lawless23456
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does anybody here keep pigs in an urban environment?hi all
moving house next week with a quite large garden (long and thin) in quite an urban environment? does anyone here keep pigs in such a setting? i will have to measure exactly the length of the garden but roughly 3 metres wide and 20-30 metres long, would this provide sufficient space for 2 pigs? i will also want to grow veg so they probably wont have rain of the full garden out of this space what would be a decent size to pen of for them? or is this way to small and i should just stick to veg? and maybe some chickens? just to note it would either be chickens and veg or pigs and veg not all three. all comments apritiated
a very confused first time small holder
lawrence
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Bebo
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You can keep pigs in quite a small area, but they do like to run around and dig. The rule of thumb I've worked to is 150sqm for two pigs, which you can't achieve in the space you have. I've only had pigs for the last couple of years but someone with more experience will be along to give you an expert answer.
You definitely have space for veg and chickens.
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mochyn
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I suspect you'd have trouble with the neighbours, and doubt that you'd get a CPH number (which you need). There's certainly not enough space there for a pair of pigs. You'll just have to content yourself with buying excellent pork from your friendly, internet-neighbourhood pig breeder!
Hens, on the other hand, are definitely do-able. And less likely to break into your neighbour's garden and dig it up.
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woodsprite
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I disagree actually. There is a lot of historical precedence for keeping backyard pigs. My dad had pigs in the backyard in the middle of Brum as a child, the terrace of houses fed a pig between them every year and shared the meat. Of course the pig would not have the same free range lifestyle as would be the ideal but it would be better off than 99% of the pigs reared for meat today.
I know goat breeders who live in the middle of cities so keeping livestock and getting a cph number may not be a problem.
The problem as I see it might be that you are forbidden from keeping pigs in your house deeds ( as indeed you may be forbidden from keeping hens) and your neighbours might object. If you are lucky enough to have an old pigsty and yard it would be perfectly do able.
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colour it green
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| woodsprite wrote: | | I disagree actually. There is a lot of historical precedence for keeping backyard pigs. My dad had pigs in the backyard in the middle of Brum as a child, the terrace of houses fed a pig between them every year and shared the meat. Of course the pig would not have the same free range lifestyle as would be the ideal but it would be better off than 99% of the pigs reared for meat today. |
Whilst it still is better than sow-crate miserably raised pigs, the 'old way ' of keeping pigs.. ie a single pig in a small sty is still far from ideal. So imo, if you can't give your own pigs a suitable set up, better to buy from someone who can.
Neighbours are a serious consideration - I would be more inclined to go for chickens in this set up.
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woodsprite
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Just to clarify. I wasn't suggesting that anyone should keep a single pig but two in a sty would be fine.
Check your deeds before you attempt to keep anything in an urban home, some are very precise about what you can and cannot do.
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Nat S
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You wouldnt have a problem getting a holding number - my holding number is attached to my terraced property, on the form i actually did write 0.01865793 of a hectare or something like that, worked it all out proper. 
your neighbours and the council will be your biggest obstacles.
I think a decent space to roam around in, plenty of bedding and foods that keep them occupied for longer (cabbages/kale strung up, feeding balls to put their pellets in, apples in water so they have to bob for them maybe?) and company = pigs that i'd be perfectly happy eating.
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Pel
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I think you'd be fine in terms of space, but just keep it to the summer months and just fatten weaners. I say summer what i mean is when its most dry, as pigs do like a little mud but not upto their armpits, and in a small area in winter this is what happens. We (neighbours garden, i help with labour and feeding) have 2 weaners at the moment in a area about 5m x 15m, so i'd say you'd be ok.
As everyone says asks to see what your deeds say, and also ask your neighbours opinions, as if they don't like it they may make your life a living hell when you get pigs.
We asked all our neighbours as the allotments (one of which has the pigs on) is near enough surronded by houses, every said yes its fine, one person said yes as long as they are gone by summer (july/august).
You do need to think about access though can you get the pigs to a trailer without going through your house or through a neighbour's garden, it may not seem so bad when they are 8 weeks old, but when they get to 60kg + they are slightly more tricker to move 
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VM
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Chickens are great and are already something more of a responsibility and amount of work than just vegetables. If this is your first attempt at keeping livestock, why not start with chickens and think about pigs another time?
Combination of the space not being ideal and being in a city and not having done it before would make me think not pigs. Among other things, if you have to be away for any reason, it's probably quite easy to find someone who will enjoy feeding your chickens, but may be harder to find someone who wants to look after your pig.
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Pel
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| VM wrote: | | Among other things, if you have to be away for any reason, it's probably quite easy to find someone who will enjoy feeding your chickens, but may be harder to find someone who wants to look after your pig. |
Well i don't normally go in for promoting my business, but couldnt resist. If you do go down pigs lawerence and you want to go away for a week, i may be of help, i have quite a bit of experience with pigs among other things, look at my website for more details.
With chickens you could have layers as well as meat birds, but you would have to have a warm shed for them when they are first collected, but that is one option to add some home grown meat to the plate.
I have to say my mum kune kune is very easy to look after, and even though he isnt going to slaughter he is doing a lot better than the welsh or oxford sandy and black.. this week he gained 5kg in a week (22kg at 12 weeks) being fed mainly on grass, fruit and veg with a small scoop of pellets, we had to severally restrict his pellet intake as she was so fat when he first arrived. Apperently they taste quite nice and can be ready in 5months but some books where you just feed them grass and fruit/veg, with a few pellets in winter say they take 12months.
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Nat S
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another vote for practising with chickens here  meat chickens would be a good way to ease yourself into the idea of killing something you've interacted with on a daily basis
as an aside, aren't kune kunes very fatty? like pot bellies? good liveweight gain but how much is meat and how much is lard!?
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Pel
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| Ixy wrote: |
as an aside, aren't kune kunes very fatty? like pot bellies? good liveweight gain but how much is meat and how much is lard!? |
It be interesting to see, i think if you just let them have grass/veg/fruit and very little pellets the fat should be slightly less, but yes i can imagine the inches on the pork chops.
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The sow
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I campaign for urban pig keeping. I should think something like 30% of our customers are "urbanites". I have written articles on Urban pig keeping for HomeFarmer magazine, one of which is in the recent copy. It is entirely possible to keep a couple of pigs for the freezer in an urban setting. But you must look at all the pitfalls before getting them, like being able to load them when they are 5 or 6 months old. Are you able to back a trailor up to the garden for example. If we can help, contact us.
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