Lord of Havoc Says NO to: Sow Stalls
Friday, 11 February 2011
At “Havoc” I say no to sow stalls because I believe that pigs need to be able to exhibit their natural behaviour.
Pigs are intelligent herd animals with a low boredom threshold and are curious by nature they live in a hierarchical society they are very social creatures and I believe they are happiest when they are treated as such.
This means they need fresh air and freedom to run around with grass to chew at and stones to turn over to find grubs underneath. Pigs need a warm straw filled hut to sleep in at night or when it is cold and shelter from the rain and sun. They also need to be able to have a good old wallow in the mud when they are hot (pigs do not have sweat glands) so a mud bath is like sun screen to pigs.
An interesting fact about pigs is they sleep like humans wake when it’s light and sleep when it’s dark.
At “Havoc” my pregnant sows live happily in a paddock with their herd, this is from the time they are first pregnant until they are ready to have their piglets.
However once they are ready to have their piglets things change and they do not want to be so sociable this will be my next musing so watch for it.