Fencing for a pig

[Wouldy]

I'm going to give a friend a hand doing some fencing for her yard. She needs to fix up the fence/enclosure for her pig and she wants put other fencing up as she now has a young son Giving a hand means I will be doing it ha ha. So, although I know the different types of fencing, I've personally not had experience in this arena but do know it's quite involved to do a good proper fence. 

So, I am thinking because of these reasons that I'm going to entertain other fencing options that are strong and sturdy. What are some of the options I can do for fencing? Of course the options need to be that the materials can be bought from Bunnings. The budget is on the cheaper side for materials rather than the more expensive side. 

I don't have photos of the hard itself yet. Still need to go over a d have a look at what ideas she has for her fencing. I'll be browsing ideas in the meantime. 

Thanks. 

Wouldy

[MitchellMc]

Pigs are relatively strong animals @Wouldy, so I'd suggest your fence needs to be robust. Check out our range of rural fencing solutions. We have fencing wire and barbed wire, tensioners, staples and even electric fencing. On the lighter gauge side, you might be able to get away with some dog mesh if it's fixed adequately.

Once you've checked with your friend on what type of fence they need, I'm sure our members will be pleased to suggest some products you can use.

Mitchell

[KatieC]

Hi @Wouldy 

This is a great question, my friends that have farms say that sturdy fencing is a MUST with pigs. 

Let me tag @Baretta11 and she has great experience and may be able to lend some advice as well. 

Katie

[Baretta11]

@Wouldy 

Pigs to say the least are very hard work as far as fencing goes, although they can make great house pets and can be toilet trained and are very loving but as for a pig in the back yard so to speak or on a small hobby farm, unless an enclosure has a concrete base like a dog run, pigs by their very nature of constantly digging to find worms or anything else edible that they can consume, will eventually dig themselves out and wreak havoc whilst out if they can find any food source like a veggie plot or horse feed etc...

Unfortunately the only way to confine a pig in a paddock situation is to have an electric fence and some of the things required to do that can't be purchased from Bunnings.

Not sure if youir freind wants to go through the expense of an electric fence but there is no other way coupled with the fact that pigs just love to dig and that creates it's own problems not the least of which it can become quite a messy area, the electric fence and area beneath it needs to be maintained othwerwise over time the pig will create a large enough hole to still escape under the fence or the fence might "short" or lose some or all of it's power if the pig pushes up dirt onto the wire as it can never make contact with the ground or anything steal.

I have attached a pic of what a pig enclosure can look like and even though the picture shows many pigs, I can assure you even one pig can create this mess in time and the dirt up close to the electric fencing needs to be periodically pushed away as the electric fenc will eventually "short" as I just explained earlier.

There is of course the problem your friend would face having a child but most children and adults living on farms with electric fencing have one time or another got a "shock" from it as I did just last week and whilst i'ts not pleasant it does no harm and kids and adults alike soon learn not to touch it.

I'm here to help you with what you need and how to go about putting it together if your friend is prepared to go ahead and how and where to purchase the things you'll need like an electric fence unit which can be quite expensive but also the insulators required to insulate the "hot wire" as it's called from other wires on the same fence if there are any but at least one wire on the fence must be an earth wire to help complete the circut when contact is made to create the "shock" that the animal gets which in turns makes them recoil from the fence and simply stay away.

Electric fences are not unlike power in a home but it's not dangerous as it's amperage that can kill a person and electric fence units do not carry the amperage to do that and have a transformer inside them. They simply provide a non lethal "shock" enough to make you swear usually, personal experience ha-ha but that's all it will do to a human or animal.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Baretta11,

Many thanks for that helpful information. I trust @Wouldy appreciates your input.

"some of the things required to do that can't be purchased from Bunnings". I'd be keen to learn what we lack in our electric fence range. That feedback would be beneficial as I could then go to our merch team to see if we could add the missing products.

Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.

Mitchell

[Baretta11]

Hi Mitchel,

Wow I really had no idea you now had this kind of electric fencing, that's great and I apologise that I wasn'r aware of this addition to the already fabulous supply of all things great and small at Bunnings!!.

Whilst what Bunnings supplies is a great start and would work a treat for semi permanent fencing as far as things like the fence string and tape, it does not stand the test of time for a more maintenence free fencing system like one would have on a farm for example as over time, these strings and tapes do break down as the fine wire running though it can break but not be a viual thing you might see and then the current doesn't continue to travel all the way through but having said that it can be kept for years and years if it's maintained and the only way to be able to do that is to have a fence tester so the current can be checked say perhaps once a week or if there is a concern the fence is failing in some way.

The tread in plastic posts are also great for temporary fencing but if any steel droppers are used along a fence line and not just in corners as you have the corner insulators, then insulators specifically for droppers are needed and equally if there are permanant wooded posts in the ground they also require specific insulators however, what you have in stock is a great start for someone wanting temporary fencing and might in the end work perfectly well for @Wouldy friend.

[MitchellMc]

@Baretta11, 

I've just realised that some of these products are only available in regional areas, and the website excludes them from metro store searches. If you set your store to a regional one, you'll be able to see the complete range. It includes the insulators for wooden posts as well. We can also order anything you need directly from our supplier, O'Briens fencing.

I appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback.

Mitchell

[Baretta11]

@MitchellMc 

Outstanding, you have everything one might need to do all electric fencing.

Of course it might be difficult for some patrons to souce a regional store but the store one usually frequents can get anything in from another store for a customer as I have done this myself some time ago when no local stores had what I was trying to purchase and a store at some distance did have the item and it was simply sourced and brought to my store providing I could wait a little while and that was fine for me.

Cheers,

Barbara

[Wouldy]

@Baretta11 @MitchellMc 

I'm sorry for the huge delay in my response. I've been so flat out with everything. The pig fencing didn't work out which is fine with me. Wasn't meant to be. 

From the responses, I don't think I will ever attempt a pig enclosure. I'd get someone else to do it. 

Thank you for what you shared. 

Wouldy