Pigs in horse trailer

Foxy O

Foxy O

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Strange question I know but has anybody used a horse trailer to take live pigs to another destination? I was thinking of using an Ifor Williams 506 or 505

Did they trash it or was it alright? It is only four pigs and only a single trip of around 35 miles.

The horses are used to the pigs so wouldn't be put off using the trailer afterwards and obviously it would be cleaned :)
 
It would depend on the pigs. Our pigs (in a stock trailer) were as calm as anything but they had been brought up like dogs. The potential for mess and damage would be catastrophic and horse trailers aren't very strong.
 
You might run foul of Defra. A friend of my father used to use his transit and a trailer for moving his sheep in - only from field to field (roads involved so not possible to use a dog) and to the abbatoir. He gave up sheep when the local Defra rep got involved and told him he would have to buy a proper livestock trailer. It was one expense too far for an elderly farmer coming to the end of a long livestock keeping career with just a few animals for old time's sake. You might be better of hiring a proper livestock trailer rather than risk the input of a jobsworth.
 
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I've used my IW 510 for 5 years without problem, big boars, to the slaughter house and collecting weaners. (Lincolnshire ad Yorkshire so multiple slaughter houses)

You have to sign to say you'll clean it - but that's no problem

there's no way a pig would damage a IW horse trailer - I load mine the night before (as they have to be in early) and they tend to pick off the rubber seal around the jockey door (I now that this off in advance and pop it back on when they are gone) and the last time pealed up a small strip of the rubber matting (again easily fixed)
I use a deep straw bed and tyre bucket for water.
 
Thanks everyone, I was trying to convince my husband if we bought the trailer it could be useful for other things :)
Mind you I think I'm going to find it hard anyway taking the pigs to slaughter as I think they are great
 
You might find your horse is difficult to load!

The ploughmans' union, "The Horseman's Word", a secret society in the north east of Scotland, went on strike for better wages in the 18th (?) century. The farmers tried to break the strike by taking the plough teams out themselves. The ploughmen had various trade secrets to put a stop to this. One trick was to smear the insides of the horses' collars and the door posts of the stables with pig dung. Horses naturally hate the smell of pigs and refused to be harnessed or to walk out of the stable! Presumably this woulod not work if your horses are already accustomed to pigs!
 
Certainly with sheep there is a silly rule about the angle of the ramp and how steep it is. Ridiculous considering that in half an hour the sheep will be dead! There are also rules regarding disinfecting the trailer so a ramp with sisal or carpet or one with a wooden floor may be a deal breaker for example

Not sure about pigs but we have decided not to run the risk with our two pigs and my horsebox and are borrowing a mate and a livestock trailer!
 
We used ours to take ours to slaughter without any problems several times. Easiest way is to put it in the paddock and let them fed in it for a few days, saves a lot of swearing just when you're in a hurry!
 
If you have a word with your slaughterhouse they will let you know the days and times you are least likely to be caught up in red tape

I didn't say that....
 
Dry Rot said:
Horses naturally hate the smell of pigs. Presumably this woulod not work if your horses are already accustomed to pigs!
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My horses all like to look into the stable that has the pigs in when they are farrowing - and my big horse will lean over the gate into their field to lick them in warm weather (I think he likes their salt - weirdo - I assume the pigs must like the scratch as they stand there and let him do it!)

Had more than a dozen horses through the yard with pigs all over the place and never had a problem - perhaps just been lucky with them all.
 
We use our double trailer for collecting weaners and taking pigs to the abattoir in fact we are taking 4 pigs to the abattoir this teatime. As long as you are moving they tend to all lie down. I always make sure the jockey door is locked and I do wrap my partition skirt up out of their way. It's thick plastic skirting and I'm sure would be interesting to the piggies. As others have said the trailer needs disinfecting after use, something we do anyway with the horses. Our mares have no problem using the trailer after the pigs have been in although it then smells more pine forest than pig :)
 
Thanks everyone, I will have to take in to consideration the smell as the little pony still won't eat hay of the floor in his stable after the pigs had been in it and I used jays fluid afterwards :)
 
I have transported pigs in a horse trailer, to the abattoir, and collecting weaners. Only tip when transporting weaners, put straw bales at the front end of the trailer so that you can get in the jockey door without them escaping. You will have to disinfect the trailer but that isn't a bad thing to do anyway.
Loading up the night before shouldn't be an issue if they are not overcrowded and have access to water, but Id be wary of them causing damage - their snouts are very strong. I once had a eight week old piglet in the horse's stable temporarily and it lifted the corner of the fitted, inch thick rubber mats in about two minutes.
 
rara007 said:
What part of it? I assume she doesn't actually transport them all night just uses it like a stable?
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But that's basically the same thing it's just not moving. It would be like putting cattle on and just sitting, they're not allowed in it for over however many hours. I could be totally wrong though.
 
My pony sometimes stays in the trailer when I stay away as do serval other driving ponies- obviously that's far less regulated than pig movement but didn't realise there was an issue. (He has more space loose without partitions than the alternative which is stalling, on the outside of a trailer)
I've seen orphan lambs kept in trailers too- I guess that's not allowed?

I think the 'just they're not moving' is quite a big consideration- not moving means they can relax and behave as normal.

Ive just read the act and think for pigs if they have water you're ok up to 24 hours- it's 14 for cattle. And you're exempt if you're a hobby breeder, a farmer going less than 50km in own transport or a transporter going less than 65km.
 
I move pigs in my Ifor for a couple of times a year. I'm paranoid about them ripping up the rubber mat or damaging the partition , so I remove the partition and put a really thick bed of straw in.

It gets totally washed out on return, so far they haven't managed to damage it, and the horses always reload fine.

The only downside is that it doesn't have ramp gates, but our abattoir has decent gates if you reverse in properly, and at home we use old doors to guide them in.
 
3OldPonies said:
You might run foul of Defra. A friend of my father used to use his transit and a trailer for moving his sheep in - only from field to field (roads involved so not possible to use a dog) and to the abbatoir. He gave up sheep when the local Defra rep got involved and told him he would have to buy a proper livestock trailer. It was one expense too far for an elderly farmer coming to the end of a long livestock keeping career with just a few animals for old time's sake. You might be better of hiring a proper livestock trailer rather than risk the input of a jobsworth.
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Oh that's such a shame, about the way in which your Father's friend was being forced to stop farming. I do hope that he has managed to find happiness in his next endeavour/s.
 
rara007 said:
My pony sometimes stays in the trailer when I stay away as do serval other driving ponies- obviously that's far less regulated than pig movement but didn't realise there was an issue. (He has more space loose without partitions than the alternative which is stalling, on the outside of a trailer)
I've seen orphan lambs kept in trailers too- I guess that's not allowed?

I think the 'just they're not moving' is quite a big consideration- not moving means they can relax and behave as normal.

Ive just read the act and think for pigs if they have water you're ok up to 24 hours- it's 14 for cattle. And you're exempt if you're a hobby breeder, a farmer going less than 50km in own transport or a transporter going less than 65km.
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But how on earth would they catch you? Seriously, we are all livestock owners and care about our animals and don't do things that harm them!

I know if I tried to comply with all the red tape these days, I wouldn't bother getting up in the mornings. Meantime, I have two large dogs that don't like people carrying clip boards!:O
 
I have a couple that lived a few years in an old rice trailer as their shelter after their old one fell to bits - they seems very happy in their over night - not sure how the ramp up makes any difference.

Two 7 month old pigs in a 510 (even shut in) is luxury living compared to the space the poor ones breed for the supermarkets have their whole lives (it's something like 15 in a 12x12 stable size on slats ! Much worse than battery hens these days but less publicity

Clearly if loading the night before is illegal then don't do it - can't see why it would be but rules are often nonsense
 
Dry Rot said:
But how on earth would they catch you? Seriously, we are all livestock owners and care about our animals and don't do things that harm them!

I know if I tried to comply with all the red tape these days, I wouldn't bother getting up in the mornings. Meantime, I have two large dogs that don't like people carrying clip boards!:O
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Exactly ;) I don't think it'd be of concern.
 
Dry Rot said:
But how on earth would they catch you? Seriously, we are all livestock owners and care about our animals and don't do things that harm them!

I know if I tried to comply with all the red tape these days, I wouldn't bother getting up in the mornings. Meantime, I have two large dogs that don't like people carrying clip boards!:O
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LOL
I know what you mean about the red tape now you even have to do courses to spray your fields with a nap sack sprayer, crazy
Passtheshampoo what disinfectant did you use?
 
Polos Mum said:
I have a couple that lived a few years in an old rice trailer as their shelter after their old one fell to bits - they seems very happy in their over night - not sure how the ramp up makes any difference.

Two 7 month old pigs in a 510 (even shut in) is luxury living compared to the space the poor ones breed for the supermarkets have their whole lives (it's something like 15 in a 12x12 stable size on slats ! Much worse than battery hens these days but less publicity
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This is a good point I hate it when people talk about animal welfare then buy Danish bacon
 
Foxy O said:
LOL
I know what you mean about the red tape now you even have to do courses to spray your fields with a nap sack sprayer, crazy
Passtheshampoo what disinfectant did you use?
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Tend to use our Virkon S at abattoir with pressure washer before we leave although I'll often wipe down padding etc with cheapy pine disinfectant before horses go in again.
 
npage123 said:
Oh that's such a shame, about the way in which your Father's friend was being forced to stop farming. I do hope that he has managed to find happiness in his next endeavour/s.
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aww, thank you. He's moved on to collecting and restoring old tractors as a hobby to keep busy. He was heartbroken at the time, he'd had livestock in one form or another ever since childhood and he's now in his late 70s so it was a bit of a wrench, although the tractors don't keep him up at all hours like the sheep did at lambing time!!!!!!!
 
Dry Rot said:
But how on earth would they catch you? Seriously, we are all livestock owners and care about our animals and don't do things that harm them!

I know if I tried to comply with all the red tape these days, I wouldn't bother getting up in the mornings. Meantime, I have two large dogs that don't like people carrying clip boards!:O
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Maybe you're lucky up there but certainly in my neck of the woods there are frequently inspectors/representatives at the slaughterhouses checking vehicle types/ramps/disinfecting along with movement forms and ear tags not sure if they are DEFRA, Trading Standards or what but it happens so much that some local people will phone ahead to check that 'it's safe' to go on a certain day

Certainly when I call to book animals in I am quizzed closely on the type of transport even down to the model details sometimes
 
WelshD said:
Maybe you're lucky up there but certainly in my neck of the woods there are frequently inspectors/representatives at the slaughterhouses checking vehicle types/ramps/disinfecting along with movement forms and ear tags not sure if they are DEFRA, Trading Standards or what but it happens so much that some local people will phone ahead to check that 'it's safe' to go on a certain day

Certainly when I call to book animals in I am quizzed closely on the type of transport even down to the model details sometimes
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Same.
 
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