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Owners of private farmsteads sometimes want to have a piglet, but the lack of a pigsty is an obstacle to fulfilling their desire. The animal cannot be kept in an ordinary barn, because of its habits. If the floor and walls turn out to be fragile, the pig will dig them up with its snout. Now we will try to consider how to build a pigsty with our own hands and properly equip it inside so that caring for an animal does not turn into flour for the owner.
What are the requirements for the construction of a pigsty
Pigs differ from most other domestic animals in that they are not herded. However, the pig also likes to take a walk. The animal spends about 75% of the time indoors, and the rest is devoted to being outdoors. Walking pigs in special paddocks. For convenience, they are attached to the pigsty. The paddock is made of durable materials, and they try to make it convenient for the piglet.
For example, when breeding pigs, a completely different layout will be required to produce offspring, since you will have to separately keep a boar and a sow. Fattening one or two piglets for meat can be done in a small pigsty, consisting of one room.
Even before construction begins, it is important to determine the optimal place for the pigsty:
- In the yard choose a dry piece of land. Better if it is a hill. But at the same time it should be warm, that is, most of the day it should be illuminated by the sun.
- The site should be closed from drafts and cold winds. Sometimes the owners specially plant fast-growing shrubs or other cultural plantings around the building.
- Usually a private yard is limited in free space, but next to the pigsty it is necessary to allocate a place for arranging a piglet walking.
Compliance with these simple rules is the first success of keeping piglets. If a pigsty is built in a lowland or in a blown area, the animals will constantly get sick. The paddock will flood with water at the slightest rain or during the melting of snow. It is unreasonable to expect growth, and even more so offspring, in such conditions.
In addition to these rules, there are still sanitary standards that specify the distance from the pigsty to residential facilities. No matter how well the animals are cared for, an unpleasant smell will still come from the piglets. So, the distance from the pigsty to their own and neighboring housing is maintained at least 15 m. It is important to take into account the constant direction of the wind so that smells do not spread around the yard.
The video talks about a pigsty for four piglets:
The norms for allocating free space in the room for each animal
The size of the pigsty depends on the number of piglets kept. Free space for each animal is calculated according to its dimensions, as well as its purpose. Usually, modern pigsties are built with machines with a depth of 2,5 to 3 m.
The calculation of free space according to the purpose of the animal is done as follows:
- The boar is kept in a separate pen. For him take 8 m2 free area.
- Sows are kept in pens with an area of 6 to 10 m2. Moreover, they are distilled there in the fourth month of pregnancy.
- Pigs left for fattening are kept in a common pen. The number of their heads can be from 1 to 6, depending on age and size. In any case, 0,6–2 m is allocated per pig in the pen2 free area.
A domestic pig farm should be planned so that the building has free passages 1,5 m wide. They are needed for convenient feeding of animals, as well as manure removal. During planning, the sow pen is placed away from cold walls. Here, the newborn offspring will be warmer and more comfortable.
It is important to consider that the height of the pigsty cannot be planned at random. Here take into account the type of ceilings and roofs:
- When the building is made without a ceiling with open beams, then the maximum height to the ceiling is 2,6 m. If thermal insulation is laid under the roof to insulate the pigsty, then the height of the room near the wall to the beams is 1,8 m.
- Flat ceilings are mounted at a height of at least 2,2 m.
The photo shows a diagram of a pigsty, designed for two paddocks. But there can be only one place for a walk. Dimensions and layout are selected individually according to the number of piglets.
The video shows a home pigsty:
The foundation of a home pigsty
Now we will go through the steps of how to make a homemade pigsty, and we will start with the foundation. After all, any building construction begins with laying the foundation. The walls of the building are built of durable material with impressive weight. This means that a reliable strip foundation is required. It can be poured from concrete, laid out from reinforced concrete blocks or stone. Typically, such a foundation is buried up to 70 cm. If seasonal heaving of the soil is observed, then the foundation is laid to a depth below the freezing level of the soil.
The finished foundation should rise 20–60 cm above ground level. A blind area of solid material 70 cm wide is laid around the formed basement. Asphalt, clay, concrete, etc. are suitable for this purpose. Rain and melt water will drain from the walls of the building along the blind area.
Walling
We have already noted that you need to make a pigsty from durable materials, and in particular this applies to walls. In addition, the walls must have minimal moisture absorption, as well as maximum thermal insulation properties. For construction, a wooden beam, brick, any type of block is suitable, but preferably not a foam block. The thickness of the walls depends on the thermal conductivity of the material. For example, wooden walls are made up to 25 cm thick, and brick – 64 cm.
In general, the thickness of the walls is calculated according to the thermal conductivity of the material and the climatic conditions of the region. During the most severe frosts, the temperature inside the room should not fall below 0оC. If the building is made of brick or other similar materials, you can additionally insulate the pigsty by laying thermal insulation between the outer or inner wall cladding.
Arrangement of the ceiling and roof
High-quality overlap contributes to the formation of a special microclimate of the pigsty, favorable for animals. In the built room, a ceiling is definitely needed if the street temperature drops below -20 in winterоC. Overlapping will allow you to heat the air inside the pigsty faster. In addition, an attic air gap is formed between the ceiling and the roof, which serves as additional thermal insulation. In the southern regions, you can do without ceilings, but it is better if they are.
Boards or reinforced concrete slabs are used for overlapping. From below, the ceilings are whitewashed with lime, and from above, any insulation is thrown onto the ceiling. The roof is equipped with any available materials. Usually, inexpensive roofing is used for this, for example, corrugated board, slate or roofing felt. In the villages, pigsties used to be covered with straw or reeds. The material is short-lived, but has ideal thermal insulation properties.
Pigsty floor
The cleanliness of keeping animals, as well as the convenience of manure cleaning, depend on how the floors in the pigsty are made. In a small private building for raising 1-2 piglets for meat, a solid concrete or wooden floor is usually made. On modern farms, a self-alloying manure removal system is being equipped. At the same time, a slotted floor covering is made. A similar system is recommended for a home mini-pig farm.
For a self-alloying system, storage baths are poured from concrete. Manure gets into them through the cracks in the floor covering. Each bath has a sewer system, which must be closed with plugs. After the accumulation of manure, approximately once every two weeks, the storage tanks are cleaned. To do this, the plugs are opened, and all sewage is drained by gravity into a reservoir outside the building.
Cast iron or reinforced concrete gratings are ideal for arranging slotted floors. At home, you can lay boards at a certain distance, but the piglets constantly try to pry them with their snout, and over time they succeed.
Partitions for piglets
When the floor of the pigsty is completely ready, they begin to build partitions for piglets. Machines are protected by durable materials. It can be reinforced concrete slabs or metal blanks. In domestic pigsties, partitions are often made of wood, but usually they last for one season. After installing the partitions, the entire room inside is whitewashed with lime.
Pigsty lighting
A pig, like any other animal, needs natural light. For this, a pigsty must be built with windows. However, short daylight hours are not enough. For example, a sow needs to extend it to 18 hours, and 12 hours is enough for pigs left for fattening. Only artificial lighting can cope with this task. Throughout the pigsty, lighting fixtures are hung so that you can adjust the intensity of the light. And you need to take into account the walls whitewashed with lime. The white surface perfectly reflects light.
The video tells how to build a barn for pigs:
Arrangement of ventilation of a pigsty
Inside the premises where the pigs are kept, there is a large accumulation of moisture, as well as the release of unpleasant odors from the manure. Ventilation of a factory-made or home-made pigsty helps to get rid of them. At home, a hood is usually placed under the ceiling, and supply air ducts are made on the walls of the building. Thus, natural air ventilation is obtained. In large pigsties, the hood is equipped with electric fans.
Pigsty heating
Pigs emit a lot of their heat, and it is unnecessary to equip additional heating in a small insulated pigsty. You can turn on the red lamp to warm the animals during severe frosts. Large pig farms are equipped with potbelly stoves, water or electric heating.
Do not believe the statement that pigs are sloppy. In a properly built, as well as equipped pigsty, the animals will be clean, healthy and an unpleasant odor will emanate from them slightly.