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Drinkers for pigs differ in device, principle of operation. If in the household it is customary to give drink from a basin or trough, then on farms special devices with automatic water supply are used.
What requirements should drinkers meet?
Regardless of the material of manufacture, the principle of operation, the drinker must meet the following requirements:
- The drinking device must provide free access to pigs, not create obstacles.
- The tightness of the structure is required. When the water is only available to the pigs for drinking, the liquid will not spill around the drinker. Reduces the likelihood of mold, dirt, bacteria growth.
- A stable water supply plays an important role in the growth process of pigs. Animals need fluid all the time. Pigs are poured with water with a margin or they put automatic drinkers connected to a centralized water supply.
- Drinkers must be kept clean at all times. They are washed from contamination, disinfected once a day. The safety of the structure is important. Drinkers for pigs are made from non-toxic materials. Sharp protrusions, edges and other defects that can injure the animal are unacceptable.
- The use of durable materials will significantly extend the life of the drinkers. Pigs are inherently clumsy and sometimes mischievous. If the structure is made of fragile materials, they will quickly break it.
- When using industrial water, it is advisable to install filters in front of the automatic drinking bowls. To prevent the liquid from freezing in winter, electric heating is fitted.
The drinker will meet all requirements when clean water is consistently supplied to it.
Types of drinkers for pigs and piglets
At home, pigs are watered from basins, buckets, troughs, and other devices. It is impossible to consider such options for the farm. It is not very convenient even at home to use basins and buckets, as the pigs turn them over, pour the liquid contents into the barn. In professional pig breeding, a drinker for piglets with an uninterrupted water supply is used.
Nipple
The most complex water supply system is the nipple drinker. The pig covers her mouth like a nipple. From here came the second name – nipple drinker. The system can be connected to several sources of water supply. Each circuit is equipped with a valve, a filter element, and a seal. The nipple itself is fixed on a metal pipe.
The effectiveness of the nipple system has made it popular, the most sought after in many pigsties. To drink water, the pig covers the nipple with his mouth. The liquid immediately enters the mouth with the opening of the valve. Due to the fact that the water does not come into contact with a contaminated container, it stays in the air a little, it is constantly clean. Reduces the likelihood of infection of pigs with pathogens. Having finished drinking, the pig releases the nipple, the valve shuts off the water supply.
Advantages:
- In terms of water consumption efficiency, the nipple drinker for pigs outperforms other analogues.
- Provides complete hygiene. The sealed system prevents the penetration of pathogenic flora into drinking water.
- Little material is used to make teat drinkers. The system is characterized by versatility of use in any type of pigsty, long service life, reliability.
The downside is the need to attract specialists to lay the pipeline through the pigsty, additional costs for the purchase of nipples. Initially, efforts must be made to accustom pigs to drinking from the nipple.
Vacuum
The simplest vacuum system works on the principle of an automatic drinker for pigs. Such devices are used for poultry, rabbits. The drinking bowl for pigs consists of two components: a tray and a container with a supply of water. The first element is a strong sealed box without a top cover. It is advisable to use a bath made of stainless steel or galvanized. The pig will not break the metal, and corrosion resistance will extend the life of the product. Any bottle, bank acts as a container for water.
The principle of operation is based on creating a vacuum in the vessel. The bottle is filled with water, turned upside down, and placed on the bottom of the bath. A small amount of water flows out. When the pig drinks it, the liquid is automatically added from the bottle.
Advantages:
- low cost of the system, simplicity of design, the possibility of self-manufacturing;
- the pig quickly masters the automatic drinker due to the availability of water;
- containers are easy to wash, disinfect at any convenient time.
The downside is the inability to use for adult pigs. Water in an open bath quickly becomes contaminated, it must be changed frequently, and the drinker itself must be cleaned. The vacuum system cannot be used with a filter. Only prepared water should be poured into the bottle. In addition, the drinker is very light. Even small piglets manage to overturn it.
Cup
The drinking bowl is equipped with a container from which the pig drinks water. An uninterrupted supply of liquid is carried out through the valve. The system works on the principle of a toilet bowl. When the bowl is empty, it turns up on the axis. The valve opens, a certain amount of water is drawn in, the container is lowered, and the liquid supply is stopped. The pig is drinking water. The light bowl rises, the valve opens again, and the cycle repeats. Sometimes cup drinkers are equipped with a pedal. The pig steps on the mechanism, water is supplied. When the animal steps aside, the pedal rises, the valve shuts off the fluid supply.
Advantages:
- easy access to drink, pigs get used easily;
- saving water, no splashing;
- easy assembly of the system without the need to invite masters.
The disadvantage is the same fragility of the structure, the rapid contamination of the bowl by pigs.
How to Make Your Own Hands
The easiest to make at home are vacuum-type drinkers and pipe troughs. However, in sanitary terms, they have many disadvantages. If you try, you can make a nipple drinker for pigs. You just need to purchase nipples, figure out the principle of installing the system.
On the video, the assembly and installation of drinking bowls for pigs:
Material selection
Usually, a do-it-yourself drinker for piglets is assembled from three types of materials:
- Wood is considered an environmentally friendly, cheap and affordable material. A drinker that has served pigs is easy to recycle. You can simply burn it. However, due to its structure, wood quickly absorbs moisture, dirt, food residues. The structure swells, becomes heavy, and harmful microorganisms develop on the surface. Wood does not respond well to cleaning and disinfection. The problem is the seams that require careful sealing. Otherwise, water will constantly flow out through the cracks.
- Plastic washes well, is resistant to corrosion, but the fragility of the material does not make it popular in the manufacture of drinkers. Pigs such designs quickly gnaw, overturn, crush.
- Metal is considered the best material for drinking bowls for pigs. To prevent rusting, use galvanized steel or stainless steel. Sharp edges are treated with a grinding wheel grinder to reduce the risk of injury to the animal.
Having decided on the material, they think over the very design of the drinking bowl for pigs, and proceed to manufacture.
How to make a drinking bowl for pigs from a pipe
If you decide to stay on the classic pig trough, make it easier from a pipe. You have to follow a few simple steps:
- A piece of pipe with a diameter of 350-500 mm acts as a blank for the drinker. The older the pig, the larger the trough will need.
- The pipe is dissolved with a grinder along into two parts. You can cut it in half, but it is better to make one part larger. From a deep drinker, water will spill less.
- The side ends of the pipe are welded with plugs. You can also weld transport handles here.
- Legs or just two pieces of a thin tube are welded to the bottom of the trough from the outside. The device will ensure the stability of the drinker.
The device for pigs is ready. The edges of the drinker are well polished from burrs and welding scale, put in a pigsty, pour water. Due to rapid contamination, it is changed at least twice a day.
How to make a nipple drinker
It is more difficult to manufacture, but a nipple drinker is considered more effective. You will need a large container for a supply of water, hoses, fittings, nuts, clamps. Nipples are bought as much as the pigs need drinkers. A plastic barrel with a lid is suitable for the container.
Production procedure:
- Stepping back from the bottom of the barrel, drill holes. Their number corresponds to the number of pigs that will use the drinkers. The diameter of the holes corresponds to the section of the fittings. They will act as adapters for connecting the hose.
- A fitting is inserted into each hole with a thread. Having placed metal washers and rubber gaskets, they are tightened with nuts.
- Hoses are attached to the ends of the fittings coming out of the barrel, clamped with clamps. Nipples are put on their other end. The length of the hose should be enough from the barrel to the pig pen.
- The barrel is set on a hill. It is optimal to weld a stand from metal. Place the drum as close as possible to the pens with pigs to reduce the length of the hose.
- Nipples are attached near each pen of pigs on a tube or fixture. You can come up with a mounting plate.
If the pigs are kept in a group, there is no need to use a hose. The barrel is simply placed inside the pigsty, and nipples are cut into its walls immediately through adapters.
Installation of drinkers
Regardless of the design, any drinker in the pigsty must be properly positioned. The main requirement is height. The parameter depends on the age and physique of the pigs:
- For young animals weighing up to 15 kg, the nipple is placed at a height of 15 cm from the floor. When using a bowl, the maximum height of its edge is 7 cm.
- For piglets weighing 20 kg, the nipple is placed at a height of 25 cm. The edge of the bowl is raised to 11 cm.
- For young individuals weighing from 20 to 50 kg, the nipple is placed at a height of 35 to 45 cm. The edge of the bowl rises to a maximum of 16 cm.
- For adult pigs weighing up to 100 kg, the nipple is raised to 63 cm from the floor. The bowl is used with a side height of up to 26 cm.
- For adults weighing more than 100 kg, the nipple is raised to 72 cm. The maximum height of the sides of the bowl is 32 cm.
The angle of the drinker is similarly adapted to the age of the pigs. Young animals are placed at an angle of 15-20 о. For adult animals, an angle of 45 is preferable. о.
It is undesirable to supply high water pressure to the system. It is optimal to maintain the parameter in the range of 2-4 bar.
Conclusion
Drinking bowls for pigs are best bought factory-made. The investment is small, and the thoughtfulness of the design will affect the comfort of use. If you still want to save money, then you should give preference to homemade nipple models.