It is always better to make double from the resources you have. For a farm owner, it is an opportunity to farm more than one animal in a single place. It will increase the revenue and open up new avenue of success as well. For example, if he has little piglets in his farm and have to find out merino sheep for sale near me; it is better to raise them together.
Thus, below are some tips to follow while raising the sheep & pigs together.
- Fencing
When raising the multiple species together, first think about building the fencing system so the animals can’t escape.
In this case, the fencing should primarily focus on pigs, and some owners put electric fencing for pigs. But remember to have secondary fencing for sheep.
- Keep them isolated
One of the many reasons people don’t prefer to keep sheep and pigs together is that the pigs are more aggressive and can attack the sheep anytime. Thus, it is essential to keep them isolated from each other.
So, here are two solutions for you to avoid such a situation.
- Give the animal ample space because a pig can only attack a sheep in the corner, not in the middle of a vast open space.
- Secondly, try buying the piglets and raising them together to develop a habit of their presence and have fewer chances of considering them as food.
- Feeding
Don’t think the work is done once you have directed the pigs towards feeding. Instead, you have to do it multiple times until it becomes natural.
This is because; pigs are intelligent animals & more than their food; their focus is on sheep’s food.
In addition, piglets are often seen eating the sheep’s coop & hunting for fresh eggs. So, you must be aware that you don’t let the sheep enter the pig’s cages during feeding time. Thus, is it advisable to invest in separate feeding & litter boxes for both animals.
- Contagious disease
Most of the time, the farm owners don’t stress disease transfer because the sheep have a minor life cycle, so the chain breaks down if they are carriers of parasites.
However, keeping an eye on them doesn’t allow grazing the piglets & sheep gazing simultaneously on the same farm, while live piglets for sale are on certain kinds of medications because the medicines can infect the sheep and their eggs.
So, the best you can do is keep an eye on the livestock animals and provide them ample space so that they don’t need to enter each other’s grazing space.
So, once you’re satisfied with raising the pigs and sheep combined, let’s understand their benefits.
Why is it good to raise sheep and pigs together?
- Predator
A sheep makes the easiest prey while hardly any animal dares to attack the pigs. So, predator control of sheep is one of the most apparent reasons a farm owner likes to keep them together.
- Pasture
Sheep and pigs graze in different manners. Such as, sheep chose to feed the corners and sideways while the pigs graze in the center. This way, there will be ample food for both the animals.
