Late Saturday evening hubby was officially finished the pig sty.
We are both delighted with it as it will take less effort and time to tend to the pigs.
They have a fixed water trough which is fed from the pig house roof down-pipe. With our rainfall it will function as an automatic free water supply!
And it is fixed, so no more chasing around for their overturned water trough.
There is also a long feed trough along side the water trough. It has made feeding very easy with less fighting over food, as all we do is pour the feed bucket contents over the wall into the trough and pour it out evenly.
So that covered feed and water. Our next problem was sewage!
You can see the gap at ground level in the above photo.
That is the sewage exist! The pigs are already using as a toilet the area directly in front of this gap and all we have to do it sweep it through a few times a week.
It only takes a few minutes and on the other side of the wall is a drop into the muck heap.
We will be using the above principals for the cow yard.
The pigs have settled in well and have put their finishing touches to the place.
The sty runs along side our veg garden. So all and any waste veg material gets thrown over for them to eat or make a bed with.
They are enjoying the current hot weather as they spend all day sunbathing!
Next on hubby's 'to do list' is the bee stand in the orchard!
I'm looking for salami recipes from my readers :-) or links to a good blog that has tried it...
I am always looking for feedback!
Such as:
Suggestions for future blog posts.
Suggestions for this blog.
So please leave a comment.
Where are you on your journey to food production?
Have you noticed the rise in food prices? How has it effected you and your family?
Brilliant design.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has kept pigs I think this is so well thought out and takes lots of inspiration from the old stys that used to be attached to cottages in this parts of England. We saw an almost identical pig sty when we were on holiday in Guernsey too.
The only thing I would add is a hole drilled through the wall in the food trough to keep it drier in heavy rains and so it can be washed out occasionally.
We are quite well on our way to food production, although we don't have pigs at the moment we are pretty self sufficient in vegetables and some fruits, and of course we have the eggs from our chickens and geese, as a vegetarian this suits me fine but once we move we will get pigs again to fill the freezer for LH and to barter for other meats. We will probably also get a couple of lambs each year for the same reason.
We are unsure of whether to get a cow or a couple of goats but at the moment feel the land will be more suitable for goats, although a small Dexter might do the job admirably, we'll have to see on that one.
Would really love to see how you run the house..AGA, woodstoves, etc. Always looking for house tips!
ReplyDeleteThe pigsty is brilliant. Looks very easy to manage. The hard work was well worth it!
Sorry for the delay in replying.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments.
Sue,
I suggested those changes to hubby and he has drilled in an over flow hole in the water trough and another lower one in the feed trough. The feed trough is a right mess as they are using it to wallow in with the heat.
Lynda,
I hope to focus more on home and craft during the winter months as there is little happening outside.
We use solid fuel mainly due to the unstable and unpredictable energy markets. We hope to get solar panels shortly for hot water. We also cut turf in our bog during the summer. This usually is enough to keeps us warm for the winter months. In the coldest months, Dec/Jan, we supplement with coal as it burns hotter.
Just let me know what area of household tips etc that you would like covered and I will do my best to write a post on it ;-)
Thanks