harmon_7]

well be sure to tell us what happens...that is weird...

 

[Chatychick]

sounds like goatgirl had some help making your pen wet...I personally would talk to the teacher and have either the goat moved or she needs to understand its not your fault that the pig does this...its not a goat by the way its a pig and they get bored and want to play ...is there another pen you can move your pig to or her goat? if so I would do that ...Good lcuk...