Faithmead
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Bed wetting Pig !Yep - I have one  and she's been doing it for about 9 months now. She piddles outside too, but has this habit of peeing in her Ark . I have to muck it out at least once every 2 days sometimes every day. I put in lots of fresh straw - which she goes mad over and loves snuggling into it................and then blow me down she seems to stand in the the doorway (with her head outside and her front trotters on the threshold), and I think its then that she pees. I don't think its intentional and I'm SURE she can't like trying to get back into a wet bed - but I just don't know what to do. I've moved her into other Arks....but she still does it. Anyone any suggestions as to why and how to overcome the problem?
Thanks all.
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chicken feed
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 i had the opposite problem in the summer we use straw stacked ontop of the pigsty for insulation in winter and take it off in the summer for extra ventalation well the boys decided it was an indoor toilet, haveing serched many books and sites we found out that if a pig has daylight inits bed area it will use it as a toilet and the same book also said if and when a pig gets too hot in its sleeping area it may well pee to keep cool.
could you have too much straw for thie weather we are having.
this could be total clap trap but the soiling problem was solved over night when we closed out the daylight.
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Faithmead
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Chicken feed - you may have hit the nail on the head She's a Berkshire - so Black in colour - and the Arks do get very warm. I wonder if I risk putting a bale of shavings inside instead  Also, maybe I should hang a sack over the doorway to block out all the light.
I'm gonna give both a go and I'll let you know. thanks ever so for your suggestions....I was getting so upset seeing her constantly in a mess in her Ark (and she's a very special lady to us - in fact our favourite (sshhhhhh.....don't tell the others  )
M
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chicken feed
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i know how upsetting it is it took me days of serching i was so determined to find the reason and sort it out. we will not be putting a thick straw bed in until the frost comes then they will (i hope) appreciate it and not soil it.
i will be interested to find out your results.
good luck
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Essex Gal
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Hello I wonder if I can help. Is her ark very large? Sometimes they will soil their bedding if there's too much room in the bedding area. Also if She is standing in the doorway she might believe she IS peeing outside after all if her front end is out she might consider that her back end is out too.
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Nick
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Sounds reasonable, Essex Gal. My Berkshires are part of the species rated as some of the most intelligent creatures on earth. Either I have specially thick specimens, or the stupidity scale is weighted at one end.
Welcome along, by the way! Please join in.
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Shan
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I wish could find it but hells bells I can't... I remember reading a report that said that bed soiling is a behavioural problem typcially associated with early weaning. Apparently pigs that have been naturally weaned (this takes approximately 3 to 4 months), do not have these problems.
Now, we did have this problem with out 2 berkshire boys. It took several months of Jabba (our sow) putting them in their place before they learned to do their business outside. The berkshires were apparently weaned at 9 weeks.
When Jabba had her lot of piglets, we let her wean them naturally. She continued to feed until about 3.5 almost 4 months. With her lot, we have had no problems. I don't know if it is a co-incidence but we have not had any behavioural problems with her lot.
Having said that though, the 2 saddleback gilts we got in as weaners, also weaned at about 9 weeks, were very good at doing their business outside. So that sort of blows the theory out the water?
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NeathChris
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From my expierience its just too much room in the ark. Just put some bales up the back to close the space down, should be fine then.
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chicken feed
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just found the book i got my info from its the all about pigs a pig farming book it in the housing section page 127
dunging in sleeping quarters quote:
if pigs get extremely warm in their sleeping quarters they are inclined to wet their beds. so check the ventilation and if necessary increase the air flow.
this book is in a question and answer format 700 questions answered and a very interesting read.
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chicken feed
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oh hows your problem at the moment any improvement 
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Tavascarow
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Push the bedding right to the back every morning & let them make their own bed when they want to lie down?
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Faithmead
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Hi Guys - sorry for delay. That info about the ark being too big could be a good point. Its an 8'x6' and she uses about 1/3rd of it!! Chris - If I put a couple of bales of straw in there - she'd spend a blissful half hour ripping them to shreds - she absolutes adores straw 
I've tried the 'rearrangement' of her bedding and messed it all up and chucked it all over the ark - but didn't make any difference.
She's now a 4 year old sow and this only started about 9-10 months ago - so don't think its related to early weaning - but interesting point
Chicken feed - shhhhhhh........I'm whispering now, cos I think if I say/type this OUT LOUD , it'll go pear shaped....BUT......I took all the straw out, and put in 3/4 bale of shavings (actually its VERY expensive Aubiose - cos I happened to still have some in the barn) and so far.........so far........and its day 4 now (record) all is still dry I'm not counting my chickens yet - but I'm rather hopefull - Will keep you all posted. Today will be a major test, cos its raining....and she's not overly keen on wet weather  . I think she'd really like to come indoors and curl up in front of the woodburner
thanks gang.
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Pel
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What were you doing different 10months ago to now? has she been upset in some way to start wetting the bed, not been to the boar for a while, been in with some youngsters.. anything different at all to cause it. Fingers crossed on the shavings
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Faithmead
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| Pel wrote: | | What were you doing different 10months ago to now? has she been upset in some way to start wetting the bed, not been to the boar for a while, been in with some youngsters.. anything different at all to cause it. Fingers crossed on the shavings |
Hi Pel - no nothing different at all other than we had rain, rain and more rain 
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Faithmead
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 ...... need I say more.
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bring me sunshine
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Oh dear.
If it was summer, I'd say take away her ark but that's a bit mean this time of year!
If she wasn't your favourite, I'd suggest a permanent solution but............
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Faithmead
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 ...well, the next phase is the door curtain - haven't done that bit yet. Got a couple of sacks ready but just need to design some structure to hold them up The only consolation is that having used Aubiose, this has soaked up the pee and then dries out a bit again...so she doesn't have a permanently soaked bed. ...... just an expensive one 
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bring me sunshine
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| Faithmead wrote: | | Got a couple of sacks ready but just need to design some structure to hold them up |
Nails?!
Maybe you could shut her out of the ark during the day?
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
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Faithmead
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Hi BMS - well - its a plastic front, but I think we may be able to attach something to the wooden struts on the inside Will be having a go tomorrow Maybe if she can't find it as easy to just stand in the doorway (which is when I think she pees), the problem will ......"go away" .....Will keep you posted
How R those K-K's?
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bring me sunshine
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It's never as simple as it should be!
The KKs are fine. The piglets are furiously digging up their pen, clearly loving the mud, and the sow and boar are only too happy to help! The herd of sows, however, are all sulking because they've run out of grass but I'm refusing to move them until November I'm worried that with all the open wifi networks about these days, they'll get online, see this thread and exact their revenge on me.... 
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Faithmead
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| bring me sunshine wrote: | | I'm worried that with all the open wifi networks about these days, they'll get online, see this thread and exact their revenge on me.... |
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