Jessica McClure

Emil Spoerri wrote:I guess there are vicious pigs and not vicious ones. I always heard that you kill a pig if he or she gets a taste of blood. I personally speculate that viciousness in pigs stems from a lack of protein in the diet, a problem that is easily remedied with skim milk!

Pigs can be very friendly gentle creatures. However, pigs that are confined in a crate for a portion of their lives might be somewhat disturbed. Also, it's one thing if a pig grew up it's whole life in close contact with other animals and something completely different when a grown pig is introduced to an animal it has never met before.

At a farm I worked at, there were goats in a pen next to pigs in a pen. One day the pigs broke the hinges off the door in between the two pens. The pigs weren't interested in the goats, they were interested in the goat shit. 250 pound pigs too.

I have to agree that in a small farm situation where there is plenty of food and room, most pigs are not going to go savage on you. Especially if they are a breed chosen for docility. Just found this after a cursory search: http://www.survivopedia.com/what-breed-of-hog-to-raise/    looks like maybe a Duroc or Mulefoot pig might be a good choice, just for example. They are medium sized pigs with friendly, docile temperaments. Probably would check a few more sources. I'm looking into this very same thing, but I'm wondering about pigs and geese.

Jeffn DFW wrote:I've been reading the forums and I understand Paul likes the paddock system idea.  I do too.  I certainly don't want to shovel a bunch of poo and I have enough to do in my life that I don't want to have to do much in the way of taking care of animals if I don't have to.

So, given the paddock system, what animals can you throw in together at the same time?

I know that cows poo is great feed for pigs.  So cows & pigs together?  In one post I read that pigs will eat sparrows.  By the way the post was written, I am assuming the sparrows were intentionally injured via the trap bird houses and left for the pigs but if I were to allow chickens to run with the cows & pigs, would they too get eaten or are they too fast for a pig?  What about throwing in a lamb or two as well?

Any ideas? 

My thought is to have (6) 1 acre paddocks with a couple pigs, a couple cows, 10 or 15 chickens, and a couple lambs all in at the same time in a single paddock and just rotate them from paddock to paddock every so often to feed.  Is 1 acre enough space for that many animals?  For how long?  A week? a month?

Thank you!

IFrom what little I know about pigs, there hundreds, maybe thousands of different breeds of pig, many here in the US. From what I've learned from other domesticated animals, there is probably a pig out there that would suit the situation you're envisioning. If I were you, I'd do a little research on the different breeds  of pigs and what their needs, qualities and tendencies are. Good luck!

Hi all,

I am evaluating different options for PDC. Anyone have any suggestions about which ones are the most highly respected in the community? I'm located in Rhode Island. I can travel minimally and for short periods of time, would need to do most of the learning remotely from home. I have about 2 acres I'm turning into a food forest, so I can practice some methods here.