Pigs in forestry

horsemad

I have about ten acres of ash forest about ten years old and was wondering about raising pigs in it. Not running wild but stripgrazing it to clean up the forest floor. Would the pigs damage the trees at this stage.

No6

put up lots of "these are farmed pig signs", theres a lot of discussion about wild boar on the hunting forum, someone might mistake them for wild boar if they see them in a forest and shoot first!!:eek:

slowburner

horsemad wrote: »

I have about ten acres of ash forest about ten years old and was wondering about raising pigs in it. Not running wild but stripgrazing it to clean up the forest floor. Would the pigs damage the trees at this stage.

It probably depends on the density of pigs you plan to have. My guess is that they wouldn't do the trees much good. Chances are they would slow down the growth of the trees rather than killing them outright.
Isn't a fairly common practice on the Continent to have pigs grazing in orchards?
They might even find truffles

greenfingers89

The forest service is as we speak setting up trials in the south west to try and introduce sheep grazing, silage harvesting and possibly some form of tillage in conjunction with forestry planted under the grant scheme

they might also look at pigs im not sure though

its positive to see new ideas being tried out here all the same.......watch this space

Floyd Soul

I would think it best to wait until you thin the ash before letting pigs in. What density is the planting at the moment, 3,300/ha?

Also greenfingers89, is there a link to these forest service trials you talk about?

horsemad

Floyd Soul wrote: »

I would think it best to wait until you thin the ash before letting pigs in. What density is the planting at the moment, 3,300/ha?

Also greenfingers89, is there a link to these forest service trials you talk about?

Thanks for the advice would also like to see what trials are being done am based in west cork

greenfingers89

Floyd Soul wrote: »

I would think it best to wait until you thin the ash before letting pigs in. What density is the planting at the moment, 3,300/ha?

Also greenfingers89, is there a link to these forest service trials you talk about?

out of curiosity why would you wait til its thinned?

also i dont have any link at all (fully aware yee all might think im making it up). the trial is only at extremely early stage, as far as i know sites have been selected and work will hopefully start soon.....im not getting inside information from forest service or anything about this i just happen to know one of the sites selected...... spacing is going to be 5m x 5m and i think planting will be done with an auger (on this site anyway) rather than mounding

Canis_Lupus

This is Floyd Soul here.

My worry would be that the pigs could damage the timber crop at this stage, and in grazing systems such as this it's more common to wait until the trees have somewhat matured . Secondly, when thinning occurs, there is increased light which brings increased understory growth to the wood. The pigs can take advantage of this stage and keep the wood clear. This would be useful if you wanted to underplant the ash as they would suppress weeds prior to this.

On the other hand, why not graze them in a small area initially and see if they do or don't damage the crops? It would be interesting to see.

greenfingers89

hmmm im not so sure about the reasoning, after tending/thinning (say approx 3/4 years time) the bark will barely be anymore hardy to withstand the pigs opening wounds. could take another 25-30 years for the bark to be strong enough.

if you did underplant the ash then you would either have to keep the pigs out for another 10 years until the trees are fully established or else invest in expensive tree guards and stakes.....i really dont think it would be a good idea to underplant ash like that anyway (unless maybe you wanted to move away from commercial production for a more balanced commercial/environmental/amenity purpose), it would still be an unneccessary investment in time and money in my opinion........maybe after the 3rd or 4th thinning when theres plenty of light to allow the trees thrive or plant a shade bearer (hopefully not beech), perhaps allowing the ash to coppice naturally would be a better option than replanting.

like you say floyd soul (in disguise) best thing OP could do is try out half an acre and watch it very closely for a week or 2.

i've seen 2 farmers graze ash plantations with sheep from age 2 to 5 (current age), although these are younger plantationons and a different animal one MAJOR FACTOR applies!...... let them graze but get them out when grass(or whatever other food supplies) gets tight otherwise you will have damaged trees ........ starved animals will eat(or try to) almost anything

about 3 fity

greenfingers89 wrote: »

hmmm im not so sure about the reasoning, after tending/thinning (say approx 3/4 years time) the bark will barely be anymore hardy to withstand the pigs opening wounds. could take another 25-30 years for the bark to be strong enough.

if you did underplant the ash then you would either have to keep the pigs out for another 10 years until the trees are fully established or else invest in expensive tree guards and stakes.....i really dont think it would be a good idea to underplant ash like that anyway (unless maybe you wanted to move away from commercial production for a more balanced commercial/environmental/amenity purpose), it would still be an unneccessary investment in time and money in my opinion........maybe after the 3rd or 4th thinning when theres plenty of light to allow the trees thrive or plant a shade bearer (hopefully not beech), perhaps allowing the ash to coppice naturally would be a better option than replanting.

like you say floyd soul (in disguise) best thing OP could do is try out half an acre and watch it very closely for a week or 2.

i've seen 2 farmers graze ash plantations with sheep from age 2 to 5 (current age), although these are younger plantationons and a different animal one MAJOR FACTOR applies!...... let them graze but get them out when grass(or whatever other food supplies) gets tight otherwise you will have damaged trees ........ starved animals will eat(or try to) almost anything

well said! we've semi natural woods at home mostly ash/oak with a few bits of alder, sycamore and birch.....we let only the lambs in for about 3 weeks and take them out before they get up to no good, works pretty well.

we also have a bit of what i think is called pollarding going on as well, like coppicing but at shoulder height so new shoots cant be grazed in the future

greenfingers89

about 3 fity wrote: »

we also have a bit of what i think is called pollarding going on as well, like coppicing but at shoulder height so new shoots cant be grazed in the future

pollarding is a seriously under-utilised practice and could be an option for OP when thinning comes around

horsemad

Thanks for all the ideas. Was trying to use space that is growing trees and clean up at the same time

Markcheese

The guy who owns Springfield castle in Limerick used to keep quite a lot of pigs in young forestry full time.
He said then (10 12years ago) that they didn't do much damage. But I suppose it's all about stocking rate/length of time In wood.
start with a few, up stocking if not making any impact. And drop it fast when they've nearly cleared it......?

Good luck and try ringing sprinfield castle can't remember his name off hand but v.approachable