Share your pics of Feeders/Waterers

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

We will soon be getting two feeder piglets, our very first. I need advice on feeders/waterers. I've read Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs but I guess I am more of a visual learner, beccause that section was not very helpful...

Does anyone have pics of homemade feeders/waterers they'd like to share?


I'd really like to have something set up before we get the piglets (of course) and I'd love to have something that works from the get-go, not something I'll have to change/tweak several times before I find something that works.

Thanks

 

[PattySh]

Hey I from Cambridge, Vt. I have been raising two pigs. One is going in the freezer SOON!!! The other we will keep and breed her. I saw a real cool pig waterer on my gransdon's field trip and just had my husband build it. Haven't had time to take a pic yet. Took a big plastic drum (the ones that come in blue or white and stand about 4 ft tall) and cut the top off. Bought a pig nipple (metal water nipple) and plastic connections at our local feed store ((a shortthreaded plastic water pipe that attaches to the nipple and two plastic nuts one on each side of the barrel).Cut a hole size of the plastic pipe about 6 inches up on the barrel and filled the barrel with water and it work's great. I have it inside their stall near the door for easy filling. (They are in a horse stall with an outside area same size and go in and out. Took them a couple of days to figure it out but wow does it save on mess from spilled water bowl. Parts all together were about $15 not including the barrel which I had on hand.

 

[PattySh]

I forgot to mention that I feed them out of a rubber feed pan. It's about 4 inches tall and 20 inches or so (I'm guessing) around. They get a mixture of veggies/fruit/milk/bakery products/and a scoop or 2 of grain daily and they are HUGE. I bed them on shavings and throw in the "wasted" hay from the goats. They eat some and sleep in it making a nice bed. They use one side for their potty which makes it pretty easy to clean. I shut them outside to do that.

 

[freemotion]

Well, I've had my piggies for all of eight days so take any advice I give with a large grain of salt! I also use the rubber feed pans. I know you asked for homemade, but seriously, these feed pans have many uses and will last for many, many years. I am starting with the smallest ones for feed pans for my two piglets and expect that they will graduate to a larger pan eventually. I use a larger one, like PattySh describes, as their water pan for now. I have a couple of other sizes that I can use as they grow, including a ginormous one.

I had the same issue with the Storey's guide, and also couldn't find much online. I had all my old feed and water pans, tubs, and buckets cleaned and ready and only put them in the pen after the piglets arrived.

Mine are on pasture so it is not an issue if they spill. In fact, as the weather gets hotter, I plan on making a nice mud wallow for them and ran the hoses out to their pasture this week. I can leave it on a trickle if I need to if I will be gone all day on a scorching hot day.

They dumped their water pan several times the first few days, and haven't dumped in at all in the past 4-5 days. I'm hoping they learned not to.....