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Smelly question

leonardo moresco ramos

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Location: Southern Brazil

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posted 6 years ago

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Hi,
I just acquired a new property, mostly shrubs growing there now. It's been suggested to put some pigs to start the job of cleaning and preparing the soil for growing some food. I'm thinking of electric fencing them, and rotational grazing. Right now I have a big concern: the smell. Some of the areas that need a good cleaning are just around the house and I'm afraid that it get smelly. Anybody there tried something like this? It works? Am I right of being afraid of the smell? Other sugestions?

BTW, I live in southern Brazil, and the plan is to produce some good food for me and my family. I'm learning a lot here! Thanks!

Peter VanDerWal

pollinator

Posts: 596

Location: Southern Arizona. Zone 8b

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posted 6 years ago

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Given a chance, pigs are actually very fastidious. Put their feed trough and a shelter for them to sleep in up near the house and they will typically go as far away as they can to do their business. They often select a specific toilet area and stick to it.

My opinions are barely worth the paper they are written on here, but hopefully they can spark some new ideas, or at least a different train of thought

Kyrt Ryder

Posts: 947

Location: Graham, Washington [Zone 7b, 47.041 Latitude] 41inches average annual rainfall, cool summer drought

posted 6 years ago

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Pigs only stink if confined in a space too small for too long. Rotate them quickly enough and you won't have a smell.

thomas rubino

rocket scientist

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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 6 years ago

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Added to what the previous posters suggested. Mix Food grade Diamatetious earth in with their feed . Sprinkle it on top of fresh poop.
Pigs are smart, they watch you , if you rake their poop into a pile ,they understand what your doing and IF they like you .... they will poop as close as they can.
Always on a fence line or in a corner. Each little area they hang out in will have a spot to use.

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Biju Bhaskar

Posts: 15

Location: Kerala, India

posted 4 years ago

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For smell, use LAB solution as described in Korean natural farming. I have put 3 piglets in a temporary pen about 4 sq m for the last 3 weeks now, while the permanent pen is being built.

The floor is earthern with an inch thick layer of sawdust. I sprinkle LAB solution every 2 to 3 days and there is no smell.

John F Dean

master steward

Posts: 6976

Location: southern Illinois, USA

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posted 4 years ago

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I will add that some breeds smell far less than others. My Kunekunes have virtually no odor.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

Anne Miller

steward

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Location: USDA Zone 8a

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posted 4 years ago

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When we had our pig it was fun to watch it clean house every day. The pig would pull all the hay out of the shelter then when the pig was done cleaning the hay was all return where it had been. There was no smell.

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elle sagenev

pollinator

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Location: Zone 5 Wyoming

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posted 4 years ago

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Pigs suck at preparing the land. Been there, done that several years in a row.

They only smell during the winter when they're contained to the barn area.

Come join me at www.peacockorchard.com

Matt McSpadden

gardener

Posts: 2198

Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)

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posted 3 years ago

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I hate to revive an older thread, but I wanted to pass on some information that I had heard for anyone coming across this post in the future. Please note, I have no personal experience with pigs yet, but I read and listen to a lot of farmers and homesteaders who do. The people commenting here have gotten one piece, which is the same with any animal manure. Don't let to much build up in one place and add some carbon.

The other piece that I did not see presented here is the role that the food has in the smell of the manure. What I read is that pigs eating junk food, spoiled food, or nearly spoiled food will have far more smelly manure than pigs that are fed apples, acorns, grubs, grass, hay, etc.

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John F Dean

master steward

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Location: southern Illinois, USA

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posted 3 years ago

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Good point regarding the diet. I am selective regarding what I feed my pigs.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

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