What’s the best winter housing for pigs in cold climates?
When you don’t have an insulated building can you still keep pigs over winter in a really cold climate?
Yes you can!
You have a few options. Many farmers put out lots of straw bales and the pigs will bury under them.
Old wooden grain bins work and we used them for years, though it’s not easy getting small straw bales in them, especially if you have a 6 foot snow drift to tackle!
I’m getting too old to be lugging bales of straw around, it’s a young person’s game!
I like the pigs to do it themselves. Making a bed is part of their natural behaviour. They carry straw, or sticks, or whatever they can find, around in their mouths and make a bed.
We found that a calf shelter works best for us. It has a low roof and ours has a metal frame. They will soon destroy anything made of wood!
To help keep the draft off them we covered the shelter with a heavy-duty tarp, yes I do expect them to destroy it eventually but it covers the whole shelter and the front too. The low roof and the fact that we have all our pigs running together means they generate enough heat to keep the shelter really warm.
We put large round straw bales in front of the shelter and the pigs make their own bed.
They are toasty warm in there all winter!
Check out my e-books for more information on raising pigs!
Based on our experiences free ranging pigs in Saskatchewan, this downloadable guide is packed with tips on housing, feeding, watering, fencing and handling pigs.
Learn the right questions to ask when you order your pork and avoid the disappointment and frustration many farmers experience when dealing with processors.