Freerange Pigs and young Trees

[tampeirce]

I am running my Saddleback girls in an area with 6 ft high Oak trees . Does anyone know if they will do any damage to the bark in winter ? They do not harm older trees at all it seems. They are doing a great job of weeding the area. There is plenty of feed and I am keeping an eye on them . Big shame if I go out one day and they are stumps. Cheers Tam

[Heidi]

Hi,
I'll ask a friend who free ranges Saddlebacks, but she has native woodland, rather than young oaks. If in doubt, assume they will try their hardest to kill and maim your trees! Attack is the best form of defence, so I'd get some barb wire and wrap it round the tree from the base up. It may stop their snouts from ringbarking the tree, but I'm not sure how you'd go about protecting the roots.
There is a product called "Pig Max" it comes in a 500ml bottle for $29.95. This is produced by the pig industry as an "anti fight" liquid to reduce tail biting by piglets. Its also used to stop calves sucking on one another after they have been bottle fed. It is evidently so foul tasting that a pig will take one taste/lick/bite of it and never touch it again. So, perhaps you could trial this on your trees?
Got to go
Heidi

[minnie]

Hi Heidi,

That stuff reminds me of 'Thumby' (I think it was called) to stop sucking thumbs and nail biting.

As a nail biter I can attest to the taste, but after a while you get used to it. Didn't stop me for long! Cold turkey did, but alas I have times I just can't help myself, most likely pigs and calves may be the same as me.

Vicki