I have an appx. 400 lb hog i cannot get loaded into the stock trailer to take to the packing house. The man at the packing house says she has to be brought in alive so that rules out an option. I have the trailer backed up to the corral and have the door open. For two days I have not fed the hog except in the trailer where she will not go, not even to eat. We have tried corraling and driving her into it but that does not work either. She absolutely refuses to enter it. Any suggestions?

-- brian r (brian3006@msn.com), January 04, 2000

Answers

I had to laugh at the question. In sympathy. We do not have alot of experience but have loaded 5 pigs - during our homesteading life! This has provided some of the funniest stories in our experiences. Some pigs were harder than others to lure, but we would leave our "pig crate" about a week and feed them - Special Treats! Then usually once we adopted this method it was a non issue. Just one suggestion. Don't try closing the door until the Whole Pig is in the stock trailer. Once they catch on to what you are trying to do - you are out of luck for awhile! I say keep on with your plan - and Good Luck!

-- Serendipity Creak - Deb (serendip@rocler.qc.ca), January 04, 2000.

I don't know how your corral is set up but in any corral there should be a fenced area that tapers to a loading point. In this area you can begin to crowd the animals to the trailer. An old light weight door works well for driving hogs. I assume that you are using a ramp into the trailer. It helps if the sides of the ramp are enclosed so that the animal being loaded doesn't see they are going up an incline. If boards are used on the sides, keep them horizontal, not parallel with the ramp. Don't forget to set up the video camera to record the whole event. lol

-- greenbeanman (greenbeanman@ourtownusa.net), January 05, 2000.

Boy, oh boy, this sounds familiar. I have run throuhg many a scene like you are talking about. Once I backed a hog onto the truck by putting a pail over it's head and it tried to back away. I have even tied them up and rolled them on. Crowding on using a pallet or a dooor sometimes works. One thing for sure, you can't drive them on. Good luck.

-- Bob Henderson (redgate@echoweb.net), January 05, 2000.

Try leaving a trail of small tidbits toward the trailer .and if all else fails remember shes a pig and sooner or latter her stomach will win .We have 3 pigs that sometimes get out and weve tried everything including my husband trying to tackle it (almost peed my pants laughing )this did work when he could still pick them up but not @400 pounds .If you go to the extreme trying have a video camera ready .good luck and enjoy

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), January 05, 2000.

Well the standoff continues. Nothing to eat since sunday and its wednesday nite....i can lure her to the point of her front feet in the trailer. Tried the driving thing with a pallet or two, two men in the corral. Ive done this before with smaller hogs in the 250# range but this big sister is like a D-8 caterpillar. When she turns and pushes you just cant hold her. Maybe i need to taper the corall a little. Its 6' wide and the trailer door is about 3'. Tomorrow its either a hot shot or tying a rope around her and dragging her in with the tractor. If this doesnt work im going to have to study the old countryside back issues and find out how to butcher her at home....oh boy.......

-- brian r (brian3006@msn.com), January 05, 2000.

Wow, that sounds like quite a problem. The only thing we ever had close to it we closed in on it with large wood fencing panels and funneled it into where we wanted it to go. But gee, such a big pig. We do the same thing with steers that aren't tame sometimes. Seems that with enough people, with panels and some hooting and hollering you might be able to get it in. Also, I've heard of the old "bucket on the head trick", but don't know if it works.

Can you call around and see if there is a mobile butcher? We have a place near here that sends a truck out, slaughters the pig and takes it to their place to cut and wrap.

Kim kountrylife.com

-- Kim (farmer40@webtv.net), January 05, 2000.

Whew,do I feel lucky!We took 2 pigs to the slaughterhouse last week- one 460pds. and the other 515pds.We opened the stall door and they just piled into the cattle trailer we had backed up to the barn.Surprised the *&%# out of us-we were expecting a battle!The trick I've heard to the bucket over the head is one person keeps the bucket on and another pulls them backward by the tail.Haven't tried it myself.Good Luck!

-- Barbara (conlane@prodigy.net), January 07, 2000.

You might try this. It works with reluctant horses. With the hog facing the trailer tie a stout rope to one post of the stock trailer. Loop rope around rear of hog, fasten rope with a 2 ton com-a-long to oposite corner of trailer post. Crank up com-a-long and you will have one loaded pig! We used this last year for one of our "big ones". We had tried the bucket idea, the food trail and the shoving, pulling ( we had a rope around it's neck and almost killed the thing! Good luck!

-- Robin Frontz (frontzfarm@1st.net), January 07, 2000.

I also got a chuckle out of your dilemma, although I know you are not laughing at this point. We've tried most of the suggestions so far, and the only thing that works for us is to construct a loading chute out of hog panels and t-posts. Make the chute strong, with many posts, so that she can't root it up, or even move it. She will sense escape is possible, and try for it. Start the chute nearby the pig, and make sure she doesn't have much room. Run the hog panels to the trailer making a chute just big enough for the pig, and not big enough for her to turn around. Someone gets behind with a board, and slowly walks the pig into the chute (she should have nowhere else to go), and slowly walk her by staying right behind her with the board. This, obviously, should be your bravest loader. She could panic and try to turn, or get mad. Keep calm always. Pigs sense panic and will not be hurried or pushed. Make sure she has no where else to go. In other words, make the chute go only to the trailer, with no escape. Also, pigs do not like to step up, so make sure the trailer is on a rise or something so the pig can step right in. We also place a person by the trailer to slam the door quickly, and we have a person lean over the chute in front of the pig with goodies to tempt her forward. Above all remain calm and quiet. Praying helps, too! Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), January 08, 2000.

Thanks for all the tips everyone.We tried most all of them, except the bucket, and we did do some praying. On Thursday I got her in. I got 2 men almost as big as the hog. After using them to try to heard her in without luck we did the next to the last resort. I ran a rope through one of the slats in the front of the trailer. We tied one end around the hogs mid-section in a slip knot. The other in was tied to the tractor in low gear. The hog squealed a lot but couldnt pull the tractor back. She finally fell down and we drug her right in. Best i could tell she suffered no injuries and seemed happy once inside. Oh well she is bacon now anyway....

-- brian r (brian3006@msn.com), January 10, 2000.

Glad to hear you got her in . We to just sent one to slaughter ,we will be picking up the meat in a few days .We backed the trailer up to the fence ,put a rubbermaid tote on her head and backed her up to the trailer and pushed with all our mite . I can almost taste her now !

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), January 11, 2000.

We have had the very humbleing experience of having a hog that would not load when we first started. (12 years ago) We raise Dairy Goats so hogs fit right into the terminal end of milk that has not been sold. After every pen imaginable, I raise my pig every year now in a 4 horse trailer. We move it every weekend and pitch everything that comes out of it onto the compost pile. It cuts down on flies, and we never have had a pig get loose in the woods again and we don't have to load them to slaughter. We do all of our own butchering since we found out you can skin a pig just like any other livestock. (Thanks to Countryside!!) We also butcher our hogs before they are of a such unmanageable size. Good day to all. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 17, 2000.

Simple..get a catahoula leopard dog..they were bred to bay up wild hogs and can be trained for domestic hogs, IMHO. But they herd by barking and biting where it matters the most..they don't heel like heeling breeds. I can't stand dogs that heel bec they get alot of nasty stuff in their mouths but then again they do serve a purpose to some individuals...

Ted

-- Ted Hart (tedhart71@hotmail.com), January 09, 2001.