What is the Best Electric Fence For Pigs on the Homestead? Jenny Graham, July 5, 2024July 5, 2024 As a pig owner, you may wonder what the best electric fence for pigs is. Proper fencing is one of the most important elements in keeping any livestock, especially pigs. Trust me on this when I say that a loose pig can cause lots of damage and is not fun to chase. Best Electric Fence for Pigs and Hogs How you intend to keep your pigs will determine the best electric fence for pigs. Will you use rotational grazing methods in a pasture or will your pigs stay on uneven or wooded terrain? In these two instances, the best option for pig fencing will be: An Electric Portable Instant Fence System or Single Strand Electric Fencing Best Electric Fence for Pigs My choice for the best electric fence for pigs is the Pig QuickFence by Premier 1. It’s a portable electric fence that is 30″ tall for pastured pigs. The bottom line is 6 in. above the ground to prevent pigs from rooting soil onto the fence wires and shorting it out. The only thing you’ll need other than the portable electric fence is a solar charger and ground rods. However, piglets can easily go under the bottom strand, so this electric netting is not recommended for them. Best Electric Fence for Piglets The best electric fence for pigs and piglets is the Premier 1 PigletNet Plus. This electric netting has posts closer together and openings that are 2″ x 3″ near the soil. The tighter spacing keeps even small piglets safe inside the perimeter. Benefits of Using Electric Netting This fence comes pre-assembled and is easy to install, even with one person. It takes less than 10 minutes to go from unboxing to installed fence. Nets last over 10 seasons if used and stored properly. They come in lengths of 50 and 100 foot rolls. Further more, the tallest portable electric fence made by Premier 1 for pigs is only 30 inches tall. Most adults can easily step over the fence. Create the Best Electric Fence for Pigs Another popular choice for the best fence for pigs is setting up single strand pig fence. Larger pigs trained on electric fences can contain themselves with a single strand electric fence. For piglets, smaller pigs, or pigs new to electric fences, it is recommended to use two strands. Alternatively, some pig farmers even use a three-wire system. Strands of electric wire placed at four, eight, and twelve to sixteen inches above the ground will contain a trained pig of any size. The best electric fence for pigs kept on uneven or wooded terrain is often one where you run your own strand of wire. A Basic Livestock Electrical Wire Fence System Consists of: Low impedance charger Grounding rods Line Posts, either step-in insulated posts or metal fence posts with insulators added Fence wire, either high tensile wire or poly wire (preferred) A reel for your wire Insulated gate handles Setting Up the Best Electric Fence for Pigs Setting up the electric fence is an easy job that almost anyone can do. With a little forethought and planning you can set up your own electric fence for pigs. Check out this video to see the setup of a two-paddock system for rotationally grazing pigs. Pig Electric Fencing Charge and Voltage Pigs are very smart animals that can quickly learn how to escape from any fence. Therefore, it’s important to use a fence charger that is strong enough to make them respect the fence. For pigs, you should use a fence charger that has at least 0.5-1 joules of energy and a voltage of 3,000-4,000 volts. Some pork producers keep their fence lines as high as 7,400 volts. Electric Fence Maintenance Doing regular maintenance on your electric fence will keep it working properly, keeping your livestock in. Let’s look at the basics of maintaining your electric fence line. Check Your Voltage The best thing you can do to keep your fence running properly is to check various points and lines with a voltage tester. Are you getting a good charge in all locations? If not, you’ll need to figure out why. The electrical circuit can easily be shorted out. Vegetation, a broken insulator, or a broken wire could be the culprit. Keep looking until you find the reason. They can sometimes be hard to spot. Do you get good voltage close to the charger, but less at the opposite end of the pasture? If so, you may need additional grounding rods. Checking the voltage regularly can prevent it from shorting out and your pigs running free. Keeping Electric Fence Lines Free of Weeds Too much vegetation growing along your electric fence can cause it to short out. Ideally, you should aim to keep electric fence lines trimmed and free of weeds. This can be a challenging job in large pastures with lots of electric fence lines. You could consider getting a charger powerful enough to work even with vegetation on the lines. However, they do cost more and do not completely eliminate the need to control grass and weeds on the fencelines. Maintaining Your Solar Charger If you use a solar charger to supply your fence with electricity, it needs to receive as much sunlight as possible. Keeping the solar panel clean and tilted toward the sun will give it the best opportunity to stay charged. If you aren’t getting enough charge for your pasture, you may need a bigger solar panel charger or opt to use a plug-in electric fence charger. Training Pigs to Respect the Fence Pigs need to be properly trained on electric fencing for it to be the most effective. Teaching pigs to respect the electric fence is simple if you set new pigs up to learn about the fence early on. Start training them on electric when they’re 10-30 pounds. Waiting until they reach this weight will help ensure they have adequate ground contact. When first starting out, run an electric strand on the inside of a permanent hog panel fenced area. Initially, when pigs touch the wire with their nose, they will try and go through, being stopped by the hog panel. After a few days of this, they will know they cannot go through the fence when hit with the electric shock. They will turn away from the strands of wire when shocked. Once you see them consistently turn away from the wire, they can be turned out into a pasture with single strand electric fencing. The wire heights should be set somewhere between the end of the pig’s snout and their ears when they are holding their head down. Be sure to keep your wire good and hot so they learn to stay away. Permanent Fencing Vs Electric Fencing While hog panels do an excellent job keeping pigs contained they are not as portable as electric fencing. However, they are a very reliable permanent exterior fence for pigs. If pasture-raising pigs with rotational grazing is your goal, the best fence for pigs will be portable electric fencing. A good choice for free-range pigs in the woods is running your own strands of wire. Either will be a wise investment if you are keeping pigs. Why Use Electric Fencing With Your Pigs Pigs are highly intelligent animals with very little hair and large wet noses. This makes them easy to control with electric fencing if they are properly trained. They tend to tear up an area if left there for too long. Having a portable electric fence is convenient to move. Best Electric Fence for Pigs Depending on your situation, the best electric fence for pigs is the Premier 1 Pig QuickFence or setting up your own single strand electric fence. With either fencing type, pigs must be trained and the fence properly setup and maintained to be the most effective in containing your pigs. You may also enjoy reading: Are Pigs Easy to Take Care Of? The Honest Truth How to Castrate Pigs Quick and Easy Raising Meat on the Small Homestead Are Kunekune Pigs Good for Meat: The Perfect Homestead Pig Happy Homesteading & Pig Raising, Jenny @ The GrahamStead Family Farm Jenny and her family have been homesteading for over 20 years. They are currently farming on their 10 acre Florida farm, that they built from the ground up, 9 years ago, growing 100% of their meat and most of their vegetables. From their small herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, pastured poultry, sheep, and seasonal pigs, they are able to raise enough meat for the family while selling extra to the community. Striving to butcher at home, as much as possible, using the bits and pieces of their harvest by preserving food, making bone broth, and (Jenny’s favorite) tanning all kinds of hides! Sources: How To Maintain An Electric Fence https://www.premier1supplies.com/species/hogs_pigs Homesteading Livestock