Hey Y'all, I raise chickens, ducks, and turkeys. I have been wanting to raise up a few pigs every year for meat, but I have held off due to possibly exposing my poultry to worms or anything that a pig may carry. I have found several people in my area that have 6-8 week old pigs for sale. How much do I have to worry about having a pig bringing worms and other unwanted microorganisms onto my property and having them effect the health of my poultry?
The worms are already on your property. Any chicken that has access to soil will have a light to heavy load of worms. The pigs may bring some but it is the secondary hosts like crickets, slugs, earthworms, beetles, etc. that give worms to chickens. Another issue with pigs is their rooting. Chickens scratch and dig up some soil but no where near what pigs do.
We raise chickens and pigs on our homestead. The pigs are pastured on one side of the property. The chickens have their coop and 1 acre of fenced "free range" area on the other. Our home, yard and pond is in the middle. The only time our birds interact with the pigs is when I let them out of their area to go eat cornmeal off of the pigs' snouts. They like to go see what Dad is doing over there at feeding time. They do not enter their pasture area. I keep my pigs and chickens on a de-worming schedule and have never had an issue. Both species will get worms, it's inevitable. So I'd say to you, friend--- go ahead and get your piglets if there's a good deal to be had. We raised 3 for our own use (1 for our freezer and 2 to sell for profit) and also raised 12 more for buyers that wanted a whole hog to butcher. It's my hubby's hobby and the chickens are mine. Best wishes, CluckerCottage