Thank you for this comprehensive video and really breaking it down for us. We have about 18 acres of mixed hardwood forest that we’re considering raising pigs in eventually. So far we have found the forest and forest edges very conducive to free ranging our chickens. They have lots of protection from the understory plants and a bounty of insects, worms and other grubs to feast on on the forest floor. Sometimes they’ll remain in the same 20x20 ft area all day bc there’s just so much free food for them.
Thanks for sharing your insight. We are getting our first two piglets tomorrow and we'll be raising them mostly in Oak forest with lots of acorns to feast on at this time of year. We'll scale up over time as we get used to them and develope more practical experience. Thanks again.
I've got 2 acres all treed and thorny brush and I'm trying to figure out the best way to clear it and turn it into pasture. this was a helpful simple video super glad I found it. thanks for sharing. If you or any of your followers have any personal experience tips please do share.
Thank you for making this video! I’m ready to start raising forest pigs! What do you feed your forest pigs? We really want to go grain free so I’m hoping forest pigs method will work! Also, what acre to pig ratio do you recommend? Thanks!!!😊
We still feed grain, a formulated pig feed from a local feed mill. Pigs have a high caloric need so you will likely need to supplement them with some type of feed. The ratio depends a lot on the age/weight/breed of pig and what type of land and vegetation you have. The more space the better!
Do pigs have a different taste from regular farm raising pens to forest raising. Or is it just a better life for the pigs while they are growing before they go to freezer camp.
Really informative video. Thanks for putting it out. How do you control for predators with a fence that low? Seems like a fox or bear would just hop in.
This type of fence is not intended to keep anything out. In our area, there are no natural predators that threaten my pigs. We have coyotes and some black bear nearby who may be tempted to go after a piglet, but the adults (especially the mama sows) are fierce when threatened and would be a formidable adversary for any predator.
Just starting out, this answered a lot of questions. Thank you! I like your solar charger, looks like it’s self contained with battery inside. Idk if you can mention what brand.
How much wooded area would it take to grow out 2 or 3 smaller breed pigs (like kunekune)? I think it would be neat to keep pigs on the perimeter and have my gardens in an open area in the middle.
That would depend on how much impact you were ok with them having on your land, but you'd probably be ok with as little as a 1/4 acre for a couple of Kune Kunes.
Noticed your SOF shirt and listened. Great video! Got oak and hickory hoping that will help with winter feed but don’t want to damage the trees. I will start out small 4 or so and keep a breeding pair and rotate on my 12 acres. AGH is like the Kune and do not root which is harder on the forest but hoping I can cut down on feed they can still find nuts and forage on the understory plants and branches I can knock down and on my cleared area that is mostly seasonal weeds/wildflowers that I hope they can graze on too, not too lush as I only need to mow once a month. So on the wire, if it breaks do you have to strip and reconnect the copper? Is the idea one continuous wire around the circumference with one end on the positive terminal and one on the negative? Concerned about the pigs getting out as it will take me awhile to fence the whole property with hog wire
Thanks! The polywire we use can just be tied back together in a knot if it breaks, no stripping required. Yes, if you use an energizer with both terminals you start the wire at one and end at the other. Some solar chargers just have a jumper cable to the wire (positive) and another that clips on a ground rod. Just depends on what equipment you are using.
No, it rarely snows here, but we do sometimes get freezing rain storms. When it does, we walk the fence line and tap the wire with a plastic push post to knock the snow or ice off.
This has been one of the most informative pig forest videos I have seen. As pigs are natural woodland creatures, what are your thoughts on not giving them feed? I am interested in very sustainable practices and no feed seems sustainable. I under they may not thrive to make a super profitable venture, but I don’t think they would die in there. I am fascinated by permaculture Mark Shepard’s method of STUN - Severe Total Utter Neglect. The creature has to make it or they don’t. But they become part of the land and its ecosystem. People tell me the same thing for chickens (another original woodland animal).
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I believe it is possible to raise an animal without feed in the right environment. Pigs are definitely good at finding their own food, especially in the forest. In my experience, it would take great expanses of land to satisfy their needs. We typically are growing out about 15-20 pigs, and they can go through a couple acres in a week, leaving not a scrap of edible forage in sight. The genetics of your pigs would make a big difference in how they survived. Most hogs, whether heritage breed or commercially bred, have been selectively bred and optimized to grow on grains. Kune Kunes and Idaho Pasture Pigs do a little better with just foraging. The Iberian hogs are raised this way, just left in the forest to forage for mainly acorns. They take 3 years to grow (versus 6-9 months for most grain fed hogs) and they look always terribly unhealthy to me, with elongated snouts and mangy coats. So yes, I think it could be done, but you would probably lose some and incur some health issues along the way. Also, with the amount of land needed, it would probably be cheaper to just feed them.
No we haven't, but that is a great idea. We have some nut or acorn bearing trees that provide a little extra food at certain times of the year, but nothing that we have purposefully planted. I'd love to hear suggestions on which crops you think would be best suited.
Great video. The Best and the healthiest meat is when pigs are roaming around. Just wanted to ask you, what race of the pig is it? Cos you can't grow in the wild most of domesticated pig races.
@@YouCanFarm I'm not familiar with that race of pigs but they look like some authentic heritage race of pigs that we have in continental part of south east Europe. And the best forest to keep them is European Oak forest, were they can eat oak acorns, very nutrition and rich in proteins so there is no need to give them extra food, just to make habit to be on one particular place so you can catch them, not to become totally wild. We do thar for hundreds of year's. And they can breed with wild boar's and English red Durok so they can grown pretty big.
@@YouCanFarm I will love to find a place near my area that raise animal the way you do, I rather buy from them than Walmart etc. My zip code is 20603 if you have any recommendations ?
I would look at Polyface farm. That is Joel Salitin's farm in Virginia. We will also ship most of our products to your door step. If you are interested in that option please check out our website www.redtailedfarm.com
I appreciate the response. I have checked several times all the way around and it’s putting out 5000 volts everywhere I checked. I started it when they were young but once they got bigger if someone brings feed around they bolt right through it to get feed lol
That should be plenty hot enough to keep them in. Sounds like your pigs have learned a bad habit which may be hard to break. If it's food motivated you could switch to a continuous bulk feeder so they can snack throughout the day and not get so excited at meal time. Are you using polywire? You could upgrade to hi-tensile wire to increase the voltage, and if it's tight it will be harder for the pigs to run through. Otherwise it may be time to cull them.
@@YouCanFarm well slaughter day is coming up in the next month. Next time I’ll probably try the hi tensile wire. I was using poly since that’s what I had on hand This was my first go around with pigs. I tried the bulk feeder but I was going through so much feed it wasn’t worth it. Appreciate your input.
If you have a farm with a good stand of white Oaks you have a great place to raise pigs. Biggest downside is your hogs will be in competion with deer, turkeys and squirrels, meaning the wildlife will not get enough to eat.
Good point. Our pig paddocks take up a fraction of the surrounding wooded area, which goes on for miles. We see a ton of wildlife, as they have a lot more access to these areas than the pigs do.
What are the thumb rules you’re using for pigs per acre and rotations? Do you think the pigs are getting the same percentage of nourishment from the forest that they would get from pasture? Are they outside year round? This is all fascinatingly and I’m glad I found you before selecting a property for our farm! Thank you!
Hi John! There are a lot of factors to consider. You have to think more in pounds of pig per acre. With a large number of adult, 300+ lb pigs like you saw in this video, we needed to give them roughly 2 acre wooded areas rotated every 6-8 weeks. Right now we only have a group of piglets and they will probably be able to stay in their 2 acre area for 3-4 months, but these are American Guinea Hogs so they are slow growing. A standard meat breed can reach 200 lbs by 4 months. As far as forest vs. pasture, I think most pigs get more nutrition from the forest, where they can eat acorns, weeds, leaves, roots, bugs, etc. Some breeds like the Kune Kune or Idaho Pasture Pig can make good use of pasture without tearing up the ground too bad, but most other breeds are too destructive unless you are moving them very frequently. Yes, they are outside all year round, but they do have access to shelter, and when its too wet or cold we bed it down with straw.
Thank you so much for that! We have been researching Joel Salatin’s models for about a year and never heard of forest pigs until last night when I saw this video. Now we are more open to properties with considerable forest and that will make our search for land SO MUCH EASIER! For math’s sake, let’s say we were going to purchase 50 guinea hog piglets in March with the intention of harvesting 6-8 months later (I think that was the timeline you highlighted in the video). They would be ok on 2 acres for 3 months and would need probably 2-3 fresh 2 acre paddocks to finish them out? Just want to make sure this sounds good to you, as we have 6 properties we are trying to decide on in the mountains of north Georgia and this information is critical to us making the right choice. Thanks again and I will look forward to your videos!
Yes, I think that sounds like a good plan! Depending on the Guinea Hogs that you buy, some grow faster and/or larger than others. Ours had some Berkshire mixed in, but a purebred will typically take a little longer to finish. You could probably circle back to your starting area by then if you had to keep them longer.
Darrell where is the other Darrell 🤣🤣, my family raised pigs 🐖 in the forest back in Arizona we didn’t have a lot of them they were just for family eating 🍽 and yes we ate them. They are dead ☠️
We have 3 farm dogs that patrol the property. Once pigs reach about 50 lbs they are difficult for any predator to take down, and piglets are well protected by their large mothers. We've never had any attempted attacks.
Hello. I have a boar and gilt, both over 2 years old, that are not displaying sexual behavior any time of the month. What can I do to get them to breed?
Are they living together? If so, try separating them for a few months. When they are reuntited the female should cycle for you. Also make sure their protein and minerals are sufficient. You can add some kelp to their feed to boost the mineral content.
@@YouCanFarm Thanks for your reply. Would not enough protein and insufficient minerals cause the total lack of libido in mature animals? Their main diet consists of dry feed and kitchen scraps, as well as lots of fresh fruits daily (I live in the tropics). Here's a little history on the problem..Sorry it's so long... I tried time apart once already with no luck, though it probably wouldn't hurt to try again. The problem is that I'm not observing standing heat with my gilt and my boar shows minimal interest in her, even after time apart. These two pigs were raised together as pen mates and only separated about 6 months ago because the boar was getting aggressive during feeding. It should be mentioned that, for whatever reason, the gilt won't allow me to apply pressure to her back to observe the rigidity required to confirm standing heat. I found a few videos on youtube that show you how but when I attempt it on the gilt she gets restless and vocal. I literally tried this all month long starting when I noticed the swelling of her vulva... This is my first attempt at raising pigs and after all this time I would hate to get rid of them. Are there any other tricks of the trade you could share with me to solve this issue? I value your opinions so any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I would definitely try separating them again. Nutritional deficiencies can most certainly cause fertility problems. If they are too fat or too thin that will disrupt fertility. Too much soy in their diet can be a problem also because it mimicks estrogen. Check to see if you can get a soy-free swine feed to try for a few months. We get ours milled with no soy from a local feed mill. If you are seeing her vulva swell she is most likely cycling, but the lack of standing heat is concerning. I've had gilts that take a bit longer to get comfortable with the boar, but they usually come around in time. Sometimes pigs are just not fertile, just like people. One of them could have a problem with their reproductive system and it would be very difficult to know that. You could try introducing a second female, preferably a sow that has already had at least one litter. If your boar can breed her you will know its a problem with your gilt, and if he doesn't then it's time to get a new boar. Hope this helps. Best of luck!
@@YouCanFarm Maybe I'll try introducing a new pig and see where that takes me. Thank you for the time you put into your reply. I'll be sure to keep you posted whenever it all works out.
Why do you say that? I've been raising pigs like this for over a decade, and have never had a wild boar get in with my pigs, nor have I ever had one get loose and become wild. I don't think this is really a concern if you are a responsible farmer.
