[gavin davies]

Had a day off work today so I thought I would head up with the pigs for a bit of routine maintenance mainly to fix the hole in the fence made a massive wallow for them about 6 foot long by about 3 foot wide for them to roll about in then done that for about 2 mins got bored and proceeded to go and tip all the drinking water I had carried up and put down for them and lie in that instead if I knew how to butcher a pig all three would have been chopped up by now

[Berkshire Boy]

You will learn Gavin. I don't dig wallows for the reason you have put, I let them do the digging and just put water in for them. Mine will make the water troughs overflow and then just dig a hole and lie in it.
They just enjoy being awkward.

[hughesy]

That sounds all too familiar Gavin. Two of mine have been doing the same thing for the last week. I'm sure they're doing it to wind me up.

[Daisys Mum]

Keep finding one of mine standing in the trough despite having a wallow.

[Eastling]

One of mine waits until i've cleaned and filled the trough them proceeds to put her nose under the end of the trough and drops it so the water spills out or gets out of the  wallow to get a drink, depositing mud in the trough but that's pigs and we wouldn't have it any other way would we

[nelson]

Having read the above posts - I feel that I will get a good nights sleep knowing that I am not alone - my pigs seriously tried my patience today with the water - up turned troughs everywhere - and they have big muddy wallows too - I give up

[Beewyched]

My herd matriarch, Portia - no longer with us    used to be a right pain & would tip, drag, chew, climb into & generally destroy almost every drinker we tried 
This summer, they not upping their water at all.  Strangely, I am really finding it weird always finding water still in their troughs (albeit muddy).
 

[ferretkeeper]

If I wasn't so camera shy I'd have posted a photo of myself this morning...

after filling the big water barrel which had been recently emptied by the buggers - AGAIN - and putting the hose on several pigs as they came over for a drink, my LB Jenny came and flopped down in the wallow, created by the earlier tipping of said barrel.

So I put the hose on her and she got up, shook like dogs do, twice, and I was covered in mud! I just put the hose on myself then, and by the time I'd walked back down to the yard I was dry!

All the pigs are standing in their troughs, making them filthy, but tough, they get cleaned once a day, no more! And the big boy and girls are sticking their heads in and blowing bubbles!

You've gotta love them 

Out of interest does anyone use nipple drinkers? It's the thought of them that puts me off, feels a bit commercial, but in terms of having constant access to water, and being on a meter at the mo I am considering installing some alongside the big barrels and troughs for the times they have tipped them over.

Just thought, they're not much different to the bottles the ferrets have, it's all in my mind obviously!

[Hassle]

Time spent with Dad today

[Sudanpan]

In our first year of keeping pigs I dug a wallow for them - which they promptly ignored and they made their own so I just let them get on with it!
I also cleaned out the water trough once a day, invariably one of the boys would then go and stand in it..... and yes they also liked blowing bubbles 

[MAK]

Hassle - that photo deserves to be shared ! I would vote for it if a TAS callender was made. 

[honeyend]

I  tipped the water out in the same place a couple of times in the same place and then managed to leave the hosepipe on over night so they had a fair area to pick. I put another trough out today as I am paranoid about them having water. They have a fair sized run with trees for shade and still have a bit of grass left but they prefer their ploughed bit.

[Bionic]

Agree with MAK, thats a lovely pic

[Carol Knights]

Hi ,
I haven't been on here for a while but I noticed that ferretkeeper asked if anyone uses nipple drinkers.


I do. Technically they are called 'bite drinkers' and I fit mine to those 130ltr blue plastic barrels. I cut the top of the barrels off and stand them on concrete blocks to raise the barrel a foot off the ground and the bite drinkers are fitted about 8" up from the bottom. I use the cut off top as a lid, keeping the sun out helps to preserve the water quality. They work well, the sows soon get to know how to use them and they can get a long clean drink whenever they want one. It's easy enough to top up the barrels with a hose every couple of days. My sows do, of course, have wallows too but they  dug those themselves when I have run the hose on the ground for them and the wallows  [size=78%]need topping up too.[/size]

[colliewobbles]

We went to a local smallholding last Sunday that was using bite drinkers on a blue barrel for their pigs.  Clever pigs had worked out how to hold the drinkers 'on' and had created their own wallow next to the drinker