# What's the best water trough/bucket/etc. for med.-large Hogs?



## MissyMoo (Jan 29, 2009)

I have a boar that is about 200 lbs and a gilt that is about 150 lbs. they are in a square pen together. 
For some reason, they have it in their heads to destroy almost EVERY water container I put into their pen. The remaining bowls or buckets, end up buried in the mud - who knows how many feet down. I finally found a heavy duty rubber one that they CANNOT crack or tear (so far), but day before yesterday....they moved it and buried it so deep that I cant even find a trace of where it could be buried., so I put another bucket in there - and as ALWAYS I tied it securely to the fence to try to keep them from carrying it off or burying it, and today I went out to water them and the bucket was in the middle of the pen, once again the rope tied to it was shredded, and the bucket was cracked all the way down the side! They take anything I put in there and toss it around like its a cheap childs toy.
I have even buried the buckets and they just dig them out (Clearly, they are much more experienced at it than I am).
I have now ran out of buckets and bowls (including the new ones I bought) and I am begging someone on here to tell me what to buy to keep this from happening again.
Also, the water trough/bucket has to be short enough so they can get into it.....but also not so tall that I gotta worry about future baby pigs drowning in it (that happened to me once before with my beloved baby show pig I bought (he was face down in the bucket and dead) 
I am new to all this and am frustrated.
I deeply appreciate ANY help/ideas.

They are lovely Hogs otherwise. I love them dearly (they are just babies yet but are gonna be my breeding pair), and yet I am so frustrated I have had evil thoughts of turning them into sausages! :grit:


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Plastic food grade 50 gallon barrels cut in slightly less than half gives two containers plus a band in the middle for some project. We have a lot of these or feeders and waterers. Cut them lower for smaller pigs. For really big pigs we use cattle troughs. All can be set slight down into the ground and some rocks put in to make them more stable, less moveable and give the pigs purchase if they fall in.

The other thing we have many of is cast iron bathtubs. Treat troughs except in the winter they ice up more easily.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## Welshmom (Sep 7, 2008)

I put some nipples on the bottom of a 55 gal. drum barrel. That way they don't get in the water at all, they drink for nipples, no chance for drowning. And the barrel is heavy enough when full that they dont move it around.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

mount a heavy sawn wood post adjacent to the fence. Purchase a nipple waterer and a short length (18 inches) of threaded steel pipe. Saw a > in the side of the post at nose height to the animals for the pipe to sit in. Using 2 eye bolts large enough for the pipe to slide into the eye and long enough for the length to pass through the post. Drill two through holes through the > the same diameter as the eye bolt. Using a chisel, relieve the holes in the base of the > so the with the pipe in the holes in the eye bolts you can insert the eye bolts in the 2 drilled holes in the post to where the threaded portion of the eye bolts exit the other side of the post. Install washers on the threaded ends of the eye bolts and install 2 nuts and tighten. This will draw the pipe tight to the > securely locating the pipe to the post. Mount the nipple water inside the hog lot and place a barrel on the outside of the hog lot and using a section of rubber hose attach the barrel to the pipe. Now you can add water to the barrel and water the animals without getting in with them and they cannot destroy your water system.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

agmantoo said:


> mount a heavy sawn wood post adjacent to the fence. Purchase a nipple waterer...


Note that the nipple waterers fare poorly in freezing conditions. Great where things are warmer.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Since MissyMoo is in Newman, California I doubt that she will have a major problem with freezing.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

agmantoo said:


> Since MissyMoo is in Newman, California I doubt that she will have a major problem with freezing.


Yes, and other people reading this thread will be in other zones where freezing may or may not be an issue so it is important to mention. Here in Vermont we have freezing about six months a year and sometimes snow fall every month (ugh) on rare years. The nipple waterers are great, and I have a bunch, as long as the temps are above freezing.

A problem specifically with the nipple waterers is that they act as a heat fin cooling even an insulated and electrically warmed system. This can cause freezing to come in the nipple, up pipes and into systems.

A suggestion is to use PEX or black plastic pipe with them or mount them on plastic water barrels. The metal pipe mounts often seen in the photos of these nipple waterers break in cold climates all to easily. Ice does nasty things to pipes.

Another trick I've done with the nipples for smaller pigs is I put three of the nipple waterers onto a five gallon plastic bucket. I fill the bucket in the house with warm fluid (milk, whey, water, tea, etc) and then hang the bucket out for the pigs. If they don't finish it off and ice forms I can bring that back in to thaw. None of the nipples got damaged doing this.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## ticklersgoats (Jan 2, 2006)

We use old hot water heaters just take off all of the outer stuff like the insulation and get it down to the bare tank and then thread a nipple on it, it works pretty good even up here were its pretty dang cold, we use rubber pans for night and early in the morning then once the sun is out the tank is thawed enough for the nipple to work.

and yes its a pain hunting for the rubber pans in the morning,

hope this helps someone,


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