![]() ![]() Having them on pasture that is "large enough" to finish them does not mean they will use it efficiently.High-Frequency Rotational Grazing is also much more desirable for a number of reasons: So now, it's very possible to do fast rotational grazing/rooting more cheaply than ever before. Pigs being so intelligent, they learn quickly to avoid it. ![]() Many animals, pigs included, do very well on electric fencing. Managing this way on a small scale has become easier with the ubiquity of low-cost electric fencing. It is looking to manage a complex and every changing environmental reality. Holistic management seeks to remedy these problems by designing pasture use around climate, season, forage quality, quantity, etc. Many rotational systems also make the mistake of using the same areas in the same way year after year. What is called rotational grazing is really just one concept within a larger land management framework called " Holistic Management." Moving animals through pasture this way is nothing new, but it's uncommon for them to be moved as frequently or grazed as efficiently as they really should be. Like Goldilocks, we're trying to find the number of animals/frequency of movement that are just right. They need to be moved frequently enough that natural grasses and trees fill in rather than weeds and scrub, which will take over if land has been overgrazed or under-grazed. That's one reason movement is so important. However, pigs can also completely decimate a piece of land if they are left on it for too long, even for 1 day too long. Pigs not only graze but root, tilling the soil, fertilizing it and generally preparing it for quality grasses and trees to fill in naturally. We are intending the pigs to help us make the land healthier by rooting the soil and grazing the grasses, scrub brush, weeds, etc to facilitate a succession of natural pasture grasses. The install of that system is almost complete. ![]() We are working with recently logged land that we are converting to a silvo-pasture and food forest system. So, this post is specifically for those trying to do what we are and hopefully others that have been down this road will chime in and add to the conversation. While there are a lot of good ideas out there, we found a dearth of specific information for the system we are trying to do: rotational pastured pigs on about an acre and a half of land. We are breeding our hogs as well, but we manage our breeders differently than our feeders. I specify that the system described below is for pigs raised as feeders. So as with so many things, pigs aren't the problem, we are.Īllison and I spent a good deal of time researching and gathering info in order to raise pigs for pork in the best way possible. Leaving a very smart animal alone, never spending time with them or giving them anything interesting to do would make you bored and cranky too. Depending on whose list you are looking at, pigs are either the 4th or the 2nd smartest animal on the planet, below chimps but right next to dolphins. Pigs are generally mean because of poor socialization. We think of pigs as mean, when they can be gentle, friendly and playful. They are no more smelly than people are, but if you feed them garbage, they will smell like garbage, just like we would. True, they love to wallow in the summer because they get hot and don't sweat to stay cool, but if they have enough space, they will wallow in nice, clean mud, not their manure. They nearly always manure in the same area, outside their shelter and away from their food and water. We think of pigs as dirty, when in fact they are quite clean. They are wonderful animals for so many reasons but have gotten a bad wrap because of poor management practices. When we laid out our design for Out of Ashes, we planned for pigs. How and Why you Should Raise Pigs in a Small-Scale Rotational Pasture System
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