Pig Equipment

We have decided to add pigs to our homestead and are planning to put them in a separate pasture for the first time to get a handle on how much they will tear up the pasture, and what kind of space we need for 6 months of pig growth.  At a minimum, we will need adequate fencing for rotation, a pig hut for 2 - 3 pigs, a portable waterer, and a portable feeder.

For the Pig hut, we have decided on the design we got from this link.  Thanks to Living The Dream Farm for posting this information.  In the comments section, someone suggested using a 10 foot 2 x 4 for the top board to aide in moving the structure and we thought it to be a good idea, so that is the plan.  One thing that I did was to add the bottom boards all while it was laying on it's side.  Since I was building it by myself, when I put on the 2 x 4 that was in the top position while it was on its side, I used two c-clamps (one clamped on each of two feet) to keep the 2 x 4 from slipping down while I was installing it on the third foot.

Pig Hut
2 x 4 x 8	7	$3.88	$27.16
2 x 4 x 10	1	$5.67	$5.67
roofing panels	4	$14.98	$59.92
screws	1	$11.99	$11.99
			$104.74
		Tax	$7.07
			$111.81

While this seems high to me, I looked online to find a portable animal hut of a similar size ready made and it was ten times this price, so it is much cheaper to make it yourself.  I also have at least half of the box of screws and some scrap lumber to use on another project.

Pig Waterer

I found a youtube video that I thought would make a sturdier version of this using the bulkhead fittings, heating up a metal adapater to add threads to the plastic barrel, but I can't find it again.  This is the method I used, however.  Here is a run down of the cost:

Pig Waterer
Barrel	1	$20.00	$20.00
Pig nipples	2	$2.24	$4.48
Bulkhead fittings	2	$6.50	$13.00
		Total	$37.48

I actually paid $11.19 for the pig nipples, but I got five of them and can use the remaining three in the future.