DIY Farrowing Pen for Mini Pigs

Lucy is just two weeks away from delivering her second litter, which means it’s officially time to get her farrowing pen set up.

After last year’s experience, we took what we learned and decided to do a few things differently this time around. I spent hours Googling different DIY farrowing pen setups from other farms and quickly realized there are a lot of conflicting opinions out there. Some recommend keeping the sow in a very tight space, while others suggest giving her more room.

We decided to meet somewhere in the middle. Pictures below!

🛠️ Our Approach This Year

We chose to give Lucy more space, but we also installed farrowing rails (bumpers) along the walls. These prevent mama from laying completely flush against the wall and accidentally crushing a piglet — something we’re very mindful of after last year.

We also sectioned off a corner of the pen using pegboard we already had on hand. This creates a designated area for piglets to go for warmth. The goal is to encourage them to seek out this warm corner rather than snuggling up underneath Lucy, which reduces the risk of accidental crushing.

A heat lamp will be placed in this piglet-only area to help draw them away from mom when they need warmth.

🧰 Materials Used

2×6×8 boards

One 4×4×6 post (cut into 5-inch blocks)

8 × 18-gauge L-shaped angled brackets

Pegboard

🔧 How We Built the Farrowing Rails

We started by cutting the 4×4 into 5-inch blocks.

An L-shaped bracket was attached to each side of every block.

The blocks were then mounted to the wall at the correct height.

Once secured, the 2×6 boards were screwed flat against the blocks to create the rails.

Since our pigs are mini-sized, we set:

The rails 8 inches from the ground

And 7 inches away from the wall

This spacing allows piglets to safely slip underneath while keeping mama from laying directly against the wall.

Add in a heat lamp in the corner… and voilà! A safer, more functional farrowing setup for Lucy and her babies.

I will say, I’m still a little iffy on the exact spacing between the wall and the rails. Most recommendations I found online suggested placing them 8–9 inches away from the wall. Again, we ultimately went with what made the most sense for our setup and our mini-sized pigs. The nice thing is, if we decide the spacing needs to be adjusted, it’s an easy fix — we have plenty of leftover 4×4 wood and can move things as needed.