Training pigs to electric fencing

How yall are?  I'm in west central Louisiana (Natchitoches Parish), and my girlfriend and I have 5 mixed breed hogs (blue butts cross with who knows what).  We are raising them on the ground, using electric fencing.  A couple of weeks ago, we had some REALLY bad weather come through, toppling a beautiful grandfather red oak onto our pig shelter (pigs are fine) and frying TWO of my battery powered fence chargers.  Luckily I had a small back up charger.  However, while I was frantically rebuilding things and hustling up money for a bigger AC charger, I neglected to remove the old section of electric fence that no longer worked.  They would pass under and over it, all the while contained in a larger pen powered by the back up charger.  So, once I got my new charger installed, and it was pumping out between 6-7 thousand volts, i turned my pigs out into their pen.....only to watch as two of them calmly pushed up the bottom wire (4-6 inches from the ground) and wander where they pleased.  So, back into their hardened pen they went (a wooden shelter surrounded by field fence).  I call it their "re-education camp" because i have installed one strand of hot wire along the bottom inside of the field fence.  Do you guys think that this will re-teach them to respect my fencing or are they now ruined educationally and fit only for sausage?  Look forward to hearing your answers.

Just my pondering:
What are you using for a ground?  In your switch to AC you may need a more robust ground than a DC charger needs. My AC system has six 8' long 5/8" diameter ground rods and facilitates a a full pop anywhere on our land.

If I was in this situation I would hard pen them and run hot wires penning off one edge. The lower hot wire would have peanut butter or something else delicious smeared on it. The zap from a mouth contacting a hot wire using a modern low impedance is infinitesimally short but should be unforgettable. I would then move to putting some desirable food behind the hot wires. When the pigs stopped trying to breach this fence I would have the confidence to move them to electric paddocks.

Sorry t hear you lost your chargers. I use coils and a lightning diverter ground field (seven 8' long 5/8" diameter rods) to help protect against lightning strikes, knowing anything is possible I have a smaller backup charger in my shop just in case. It is and AC/DC charger and I have a deep cell marine battery on trickle charger ready to power it if the grid is down. I subscribe to the maxim: 'Two is one, one is none.'

Good luck and let us know how things work out.

-Josh

First Good Luck, I feel you pain. My pig goes on adventures way to often. ( Weather always seem to strict my fence area) normally only 2 times a year but still to often for my liking.

Ok, so I've had my 600 lb pig Sylvia for 6 years now. I have her in kind of a triple fence. Electric Ribbon. 1.5 inch thick, then metal fence 9-12 inches from the electric fence, and then  reinforced wood corners. Corners always seem to be my weakness.

I have one ribbon 2 inches from the ground and the next ribbon at eye level. (pig eye level)  If there is a spot that she seems to like to push out of I build a "blanket wall" I get a few wood pallets and staple black landscaping cloths to the side of it so it looks like a solid wall. I try to do this only where she have learned she could get at at one point in life.

I also started training my pig with a whistle when it food time ( or snack time)I blow the whistle, then if she gets out I blow the whistle and she normally comes running to me.

-Justyn

The best training wire for hogs is wide white electric tape hooked to good high joule energizer. They have to get a healthy shock and the wide white tape is a good visual for them (they can see it). Once they have gotten a few good jolts they will avoid it even if it is turned off.
The trick is to have it give them a nice, eye popping jolt, they are fairly intelligent when it comes to knowing what will hurt them and once they know what hurts them they will avoid it at all costs.

I suspect that wires are not really visible to the hogs and if the jolt isn't eye popping, they can ignore the pain. I like 2 tapes near the ground ( lowest @4" from soil, the second  4 inches above that) and two up higher, these are also placed about 4 inches apart. Be sure to use at least 3 ground wires.

Redhawk