Pigs are best kept outside, where they are happiest says Adam Henson
Thinking about keeping pigs? Pigs are wonderful and intelligent animals, says Adam Henson.
They love to churn up the ground by rooting around with their incredibly powerful snouts, and they enjoy wallowing in muddy hollows, simply sunbathing or devouring every edible thing they can find. They have a remarkable ability turn a green field or overgrown woodland into moonscape in no time at all.
It’s for these reasons that a high proportion of pigs worldwide are kept indoors. The recommended welfare code states that housing for pigs must be adequate for them to stand up, lie down and turn round without difficulty, and because of this, some pigs can be reared in fairly intensive conditions – but ideally they will be kept outdoors as this is where they are happiest.
- Native British pig breeds and how to recognise them
- What do pigs eat?
- Woolly pigs: meet the weird hairy pigs that look like sheep
If you’re thinking of keeping pigs you’ll need land that’s ideally free draining for them to live on. I would suggest that around half an acre for a couple of pigs would be plenty of room for them to thrive, especially if it could be split in two, so that half is in use and the other half is rested.
You must have somewhere warm and dry for them to lie, a decent supply of clean, fresh water and some shade to get away from the sun, as pigs can get sunburnt easily.