I get asked all the time, how do I contain my pigs with electric alone? Don’t they escape all the time? The key is making sure they’re trained very well as piglets while having a good fence set up and a strong ground. And no, they don’t escape! Part of me also believes that part of it is just the individual personality of the pig as well. Just like some goats are fence jumpers regardless of how lush their pasture is, some pigs are just escape artists. I have dealt with goats being fence jumpers before, but never had a pig that was bound and determined to escape thankfully! Would you believe me if I told you Big Marie is contained by a single strand of polywire snout high? It’s true…
Check out the article I wrote for Countryside Magazine that explains the tools you need to raise pigs successfully on electric alone. I go over what I use specifically for insulators, posts, wire, etc and how to use them. Also, check out my post on using pigs to turn woods into pasture where I touch on using electric fence as well in a rotational grazing model.
This year we tried out the Premier One Hog Netting (affiliate link) as an alternative fencing to rotate the pigs. It was quick to set up, easy to move, and was great for training the small pigs on hotwire (stay tuned for a blog post on that!).
Do you raise pigs on electric fence? If so, how has the experience been for you?
Thank you for the great article you wrote on countryside magazine. Did you post links any where of the brand or type of wire you used? Think we will go with a solar charged one. Need to just do some research on which one.
Hi!! No I didn’t link to anything stores due to it being for their magazine. However, everything but the fencer itself came from tractor supply so you should easily be able to find the supplies there. I highly recommend Kencove for the fence charger itself though.