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Pig farming
I was reading in the paper about a pig farmer who is being threatened with court action because his pigs are destroyed the trees on his land by snuffling and scratching.
I have no experience pig farming so I don't know alot about it. It seems to me that farming pigs would be quite difficult as they are naturally quite destructive. Its more natural for them to out in fields and woodland etc but then the farmers have problems when the trees are destroyed and the ground turns into a mud bath!
What are people's opinions on this? Also - what do people think of farrowing crates. I've read some pretty terrible things about them - are they really that bad?
I have no experience pig farming so I don't know alot about it. It seems to me that farming pigs would be quite difficult as they are naturally quite destructive. Its more natural for them to out in fields and woodland etc but then the farmers have problems when the trees are destroyed and the ground turns into a mud bath!
What are people's opinions on this? Also - what do people think of farrowing crates. I've read some pretty terrible things about them - are they really that bad?
I went to a pig farm in October and they had about 20 farrowing crates there. They pigs were really well well looked after and seemed happy.
The pigs need to be kept in them to stop them squashing the piglets, so i suppose for the sake of several weeks its worth not killing the piglets?
ash xx
The pigs need to be kept in them to stop them squashing the piglets, so i suppose for the sake of several weeks its worth not killing the piglets?
ash xx
hmmm. funny how the authorities allow complete destruction of land for roads, houses etc but a few pigs rootling the soil and it's court action. Fair enough, they do damage the land but I don't think the farmer should face court action.
I personally don't like farrowing crates, i have visited a place where they were used but didn''t do work exp there. I prefer to see pigs outside or at least in pens where they have freedom to move, make beds etc.
As a little aside, there is a pig farmer whose farm was trespassed by Heather Mills (wife of Paul McCartney I think- correct me if i'm wrong) who filmed the farrowing crates for a video on 'Viva' the animal rights charity's website.More about this can be found on farmer's wekkly website www.fwi.co.uk or viva's site- I'm not sure of the address you may have to Google it. They wil obviously offer 2 very different opinions!
I personally don't like farrowing crates, i have visited a place where they were used but didn''t do work exp there. I prefer to see pigs outside or at least in pens where they have freedom to move, make beds etc.
As a little aside, there is a pig farmer whose farm was trespassed by Heather Mills (wife of Paul McCartney I think- correct me if i'm wrong) who filmed the farrowing crates for a video on 'Viva' the animal rights charity's website.More about this can be found on farmer's wekkly website www.fwi.co.uk or viva's site- I'm not sure of the address you may have to Google it. They wil obviously offer 2 very different opinions!
The only way you can stop pigs rooting is to mutilate them by ringing their noses. piglet losses are also greater in outdoor pig units. On balance, indoor pigs are kept clean and warm and more piglets survive but its a bit mind numbing for them. Really i don't like any kind of pig farming but seeing the two, ironically i think i prefer indoor farming. at the end of the day, no kind of farming is going to do an highly motivated, intelligent animal like a pig any good. Pig damage is classed as the same sort of thing as ploughing and on certain land this sort of turning the soil is prohibited. I guess thats why he's being nicked.
Hmmm I now see why people don't eat pig its abit of a problem really. I was researching this and apparently you can get different types of crates? Has anybody seen any fancy ones with moving floors ect?
I've found some stuff about farrowing crates but it was on the Viva website so I'm not sure whether to believe it or not. Can anoybody with first hand experience shed some light?
"Sows have a pregnancy lasting around four months and are usually reimpregnated within a week of their piglets being weaned"
"While confined in the crate, the sow is unable to move toward her piglets when she wants to but is also prevented from moving away from them when she wants to. This can lead to aggression towards piglets, with 1 in 8 piglets fatally mauled by their mothers (New Scientist, 2000). This is a very rare event in the wild."
"The crate is supposedly used to prevent sows from accidentally crushing their piglets. In fact, the danger of crushing is a direct consequence of factory farming techniques. In the wild, nests protect piglets from crushing because they are pliable, providing some cushioning for piglets if lain on; because piglets may simply fall through or out of nests; and because the sow roots around before lying down giving the piglets warning that she is about to do so. The crate offers none of these forms of protection."
I'm finding it really difficult to make up my mind on this one!
I've found some stuff about farrowing crates but it was on the Viva website so I'm not sure whether to believe it or not. Can anoybody with first hand experience shed some light?
"Sows have a pregnancy lasting around four months and are usually reimpregnated within a week of their piglets being weaned"
"While confined in the crate, the sow is unable to move toward her piglets when she wants to but is also prevented from moving away from them when she wants to. This can lead to aggression towards piglets, with 1 in 8 piglets fatally mauled by their mothers (New Scientist, 2000). This is a very rare event in the wild."
"The crate is supposedly used to prevent sows from accidentally crushing their piglets. In fact, the danger of crushing is a direct consequence of factory farming techniques. In the wild, nests protect piglets from crushing because they are pliable, providing some cushioning for piglets if lain on; because piglets may simply fall through or out of nests; and because the sow roots around before lying down giving the piglets warning that she is about to do so. The crate offers none of these forms of protection."
I'm finding it really difficult to make up my mind on this one!
[QUOTE=)(--becca--)
I've found some stuff about farrowing crates but it was on the Viva website so I'm not sure whether to believe it or not. Can anoybody with first hand experience shed some light?
"Sows have a pregnancy lasting around four months and are usually reimpregnated within a week of their piglets being weaned"
"While confined in the crate, the sow is unable to move toward her piglets when she wants to but is also prevented from moving away from them when she wants to. This can lead to aggression towards piglets, with 1 in 8 piglets fatally mauled by their mothers (New Scientist, 2000). This is a very rare event in the wild."
"The crate is supposedly used to prevent sows from accidentally crushing their piglets. In fact, the danger of crushing is a direct consequence of factory farming techniques. In the wild, nests protect piglets from crushing because they are pliable, providing some cushioning for piglets if lain on; because piglets may simply fall through or out of nests; and because the sow roots around before lying down giving the piglets warning that she is about to do so. The crate offers none of these forms of protection."
I'm finding it really difficult to make up my mind on this one!
Yep the bit about the remating's true- but what's wrong with that?
In the wild, they only have 4 or so babies, not 14. a commercially farmed pig has less maternal instinct and more piglets that are disposable to her- so squashing a few is less of a loss and probably weeding out the runts. Farrowing crates are a necessary evil if people want to eat cheap pork. the ideal is the lovely piggies kept non- intensively and literally hand nursed like on 'jimmy's farm' but this isn't the reaaliyt for a lot of outdor pigs and i don't really think they get a better deal than an indoor pig. the worst thing about pig farming where i've seen is that i think there are sadly more pigfarmers with a cavalier attitude than any other kind of farming- in these cases the pigs probably have as little respect for humans than they do the pigs, so what goes around comes around. I generally dislike pig farming, weaner bungalows, them eating eachother and everything else that goes with it, and i saw EMS on a Marks and spencers unit! however, i do like a good bacon sandwich....
I've found some stuff about farrowing crates but it was on the Viva website so I'm not sure whether to believe it or not. Can anoybody with first hand experience shed some light?
"Sows have a pregnancy lasting around four months and are usually reimpregnated within a week of their piglets being weaned"
"While confined in the crate, the sow is unable to move toward her piglets when she wants to but is also prevented from moving away from them when she wants to. This can lead to aggression towards piglets, with 1 in 8 piglets fatally mauled by their mothers (New Scientist, 2000). This is a very rare event in the wild."
"The crate is supposedly used to prevent sows from accidentally crushing their piglets. In fact, the danger of crushing is a direct consequence of factory farming techniques. In the wild, nests protect piglets from crushing because they are pliable, providing some cushioning for piglets if lain on; because piglets may simply fall through or out of nests; and because the sow roots around before lying down giving the piglets warning that she is about to do so. The crate offers none of these forms of protection."
I'm finding it really difficult to make up my mind on this one!
Yep the bit about the remating's true- but what's wrong with that?
In the wild, they only have 4 or so babies, not 14. a commercially farmed pig has less maternal instinct and more piglets that are disposable to her- so squashing a few is less of a loss and probably weeding out the runts. Farrowing crates are a necessary evil if people want to eat cheap pork. the ideal is the lovely piggies kept non- intensively and literally hand nursed like on 'jimmy's farm' but this isn't the reaaliyt for a lot of outdor pigs and i don't really think they get a better deal than an indoor pig. the worst thing about pig farming where i've seen is that i think there are sadly more pigfarmers with a cavalier attitude than any other kind of farming- in these cases the pigs probably have as little respect for humans than they do the pigs, so what goes around comes around. I generally dislike pig farming, weaner bungalows, them eating eachother and everything else that goes with it, and i saw EMS on a Marks and spencers unit! however, i do like a good bacon sandwich....
It is tricky, I used to prefer outdoor units but having read the comments here I am beginning to change my mind a bit. the only pig unit i have seen is one where the sows are kept in indoor enclosures witha crepp area for their piglets but no crate. This seemed quite a good system especially as a lot of the pens had an outdoor bit was well.
Your'e right to be cautious about the viva website becca, they make out all farming is terrible, which i naively believed till i started doing farm experience and discovered that it wasn't that bad after all.
Your'e right to be cautious about the viva website becca, they make out all farming is terrible, which i naively believed till i started doing farm experience and discovered that it wasn't that bad after all.
"Can anoybody with first hand experience shed some light?"
Hey everyone
. This thread caught my eye because I have spent quite a bit of time on pig farms, indoor and outdoor (my dad is a pig farmer). Although I agree that farrowing crates can look cruel and unfair on the sow, I still believe that they are in the best interests of the sow and piglets. The state of British Farming at the moment and the demand for cheap meat simply means it is not economically viable for the farmer to provide an environment where the sows can be given enough space to "move toward her piglets when she wants to but is also prevented from moving away from them when she wants to". If you have ever been in a farrowing house and heard the squeals of piglets being crushed by their mothers I don't think you would argue that it is better to let the sows remain unrestricted.
Also, in my experience the figure that "1 in 8 piglets" is savaged in farrowing crates is ridiculous. On an indoor farm I worked on for 4 weeks over the summer with over 80 farrowing crates the numbers of piglets savaged were under 1%. Good stockmanship and the culling of any sows which savage more than once means that sows mauling their own piglets was rare. I think in the month I was working on the pig farm only 2 sows savaged. In both cases it was spotted early and the remaining litters seperated.
"the worst thing about pig farming where i've seen is that i think there are sadly more pigfarmers with a cavalier attitude than any other kind of farming"
Maybe I am biased but the majority of pig farmers I have worked with seem to be hard-working folk who genuinly care about the welfare of the pigs. There are always going to be a few 'bad eggs' -excuse the pun
- , but I guess there might be a greater proportion in the pig industry. What does everyone else think?
Jenny xx
(Just thought I'd add that of all the work experience I have done pig farming has been the most enjoyable. Pigs are such inquisitive, intelligent animals and seem to have a decent quality of life on the farms I have been on. One thing I will add though is that I prefer it when they are bedded with straw as opposed to slats.)
#pig#
Hey everyone
. This thread caught my eye because I have spent quite a bit of time on pig farms, indoor and outdoor (my dad is a pig farmer). Although I agree that farrowing crates can look cruel and unfair on the sow, I still believe that they are in the best interests of the sow and piglets. The state of British Farming at the moment and the demand for cheap meat simply means it is not economically viable for the farmer to provide an environment where the sows can be given enough space to "move toward her piglets when she wants to but is also prevented from moving away from them when she wants to". If you have ever been in a farrowing house and heard the squeals of piglets being crushed by their mothers I don't think you would argue that it is better to let the sows remain unrestricted.Also, in my experience the figure that "1 in 8 piglets" is savaged in farrowing crates is ridiculous. On an indoor farm I worked on for 4 weeks over the summer with over 80 farrowing crates the numbers of piglets savaged were under 1%. Good stockmanship and the culling of any sows which savage more than once means that sows mauling their own piglets was rare. I think in the month I was working on the pig farm only 2 sows savaged. In both cases it was spotted early and the remaining litters seperated.
"the worst thing about pig farming where i've seen is that i think there are sadly more pigfarmers with a cavalier attitude than any other kind of farming"
Maybe I am biased but the majority of pig farmers I have worked with seem to be hard-working folk who genuinly care about the welfare of the pigs. There are always going to be a few 'bad eggs' -excuse the pun
- , but I guess there might be a greater proportion in the pig industry. What does everyone else think?Jenny
xx(Just thought I'd add that of all the work experience I have done pig farming has been the most enjoyable. Pigs are such inquisitive, intelligent animals and seem to have a decent quality of life on the farms I have been on. One thing I will add though is that I prefer it when they are bedded with straw as opposed to slats.)
#pig#
This is really interesting I'd really like to get some exp on a pig farm to experiece all of this first hand but there aren't really any around me. I'll have to wait till I'm in vet school.....
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