Facts about the pigpen:
- Dimensions of the main room are 60" x 30". The total usable area
is about 25 ft2 counting the shelves and the "hay room", which was added after this photo was taken. (The hammock was also added after this picture was taken.)
- The walls of the main room are Plexiglas slabs 12" high in front
and on the left and 18" high for the other two walls. On the top
shelf the pigs are actually above the height of the 12" walls.
They get lots of fresh air this way, and it is good for interacting
with people.
- Sheets of fake sheepskin are used for flooring and on the shelves.
This gives the pigs good footing and is easily washed.
- Towels are used to cover some of the boards. Again, they like
a textured surface for footing.
- There are five plastic litter trays filled with CareFresh paper-based
bedding. Litter trays occupy all parts of the pigpen that are
hidden from sight.
- The top shelf and the hay room always have lots of timothy hay,
which we get from Oxbow.
- The middle shelf is about 8 inches above the floor, and they can
easily jump up onto it. But there is an alternative "stairway"
on the right side made of cinderblocks.
- The middle shelf also serves a safety function to prevent falls
off the high shelf. The plastic box on the high shelf has a couple
of bricks for stability, and holds bedding and hay. It is positioned
so that about three inches of the high shelf sticks out to the
left. This is not enough of a ledge for a pig to hang out on,
but enough to prevent accidental falls off the left side. The
right side is fall-proof because of the "stairway" there.
- All the shelves are positioned to they can't be used by a pig
to get over the Plexiglass walls. However, this isn't much of
a concern because the pigs do not seem interested in trying to
escape.
New Additions
- The Hammock: When a towel had been draped under one of the shelves, both pigs
decided they liked to climb up into it to hang out. Now we make
them a hammock intentionally. It is a favorite spot. You can see
it better in this picture.
- The "hay room" consists of a large translucent plastic storage bin that sits
just to the left of the main pigpen. Circular holes were cut in
it and in the left Plexiglas pigpen wall. The pigs can go between
rooms via a large tube that runs through these circular. The hay
room is visible in this picture.
More Pictures
Click on the small picture to see the full-size version.
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