1920.] 



Open Air Shelters for Pigs. 



supplies. It is also noteworthy that, notwithstanding the fact 

 that this milk was sold either as milk or dairy products, stock- 

 raising in the district prospered. Moreover, the increase in 

 dairying in the district took place without any decrease in the 

 quantity of other farm produce. 



;1: ^'fi ^; sic 



While pigs can be kept successfully on poor and exposed 

 land, the question of shelter from sun and cold is very im- 

 portant. With proper management and 

 °^®\^^Pigg®^**" a httle ingenuity, adequate shelter can 

 be provided at very small expenditure of 



money and labour. 



One method of constructing a cheap and effective shelter is 

 to fasten four stout uprights into the ground at hurdle distance, 

 each post forming the corner of a square. Inside and outside 

 the posts hurdles are fastened on three sides, leaving a space 

 the width of the post between each parallel pair. The fourth 

 side of the square is left open and should face south. Straw 

 is then packed between the double parallel hurdles, and similarly 

 packed double hurdles are laid across the top to form a roof. 



A second type of shelter is made by fastening wire netting 

 both inside and outside the four stout uprights, and stuffing 

 the intervening space with bracken. The roof may be made of 

 faggots thatched with straw. 



A third method is to use semi-circular corrugated iron for 

 the shelter. It is essential that the pigs be supplied with 

 plent}^ of dry bedding, a sufficient quantity of which will enable 

 them to withstand considerable rigours of climate. The 

 bedding may be of straw, dried bracken, grass or leaves. A 

 shelter measuring roughly 8 ft. by 8 ft. will amply accommodate 

 12 pigs. In cases where one side is not left open, ventilation 

 should be provided by an aperture 3 in. wide along the ridge of 

 the structure. In this type, the entrance door might be made 

 in two halves, the upper half being kept shut in cold weather 

 and the lower one always open. In none of these types of 

 shelters is a special flooring needed. It will not be necessary 

 to make any arrangement for drainage, provided that the 

 shelters are moved frequently to fresh ground. For pig keeping 

 on high, exposed uplands it is advisable to use movable wood 

 huts. 



Farmers and others^equiring hurdles, wire netting, corrugated 

 iron and articles of this kind should communicate with the 

 Officer in Charge of the Disposals Board in the area in which 

 they reside. The addresses required are the following : — 



