Do pigs always destroy land?

[ARC55]

I'm interested in raising either Duroc or Red Wattle pigs. While looking up information about raising pigs, I've noticed that the images are somewhat bleak. The pigs are always in a desolate pen with a few patches of grass and lots of mud. It looks like a wasteland. Is that just how it is? Do they destroy the land? I'm assuming that the pen didn't start out so barren and the pigs had plenty of space so overcrowding isn't the issue.

 

[jjp8182]

Haven't had pigs, but from all I've read (have/do consider getting a few pigs at some point) they tend to be nature's rototillers - one example:

Plow With Pigs – Mother Earth News

Learn about Pigs’ natural instinct for rooting in the ground that farmers and gardeners can use to their advantage.

www.motherearthnews.com

Only thing I've ever of a way to stop that rooting behavior is the nose rings ....which is/has apparently become a contested ethical issue. Other method some may use is rotational grazing of the pigs to minimize the severity of the damage (given the things pigs naturally eat when not cared for rooting is just natural exploratory/feeding behavior).

At least that's my understanding....

 

[The Big Cowhuna]

They destroy most plant life in short order, which is why you're running across more images of hogs in pens instead of wide-open pastures. They create deep wallows in the soil, but they don't destroy the soil. When I raised hogs I used rotational grazing and turned them out to the woodlot more often than the paddock. They did less damage in the woodlot and that gave the paddock time to recover.

 

[OhSusanna]

We keep ours in a pen that we move around about three times a year. To keep parasites down, we move them around every three months in the summer and every six months in the winter. We also go one year without using the same spot to cut down on parasites and to give the land a chance to recover. Turning them out to pasture wasn't workable. Rooting is their natural behavior. They won't be happy if they can't root around and that will lead to health and behavioral problems.

 

[walkerw4000]

There is great opportunity in Magalitsa pigs. High quality meat and sought after in high end restaurants. I have two red males for sale 1200.00 each. We are in western NC eight two eight four four three eight zero two three

 

[BarkerB]

OhSusanna that is a very smart way to handle pigs. I'm going to share this information with my neighbor. He added pigs to his farm about a month ago. He did a lot of research prior to doing this but I think your information is spot on.

 

[Syd. L]

Take the value of the land versus how much pigs will root it to near extinction to make sure the value of pigs outweighs the value of the land. Cost/benefit analysis.