Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
money you plan to invest in your equipment. Some watering and feeding methods will mean
much more work for you, but they will cost less. Others methods will cost much more, but
you will have much less work to do each day. Before you purchase your feed and water equip-
ment, it is a good idea to see if you can talk to other farmers or visit their farms and see how
their equipment is set up. This is especially helpful if you find other farmers who are raising
pigs with the same intentions as yourself.
Waterers
You cannot underestimate the importance of water when raising your pigs. Pigs will need free
access to water at all times. You can estimate that each pig will consume about two to three
times as much water as feed per day. That means that a 100-pound grower pig that eats 6
pounds of feed per day will consume about 12 to 18 pounds of water, or 1.5 to 2.2 gallons.
The amount of water your pigs drink will fluctuate slightly depending on the weather and
changes in their feed. However, you should continue to have fresh water available to your
pigs at all times.
There are a number of different watering methods for pigs ranging from a simple water dish
or tub of water for a single pig to expensive automatic heated waterers. A water dish or tub for
your pigs is a perfectly fine way to start out if you are raising one or two pigs. A water dish or
tub is typically made of rubber, plastic, metal, or even concrete. The important thing should
be that it is durable so it can stand up to use by your pigs. Pigs will be more likely to turn over
lightweight tubs, so you can try to use heavier tubs, but they may still play with them. A water
trough may be a more practical choice, whether you have one or two pigs or several. You can
make a water trough from an old water tank cut in half and placed on concrete blocks or
wooden blocks, or you may purchase a new trough from a livestock supply store. Water
troughs can be anchored in place or they may be moved from place to place if you plan to
move your pigs to different lots.
You may choose to water young pigs by means of nipple drinkers. Nipple drinkers are
1-gallon containers with a metal valve that acts as a nipple on the side. These waterers are
good for young pigs, and they keep out dirt and debris but they have to be anchored securely
to keep pigs from dislodging them. The nipple drinkers gradually can be raised higher as the
pigs become bigger. Nipple drinkers can be attached to a permanent pipe system so water is
constantly available. However, this method of watering is not heated, so they are not recom-
