Some of the girls just enjoying a beautiful day
August 12, 2013
I have been a supporter for pigs on pasture for a long time now. I will say, that when the grass gets short, they root the ground up some, but usually they just mine the rootlets from quack grass…so even their rooting is beneficial. My pigs are in my old speltz field. They are cleaning up anything that I missed, eating grass along the edges and spreading their own manure! 😮
This field is a good one, but this year stayed wet at harvest time. I plan to plant speltz here again this fall. I will disc the straw and stubble back into the ground before planting. The hogs are doing a great deal of the plowing for me now 😮
I just have my sows and the boar out on the field. It is amazing how much more content they stay. The field is of about four acres in size. It has woodland edges, a row of tangled crabapple trees, a few old regular apple trees and a small hidden meadow, along with my 2.5 acres of harvested speltz. They make use of every bit of the space.
I think their most favorite place is a deep spot in a small stream. The stream only runs when it rains…I guess most people would call it a drainage ditch. In any case, it makes a nice wallow for the hogs. They flop around in it and cover themselves in mud. I think they stay cool in the water and the mud helps keep the biting flies at bay.
I am thinking about building a makeshift winter round bale hut for the hogs and letting them winter on this field. I guess it is a good plan “B”. They come up to the barn to eat when I call them, but spend the rest of the time enjoying the big pasture. So if the rains continue and I can’t plant speltz, then the pigs will have this place all to themselves until time to plant oats next spring!
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