For 2 pigs we did 8'x8', but I would go a little bigger - they seemed happy enough, but they're more fun to watch in a bigger space where they can play more. Definitely put them together - they'll be more content and they'll eat more, faster if they're trying to make sure to get 'their's' before the other one does. That last 3 weeks or so they get moved to a bigger pen that just stays put. By then the ground is too hard for them to do much rooting or grazing anyway, plus that's when you want them to eat more grain. Somethings that I forgot to add was that escapes have not really been a problem for us. They always escape a couple times when you're moving the pen and they're little...but it's easy enough to remind them where the grain is and they come back in. For the most part though, we don't feed grain till they're a little hungry and we put it snug up against the 'wall' that's on the side we're going to be moving towards...they're generally way to distracted by it to notice that it's prime time for escape. I don't doubt at all that they 'could' push over or root under the pen - a friend of mine's did - but we've just been lucky that ours have just not seemed interested in going anywhere else. I think that they're pretty occupied with each other and a new space every day (plus we generally throw some hard plastic balls for them to play with, and our little dogs go in and visit a few times a day...I think there day is just too occupied. It would probably be easier for them when they're bigger, but ours have seemed to get lazier the bigger they've gotten, so that works out. Another thing is shelter, shade and a way to cool off - through the summer we stretch a tarp over one corner of the tractor to make sure they have shade and a place to get out of the rain if they want to (they usually don't want to). We've attached it to the tractor itself, but it's worked better to just use a narrow strip of tarp, staple a 2x4 to each end for weight and then just roll and unroll as needed - then you can switch corners if the wind changes or whatever, and it doesn't get stretched out from the tractor being shifted around every day. In the pen at the end of the season, they have a shelter - a large doghouse with lots of straw will work if you butcher fairly small (200-250lbs or so) like us. In mid-summer, I'll drape a garden hose with a 'mist' attachment over one corner of the tractor and keep it on through the hot part of the day - this also keeps them rooting more - they can't seem to resist wet ground. When we move them, before we plant grass seed, we rake the ground really well too...their rooting tears everything into big clumps that can become like bricks if left to back in the sun for more than a couple of days. We also have chickens and turkeys they go nuts over that area for a few days - which helps a lot, sometimes completely eliminating the need to rake if they really tear into things. We also don't scatter the seed until they've lost interest and moved on (for obvious reasons). Waterers - like someone said above, they'll just climb into or turn over a tub after the first sip...you can put a cinderblock or something heavy in when they're little, but that doesn't work long. We make one out of PVC pipe - cap one end, attach a spigot thing for animals (you can buy at Fleet or whatever farm supply you've got) and rubber band a fine screen over the top to keep bugs out. Attach vertically to the side with wires and fill up through the screen. Half the length was how much they rooted - almost exactly, it was kinda weird. They slept in one corner, pooped in one adjacent - and rooted the other half. You'd think they'd reverse it once we moved them and leave parts unrooted - but they didn't...ours always seemed to want to sleep and poop in the east corners, even if it meant they were rooting through their poop (on the west side) the following day. My friend who did have a problem with his pigs escaping from the tractors now uses one line of electric, 6"off the ground - which he moves occasionally, though not daily like I like to. That works really well for him. We're doing a bunch of feeder pigs this summer and are going to try to do a much bigger version of this method...I'm sure I'll be on asking for advice and sharing how that goes. Wish us luck!

You have an excellent idea. I've raised a lot of pigs. Pigs get large - very large. I would not, personally, consider raising a pig that I intended to keep for the long term, especially a potbellied. Believe me, a 400 (or much more) pound pig eats a lot, the vet bills could be astronomical as they age and they need care and attention at least twice a day, every day. Plus they tell me the potbellied is not a good meat animal. That said, the idea is wonderful. You got good advice about fencing if you can sort out a solution that'll work for you. Pigs are a blast to raise. Get yourself two feeder pigs, raise them together and have them slaughtered when they hit about 225 to 250. Unless you have a large family, I'd suggest finding someone to buy the extra pig and maybe pay the feed bills for both in return for your work raising them. Myself, I like at least a 10'x20' area for the pigs with 1/2 that in shade. Remember to give them water at ALL times and a place to wallow in the heat - pigs don't sweat and so must be kept cool. You'll be surprised at how clean and smart pigs are. And tasty, too. If you do it, have fun and feel free to email me for help - we really enjoyed our pigs and we're always happy to help other pig farmers get started.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm reading this instead of doing my statistics midterm...so maybe that's a thanks? Instead of a thanks! Ha ha! Anyway, this year's budget is about $2k which could stretch to cover new stairs or new railings but wouldn't extend to porching out the roofline unless I learn some carpentry skills really quick. I completely 100% agree that adding a porch over the front door would be amazing. I live in a rainy climate and it is so much more welcoming that way. I totally dream of a front porch so maybe I should look into making it happen. circuspeanut and GreenDesigns, thanks so much for your photoshops. I do love the longer hat! I think I may have made a mistake by making it so high contrast ... maybe a darker beige would be better than charcoal. I have an idea involving doing the porch and the hat in one color on vinyl shake, and leaving the bottom and the side the beige. Let me think on it...but don't let me photoshop it tonight! My midterm is due at midnight. Although I like colored trim, there is no way I would paint cheap vinyl trim, thereby removing its only bonus (low maintenance) but maybe I can go shopping and see if there are multi-colored trims available? I kind of like the look of a white trim with just a little black square around it. Very tailored. I'm mixed on the barn boards. I like the look of them online but am unsure if they fit with the decided charmlessness of my builder-grade beige vinyl -- I love them on houses with shakes! Replacing and reframing the front door is probably out of the budget. Unless I could get one the same width but with skinny sidelights on either side... Ok - what if the darker brown parts were coordinating vinyl shakes? Man I wish my roof were more peaked. This post was edited by robotropolis on Sat, Mar 9, 13 at 21:51

I like fluff. No one to call your bluff. Folks sometimes speaking off the cuff, some speaking kinda ruff, Sho nuff, I like the fluff! Reading this stuff is better than H.R. PuffNStuff. Where did I put that eggnog?