How to make do-it-yourself pig feeders

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Pigs are leaders among domestic animals in terms of productivity and unpretentiousness. From one individual, you can get more than a hundred kilograms of good meat, and proper feeding guarantees a greasy layer with high taste. Sows are also considered very prolific among artiodactyls. To get the maximum amount of the final product, the animal must be properly fed. If the farm is large, then an automatic feed should be provided. Pig feeders can be built with your own hands. However, for a good result, you should use quality materials and drawings.

Pig Feeders

Requirements for feeding tanks

Before making a pig feeder with your own hands, you should master the carpentry skill and calculate the drawing of the future design. There are several basic requirements for any feeder:

• availability of food for animals;
• tightness;
• lack of toxic components;
• conformity of materials and consistency of feed.

Building a pig feeder with your own hands is possible without using a standard scheme. Calculations can be done by yourself, which allows you to adjust the container to the size of the barn. It should be borne in mind that the container for feeding must comply with sanitary standards. If the structure is difficult to clean, then some of the old food may start to rot. This will cause illness. Also, such an environment is favorable for worms, worms and other harmful parasites. This should be especially taken into account when building a piglet feeder. Young animals do not have strong immunity, and poor feed can cause an epidemic. To avoid this problem, the container must be thoroughly disinfected every day.

A closed structure must have a ventilation system. If the air circulation inside the container is disturbed, this can cause spoilage of grain feed. High humidity in the absence of ventilation leads to the appearance of mold and mildew.

Artiodactyls have well-developed muscle mass and rarely eat food neatly. The container must stand firmly on the ground. In addition, a do-it-yourself piglet feeder should be equipped with special sills so that food does not fall out on the ground. When the young have eaten feed from the stall, they begin to pick up the scattered remains. Also, drinkers are often installed near the feeders, so dirt can get into the water.

Types of feeders depending on the products

Diy pig feeder scheme should take into account the characteristics of the feed. If the food takes up a lot of space, then the container should have a large volume. Also, the materials and shape of the container depend on the consistency of the food:

1. For dry cereals, medium-sized feeders are suitable. Hopper tightness is not a priority, but grain should not spill out. The best material for such a container is wood. This raw material is environmentally friendly and has the ability to draw out excess moisture, which will not allow the cereals to become damp.
2. For hay and grass, it is better to use iron grates and nets. Green food takes up a lot of space and is too light to automatically fill the tray under its own weight.
3. Wet mash and liquid substances are best poured into a trough. Due to the viscosity, food can become stuck in the hopper system. The best material for such containers is plastic or metal, as this will keep the feeder from leaking.

Separation of feed for animals of different ages

On a large farm, juveniles and adults should be fed separately. Eating pigs of all ages together can have the following consequences:

• adults can trample piglets;
• bacteria and harmful insects from older pigs can cause diseases in young animals;
• piglets will not get the right amount of feed and will be stunted.

In order for the young to eat well, a separate structure is made for it. The division between animals occurs by adjusting the sills and sides: in this way, adults will not be able to get to the piglets' feed, and the young will not eat from a common high trough.

The best option would be a do-it-yourself pig feeder, the sides of which are at the chest level of small pigs. This will allow the animals to eat without tilting their heads, which will have a good effect on the development of bone and muscle tissue.

The feed tray should be angled to collect food in one place. To achieve this effect, the rear pillars need to be a few centimeters higher than the front pillars. This design not only simplifies food intake, but also facilitates the process of cleaning containers.

To make the feeder last longer, you can make a nut height adjuster using hinges. To do this, grooves are made in the side walls of the feeder, and the front sheet of plywood should fall to the floor in front of the racks. Self-tapping screws can be used to secure the adjustable board to the desired height.

To prevent young animals from getting into the trough of older pigs, you need to install a ceiling of boards. For adults, this will not be an obstacle, and piglets will not be able to scatter food. To properly cover the pig feeder with boards, you should watch a video or photo from the master classes.

Norms of length of feeders for piglets of different ages

There are norms for calculating the length of a structure and they depend on the age and number of artiodactyls:

1. For one pig at the age of two months, you need 15 cm of free space.
2. Five-month-old youngsters need 30 cm of length per individual.
3. An adult female requires 40 cm of free space, and a male needs 60 cm.

The depth of a normal trough should be at least 30 cm for any pig age.

Varieties of feeders depending on the filling method

There are several types of construction, depending on the filling:

1. Manual filling. This type includes open trays and troughs. These feeders are suitable for wet mash and liquid. Feeding is done manually by a human. Such designs are easy to make at home.
2. Automatic filling. This feeding method is used on large farms as it saves physical costs for the owner. Automatic feeders for pigs provide in their design the presence of a hopper into which products are poured. Under its own weight, the food independently regulates the filling of the tray.

The hog hopper is used by farmers to provide the herd with crops or vegetables. The body of the product can be metal or made of wood.People who are well versed in carpentry can build hopper feeders for pigs at home, since the container should be made sealed.

Auto feeders for farm pigs can be bought at the factory or in the store. The company guarantees the quality of the product, but the design itself may not meet the individual requirements of the animals.

Methods for making feeders at home

The advantage of such designs is an individual drawing, which is calculated for a specific barn. Thanks to this, the length and height of the container can be adjusted. There are several types of simple, hand-made, hand-made feeders.

The advantage of such designs over store-bought ones is their relative cheapness. For construction, use materials at hand and simple tools.

Plastic bottle feeders

Such feeders are often used to feed young animals during the period of active growth. Plastic compares favorably with wood or metal because it does not leak or corrode. The downside is the short service life.

To make such a container, 10 liter bottles are used. The manufacturing process looks like this:

• the bottle is cut in half;
• the throat is cut off;
• the halves are fixed with construction glue.

This container is suitable for dry food and wet mash. Lack of material costs allows for each generation of piglets to make a new feeder. In a similar way, you can make a drinker for an animal by cutting the bottle across, not along.

Feeders from technical pipes

PVC pipes are often used on farms with large numbers of pigs. The elongated shape of the raw material allows you to make a container with which you can feed a large number of animals.

The pipe must have a diameter of at least 60 cm, otherwise the container will turn out to be too small. The manufacturing process has the following features:

• the pipe is cut in half;
• plugs are installed at the edges of the structure;
• the feeder is attached to the wall.

Such a design requires anchoring to a vertical surface, otherwise the pigs can turn it over. In such a feeder, liquids and wet mashings can be fed, since the material does not allow water to pass through. To avoid leakage, the plugs should be reinforced with construction adhesive. Thus, you can make feeders and drinkers for farm pigs.

Cylinder feeders

A good pig feeder can be made from a gas bottle. Such designs are distinguished by longevity, thanks to the raw materials. In addition, metal feeders are easier to clean and treat with disinfectants and absorb less chemicals and toxins.

It should be noted that a gas cylinder feeder requires skill in cutting metal. Before work, the cylinder should be left open overnight outdoors. If the container is not ventilated, gas residues may ignite while working on metal. In the morning, the valve should be greased with soapy water. The absence of bubbles indicates that gas has escaped. The cylinder is fixed on the ground, after which you can start cutting the container with a grinder.

Before starting work, you need to apply the markings so that the cut is even. You can get several feeders from one container, so do not neglect the calculations.

The structure is cut along the vertical axis. Each half should be burnt to remove the heavy odor and then can be installed in the barn. Such a feeder weighs a lot, so you need to decide in advance where to place it.

Before making a balloon feeder for pigs, beginners are advised to watch training videos and photos.

DIY bunker feeders

Making an automatic feeder for adult pigs at home is extremely difficult. Animals eat a large amount of food, so the self-feeder requires a large body. For artiodactyls, it is easier to purchase the store version.

However, for piglets, breeders often use an automatic feeding method. The manufacturing process is simple:

• for the feeder you will need 2 buckets of 10 liters;
• the bottom is cut off in containers;
• buckets are fixed in slices to each other using construction glue;
• in the bottom bucket, holes are cut in the side walls in a circle.

Such a product should be secured near a vertical surface. The holes should be 30 cm wide. To prevent the young from scattering feed, a small sill should be left. Wet food and vegetables are poured into such feeders. Before making such a piglet feeder, the age of the animals should be taken into account. This way of serving food is suitable for individuals under 5 months old.