Pig Ark Size, Materials and Placement: A Buying and Building Checklist

Whether you're pricing up a ready-made pig ark or building your own, the same checklist applies: solid raised floor, covered on top and three sides, real ventilation, and sized to the pigs you actually have. This guide sets out what the published guidance says an ark or hut needs to get right, and gives the one published size figure that exists.

What the guidance requires

The Scottish Government's pig welfare guidance says all outdoor accommodation used, including arks, huts and tents, should be provided with bedding appropriate to the time of year and have a warm, draught-free lying area. It says the accommodation should have shutters at the opposite end to the door to provide through ventilation, and that clean, dry bedding should be provided, with additional bedding possibly needed two to three days before farrowing. (outdoor systems guidance.) Defra adds that straw bedding can help create a microclimate that levels out temperature changes. (Defra.) See our weather guide for the fuller seasonal picture — this guide is about the structure itself, not the climate it has to cope with.

Construction

Every Pig Rescue Service says a shelter needs a solid, raised floor and full coverage on the top and three sides, and that pigs must not be left sleeping directly on the earth. It recommends cutting doors in half and adding extra hinges to make a barn door, which stops the door swinging in the wind while still allowing access. (shelter guide.)

Wood or metal?

The same guide says wooden sheds are warmer in winter and cooler in summer than traditional metal pig arks, and that metal shelters should be placed in shade so they don't overheat. AHDB suggests painting arks white to reflect sunlight in hot weather. Neither source gives temperature figures, so treat these as practical guidance rather than measured performance.

Where to put it

Every Pig Rescue Service says the ideal placement for a shelter is on your hard standing area. That keeps the sleeping area out of the mud, which matters because living in cold mud harms pigs. See can pigs live outside all year?for why.

How big should it be?

We couldn't find a published shelter size in metres in any of the sources above, so we won't invent one. What we can give you is the RSPCA Assured shelter area per pig for outdoor pigs, which our UK pig calculator uses in outdoor mode. It is the ark or hut area, not the paddock:

Multiply by the number of pigs. For one or two pigs the group figure can come out smaller than the animal, so the calculator raises it to our minimum-pen estimate and says so; see how much space does a pig need?.

Buying versus building

We're not recommending products — we haven't tested any, and we have no affiliate relationships. Whatever you choose, check it against the requirements above: solid raised floor, covered on top and three sides, a barn-style door, ventilation opposite the door, and room to bed it deeply. Fence the area properly too; see how to fence pigs.

Sources: Scottish Government, guidance on the welfare of pigs, outdoor systems (paragraphs 214, 219, 221); Defra, “Caring for pigs” (paragraph 96); Every Pig Rescue Service, shelter guide; AHDB, avoiding heat stress in outdoor herds; RSPCA standards justification (pigs), 2024, for the shelter areas. Sources checked: September 2026.

Common questions

What makes a good pig shelter?

The Scottish Government's guidance says outdoor accommodation, including arks, huts and tents, should have bedding appropriate to the time of year and a warm, draught-free lying area, with shutters at the opposite end to the door for through ventilation. Every Pig Rescue Service adds a solid, raised floor and full coverage on the top and three sides.

How big should a pig shelter be?

None of the sources we checked gives a shelter size in metres. The RSPCA Assured standard gives a shelter area per pig that rises with weight, from 0.5 square metres for pigs up to 35 kg to 1.72 square metres at 100 to 110 kg, and our pig calculator applies it in outdoor mode.

Is a wooden or metal ark better?

Every Pig Rescue Service says wooden sheds are warmer in winter and cooler in summer than traditional metal pig arks, and that metal shelters should be placed in shade to avoid overheating.

Where should the shelter go?

Every Pig Rescue Service says the ideal placement for a shelter is on your hard standing area, so the place where the pigs sleep isn't a mud patch.