The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: hoggsbreath on February 04, 2011, 09:06:38 pm
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ok..i have just finished fencing of a bit of a field for some pigs.i have an old refridgerated lorry body with the fridge bit removed for thier house.its insulated and is lovely and warm.all i need to do is get some straw sort out a drink system and buy some food.i will have to manualy carry water to them..its not far though.dont know what to use though???.for a trough i mean?.dont want to pay silly money for one of them mexican hat style things.hoping someone can give me a bit of advice.also how much food per pig[weaner]do i give.any advice will be much apreciated.all the best.hoggsbreath :pig:
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I give my pigs water in a cut off plastic barrel which fits inside a large tyre, they have a metal trough for feed but if they are greedy I use horse feed trugs, which are made from recycled tyres, and give them one each. I don't usually leave them in with them but have on rare occasions and they have not managed to destroy them.
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hi
we managed to get an old fashioned stone trough (small 3ft x 2ft)
our girls didn't manage to shift it
Manian :pig: :love: :pig:
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I was lucky enough to 'inherit' an old iron water trough for ours, but a friend successfully raised a couple of batches of weaners using an old washing up bowl set into a small block for concrete.
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Hiya,
I've used basins/trugs inside tyres and they work okay - then I found this ! ;D
https://www.suppliesforsmallholders.co.uk/tyre-bowl-feeder-drinker-p-1276.html (https://www.suppliesforsmallholders.co.uk/tyre-bowl-feeder-drinker-p-1276.html) It really works a treat and has the added bonus of being able to tip up easily for cleaning ;)
For feeding - the usual is 1lb per month of age (or whatever they can eat in 15-20 mins)- up to a maximum of 6lbs per pig per day. If they're getting loads of fruit and veg this counts as a quarter of the value of their nuts ration eg. 4lbs fruit & veg = 1lb pig nuts.
HTH
Karen x
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thanks all.cant wait to get some pigs.
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Bearing in mind that pigs drink loads, tip it up, make a wallow from it, etc. etc. you need an easy method of transporting water.
When the pipes freeze up here I transport water in 20 litre camping bottles on the wheelbarrow. Its heavy and hard, but makes lighter work than tramping up and down with a watering can. Also if you can find enough bottles always leave a couple of full ones just outside the fence so that when you walk past (just after giving them their water) and see the upended/full of mud/piglet sitting in it water container, you will not have to walk all the way back to replenish the water.
Be prepared to get a flat stomach (well theoretically) and big muscles from pulling the wheelie full of water cans.
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i have aquired a huge container.it was used for containing olive oil.its about the size of 2 of them bulk builders bags.i have a tractor to move this about.so thats that problem solved.oh well who needs a flat stomach lol.
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Dont worry pig keeping will keep you fit. I forget other people actually use technology (tractor) we are still in the stone age here.
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We just use shallow tub trugs inside tryes. They're rinsed out and filled up twice a day and each hold about 5 gallons ... Our 3 sows get through 3 or 4 a day this time of year but at least 5 or 6 in the summer :)