Emily Hartley
Why Outdoor Pigs Suit a Cumbrian Smallholding
There is something deeply satisfying about watching pigs do what pigs are built to do: rooting through turf, snuffling along a hedgerow, flopping into a cool wallow on a warm July afternoon. On a Cumbrian smallholding, with our damp climate, hedged fields and rough pasture, outdoor pig keeping is a natural fit. It is also a good deal more work than a shed and a concrete floor, and the results are worth every hour of it.
Pigs reared outdoors grow slowly, on varied ground, with room to express natural behaviour. The pork that comes from them is darker, firmer and far better flavoured than anything you will buy in a supermarket chiller. But it only goes well if the basics are right: sound fencing, clean water, proper shade and shelter, and a rotation that keeps the ground from turning into a bog. Get those four things sorted and the rest tends to look after itself.
Fencing: Build It Stout and Build It Once
Pigs are strong, curious and remarkably good at finding the one weak point in a fence. A pig that has learned it can push through wire will teach every other pig in the pen, so the fence must be right before the animals arrive.
- Use pig netting rather than standard stock netting. The mesh is smaller and the wire heavier, and the bottom line should sit tight to the ground.
- Bury a 30cm skirt of netting or lay a run of stone along the base. Pigs root underneath fences with astonishing speed.
- Add at least two strands of electric wire, offset on insulators, at roughly 20cm and 45cm for weaners, and 30cm and 60cm for older pigs.
- Use a mains energiser if you can, with a good earth stake driven into damp ground. Battery units are fine, but check them weekly — a flat battery is an open gate.
- Gates need sturdy hinges and a latch that a pig cannot lift with its snout. A simple chain and clip beats anything clever.
Post and rail is lovely to look at but rarely pig-proof on its own. Combine it with netting and electric and you will sleep at night.
Water, Wallows and Keeping Pigs Cool
Pigs cannot sweat, so they rely on water, shade and mud to regulate their temperature. A wallow is not a luxury; it is essential welfare. A shallow scrape lined with clay holds water far better than sand or bare soil, and the mud that builds up acts as a natural sunscreen and helps smother lice and mange.
Site the wallow away from the drinking trough so the water stays clean, and never let it drain into a ditch or watercourse — nutrient-rich run-off is a fineable offence and a genuine pollution risk. In a wet Cumbrian summer the challenge is often the opposite of drought: too much mud and nowhere dry to lie. That is where rotation and a well-drained lying area earn their keep.
On drinking water, be generous. A growing pig will get through five to ten litres a day, and a lactating sow considerably more. Troughs should be checked daily, and in winter you will be breaking ice more often than you would like.
Shelter That Works With the Weather
An ark is the classic solution, and a good one, provided it is big enough for every pig to lie down at once and dry. Orient the opening away from the prevailing south-westerlies and set it on a raised pad of hardcore or woodchip so it does not sit in a puddle.
Deep straw bedding is worth the extra bales. It insulates, absorbs, and gives pigs something to burrow into on a hard frost. For summer, plant or preserve shade — a few mature trees on the north side of a paddock are better than any shade cloth, though a rigged tarpaulin will do at a push. Pale pigs such as Gloucester Old Spots and British Lops burn easily, particularly on the ears and back, so shade is a welfare matter, not a comfort.
Rotation: The Heart of Healthy Outdoor Pigs
The single biggest mistake new pig keepers make is leaving them on the same patch. Bare, poached ground quickly becomes a mud bath, and mud harbours worms, coccidia and bacteria.
- Divide your ground into three or four paddocks and move the pigs every three to four weeks, depending on stocking density and how fast the ground is cutting up.
- Rest each paddock for eight to ten weeks in the growing season, longer over winter, so the sward can recover and sunlight can do its work.
- Harrow and lime rested ground, or sow a hardy mix of ryegrass, clover and plantain. Harrowing exposes worm eggs to sun and frost.
- Keep pigs off the wettest fields from November to February. Move them onto a woodchip pad or hardstanding instead.
Be realistic: rotation reduces worm pressure but does not eliminate it. Ascaris eggs can survive in soil for years. Rotate, keep records, and speak to your vet about faecal egg counts before reaching for a wormer.
Paperwork and Practicalities Before You Start
You will need a County Parish Holding number for the land and a herd mark before any pig arrives, and every movement on or off the holding must be recorded and reported. Feeding kitchen or catering waste — swill — is illegal in the UK and remains one of the quickest ways to trigger a disease outbreak, so keep scraps out of the trough entirely.
Start with two or three weaners rather than a breeding pair, buy from a reputable local breeder, and give yourself a full season to learn the rhythm of the ground. There is no finer feeling than a freezer full of pork you reared yourself, on grass, in the Cumbrian air.
