How Much Land Do I Need?
Indoor housing plus outdoor paddock or run space combined — the total footprint for your setup, not just the pen size. Some species have no single defensible outdoor land figure (pasture genuinely varies too much); this tool says so rather than inventing one.
Total land needed
Schedule 8 legal minimum (indoor)
Free-range paddock, rotated to fresh ground (RSPCA)
This is a free-range labelling minimum. For pet pigs, Every Pig Rescue Service advises about half an acre per pig (about 2,023.0 m² for one pig, 8,092.0 m² for your 4).
How the land figure is worked out
Total land is the indoor housing area plus outdoor land, both per animal and multiplied by your headcount. The housing figure uses the same standard as that species' housing calculator. The outdoor figures are UK-sourced: 12 m² per pig where the paddock is rotated to fresh ground (RSPCA free-range labelling), about 2 m² per chicken for a daytime garden run (British Hen Welfare Trust), a quarter of an acre per goat (RSPCA guidance) and 0.5 hectare per horse — the midpoint of the British Horse Society's 0.4–0.6 ha range, or about 1.2 acres.
Where no defensible single figure exists — sheep pasture, duck outdoor access and rabbit exercise space — the tool says so rather than inventing a number. In US mode pigs use the National Pork Board housing figure and show no paddock figure, because there is no single national one; other species fall back to UK standards and the tool tells you.
It doesn't include fencing length or a rotation buffer, both of which depend on your paddock's actual shape.
Common questions
- How much land does a pig need?
- Under the RSPCA free-range labelling figures, 12 m² per pig where the paddock is rotated to fresh ground after each batch, or 40 m² per pig on the same ground. That is land, separate from the shelter or pen figure.
- How much land does a horse need?
- The British Horse Society guideline is 0.4–0.6 hectare per horse for permanent grazing. The calculator uses the midpoint, 0.5 hectare (about 1.2 acres), and your soil, climate and grass quality will move that.
- Is 12 m² per pig enough land for pet pigs?
- It is the RSPCA free-range labelling minimum for rotated ground, so treat it as a floor. Every Pig Rescue Service, which advises pet-pig keepers, gives about half an acre (roughly 2,000 m²) per pig as its general guideline, with at least two pigs kept together.
- Why is there no land figure for sheep?
- Sheep pasture depends on grass quality, rotation and season, so there's no single defensible number. Ask a local extension service or grazing advisor.
- Is this UK or US?
- Mostly UK. Pigs have a US housing figure under US region; every other species uses UK standards and the tool flags it.
Related
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