# Best water bowl?



## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

So far my little piggies have managed to tip over and/or break everything I've used as a water dish, including a tip-proof dog bowl, a cat litter pan, and a child's plastic sled. Any ideas for me? They have electric fencing so it can't hang from teh fence. A floater sounds good, but what kind of container can I put it in?? Also I'd like them to have a swimming pool but it seems like they'd chew through a plastic kiddie pool real fast. One of those big metal troughs would probably solve both problems but they sure are expensive!


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

The best water bowl is not a bowl, its an auto watering spicket/nozzle. That is the only thing I can think of that will provide fresh clean water throughout the day. Any other bowl is either a toy or a wallow pit for a pig. An old tire fits perfectly around a Fortex brand bowl- the large size- but the pig will use it to wallow in. My son thought he solved the water problem yesterday when he dragged the foot deep stock tank into the pig pen. Oinky can't toss that, I'm sure he was thinking. Well she can''t. But she sure loves to get in and bathe  

A kiddie pool won't last to make it worth it. If you can pick up the shallow steel stock tanks, that will provide a good wallow pit if it is kept in the shade in the hot months.


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## commomsense (Sep 5, 2005)

I use a 30 gal barral cut in half to water the pigs. Its nailed to the floor so they can't move it.


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## Up North (Nov 29, 2005)

One of those plastic turtles you can get at Walmart works great for holding water for the pigs to play in. I think it's meant to be a kids sandbox. That's what I used to water my pigs all winter. When the water froze in it I would just flip it over and jump on it to get ice out. Just goes to show how tough those things are. Mine is a good 5 years old and has been used for all sorts of stuff. No leaks yet. Haven't worked on what I am going to do to water them this summer. Right now I'm just putting their water in a big plastic feed tub. But of course as you know they like to dump them out. I can get away with it now because it's not hot out. But that will soon change.

Heather


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## GeorgeK (Apr 14, 2004)

take whatever bowl you want, turn it upside down and build a frame around it with some chicken wire or old fencing material and pour concrete over it. Then let it set for 2 days to cure, flip it over and partially bury it. Or just have a stock pond. In the long run it's worth it if you have the space


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Pigs need a supply of clean fresh drinking water. A nipple waterer is the only way to have good water. The pigs will lay in or play with other types of waters. Nipples waters are cheap and do a good job of providing unattended water.


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

Wow, that's quite a variety of answers! Iâd been thinking of a turtle thing so Iâll definitely get one. Good to know itâs a sandbox, it will make it easier for the clerk understand. A pond--I wish! The clean water thingâhow important is that? I try to give them clean water but as you all know it stays clean 5 seconds! I figured since they keep their snouts in dirt all day, dirty water wasn't that big a deal.  I will try to figure out how to rig up a nipple waterer with my setup. Thanks guys! :bow:


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

Others are correct in my opinion when they say to get a nipple waterer. They are very inexpensive at any farm supply store. I have one of those plastic rain barrels under the eavestrough with four nipples installed around the bottom quarter of the barrel. The nipples are high enough that the crud stays out of them, but low enough that almost the entire barrel of water is utilized before I need to re-fill. This system is the only way in which you can keep the water clean and full and intact. The "nipples" are actually just valves that are opened when the pigs bite down on them. The pigs will naturally go over to bite on them and quickly learn that when they do, water comes out. They won't go thirsty if you convert to this type of system!


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## BlessedMom (Jul 20, 2004)

I have several 55 gallon blue barrels. The ones with the two bung holes in the top. How could I put a nipple on them? I've been trying to figure this out for months!
Thanks,
Lori




John Schneider said:


> Others are correct in my opinion when they say to get a nipple waterer. They are very inexpensive at any farm supply store. I have one of those plastic rain barrels under the eavestrough with four nipples installed around the bottom quarter of the barrel. The nipples are high enough that the crud stays out of them, but low enough that almost the entire barrel of water is utilized before I need to re-fill. This system is the only way in which you can keep the water clean and full and intact. The "nipples" are actually just valves that are opened when the pigs bite down on them. The pigs will naturally go over to bite on them and quickly learn that when they do, water comes out. They won't go thirsty if you convert to this type of system!


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

It is a rather simple task to install the nipple waterer. You will need a few tools. A drill motor and a spade bit to place the hole and you will need a bulkhead fitting. Here is a pic of a pvc bulkhead fitting. I would rather have a metal bulk head fitting but I was unable to locate a pic for you to see what you should buy. If you cannot get the metal fitting get a PVC one but realize it may break after a lot of use.
http://www.plumbingstore.com/bulkhead.html


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

BlessedMom...it is so easy. Go to the farm store and buy the "bite valve waterers" or whatever they call them. I get mine from the UFA store and they come with two rubber washers and a threaded nut on the back. Drill the appropriate size hole in your barrel with any standard drill bit, take the nut off the threaded part of the nipple, insert the nipple into the barrel with a rubber washer on either side of the barrel and then tighten the nut...it is just that easy! I can install four nipples on a barrel in about 10 minutes. Two sets of hands works better but I use vice grips to hold the nipple tight while I tighten the nut on the inside of the barrel. If the nipples don't come with washers, they will be readily available elsewhere in the store I can bet.


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

The barrel idea is great! I was thinking I had to rig up a pipe to the area and I am not set up for that. Thanks John and Agman!


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## BlessedMom (Jul 20, 2004)

Thanks, I already have those - then I found out that I am not going to be able to run pipe right now where they are. So this sounds like a good solution. How far up from the bottom do you install them?



John Schneider said:


> BlessedMom...it is so easy. Go to the farm store and buy the "bite valve waterers" or whatever they call them. I get mine from the UFA store and they come with two rubber washers and a threaded nut on the back. Drill the appropriate size hole in your barrel with any standard drill bit, take the nut off the threaded part of the nipple, insert the nipple into the barrel with a rubber washer on either side of the barrel and then tighten the nut...it is just that easy! I can install four nipples on a barrel in about 10 minutes. Two sets of hands works better but I use vice grips to hold the nipple tight while I tighten the nut on the inside of the barrel. If the nipples don't come with washers, they will be readily available elsewhere in the store I can bet.


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## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

So I'm guessing you have cut off the top of the barrel then to install the nipples? We wanted to keep the top on the barrels so we could filter the rain as it went in. I tried to do this with a 30 gallon garbage can and there simply was so little pressure it barely drizzled out so they never used it (but I never took away the other water either - I was afraid they would dehydrate!)

Also, my nipple came with no washers or anything - just the nipple and the search for soemthing at lowes, homedepot, and true value for properly fitting pipes, etc. was a bear! we finally found some PVC and made our own rubber gaskets. I don't think it would have lasted long if they had used it since it was pvc. Do you have an on-line link to one that DOES come with washers or a way to install it to a barrel???


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

well...yes, you need to cut the top off the barrel. I don't see a need to filter the water as it enters the barrel. There will, of course, be some crud that collects on the bottom, but a good cleaning of your eaves, solves most of that problem. If you still want to have a lid on your barrel, try to find some steel barrels that have the replaceable lids with the hoop clamp. You may need to double up on the rubber washers to account for the rigidity of the barrel. Failing that, you could simply make a plywood lid for your plastic barrel that is slightly larger than the barrle itself so it simply sits on top...a couple screws in strategic places will stop the lid from moving side to side or blowing it off.

The nipples that I have installed are about a quarter to a third from the bottom of the barrel. From time to time as the barrel is nearly empty anyway, I simply tip it over and rinse it out. I do this once or twice a summer. 

No, I don't have a link to these nipples. I assumed that they were all pretty much the same. A plumbing store or hardware store should have the basic pieces necessary to fit something together if the nipples are incomplete...it isn't a complicated operation with special sizing or anything?

Good luck.


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## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

It's a half in. male threaded end - you would think in would be easy! But we tried every flipping half inch female fitting and pipe there! The guy at home depot was talking about having a machine shop cut and thread one for us - ouch! We ended up with this PVC female fitting that we screwed into it. then a male pipe, cut our own rubber washer, put that on the outside and the pipe through the whole, then another few washers to accomodate the space for a tight fit and another female fitting to hold it on - but it makes it extend aobut 4 inches out and I know they will break it!

So, do your nipples just drizzle using them on the barrel, or do they have a steady stream? I think I will try this again as I am so tired of changing their gross water.

kids


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## Patt (May 18, 2003)

We've had pigs for 4 years, raised 8 pigs now and never had anything but a half barrel split top to bottom to water them with. They will get their water dirty. That's normal.  We dump it every morning and refill. That leaves them mud to roll in and fresh water to drink. We drill 2 holes in the side of the barrel and wire it to the fence. You mentioned you're using electric fence so you could put in a t-post to tie it to instead.


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## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

I hate that mud!!! I'm sure it won't be so bad in the summer when everything is drier here, but it has been raining so much the whole pen is a mess! We have out waterer in a tire and they don't tip it - I would just prefer not to have to change it out all the time.

kids


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

I don't enjoy wasting anything and that includes water. The well I drilled cost me in excess of $8,000 and then there is the pumps, tanks and electricity. It all adds up to pretty much what city folks pay for their water, if not significantly more. Even with my small herd of 15 pigs or so at any given time, it would be hundreds of gallons a month that would be wasted on the ground if I had them drinking out of buckets that they could tip.

The nipples I use have a pretty good stream of water that pours out. It is certainly more than a drizzle. Go to a plumbing store, not Home Depot. At a plumbing store they will have tools, threading machines and pieces of piping that Home Depot has never dreamed of. It wouldn't cost you any more than HD either.

Of course, one more option could be the installation of a stock waterer. They are available for next to nothing at farm sales etc. and it is simply a lot of sweat equity to install them. Just a thought. We use stock waterers in the winter as it gets to -30 on a fairly regular basis. Even if the nipples didn't freeze up, I would wake up with a bunch of pigs with their mouths all frozen to the water tank!


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

I just had another idea. If you had a water tank under the eaves that sat on an elevated stand of some sort, you could simply run 1/2" pipe down to your pens and attach your nipples to the fence posts (if anyone reads this post without reading all the others above they will wonder what kind of site this is!!!!LOL). The gravity will supply a pretty good amount of water pressure and you could set up multiple nipples along the same row of fencing.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Here is a source for the item you need to fit a nipple waterer to a barrel.
http://www.fitzilla.com/Store/page37.html
scroll down and take a look at item 129A - D priced at $5.79


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

LOL John! I got this idea yesterday, will let you know how it works. I simply put a bucket inside a plastic milk crate which I set down in one of the holes they dug in the dirt. If they will drink from it AND not tip it over I will be a happy woman! I did this for the chickens too, figuring they can perch on the crate. Wish me luck. I could not believe how _easy _ it was to feed everyone this morning without having to haul 5 gallons of water on a kiddie sled!


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## moore_farm (Jan 11, 2006)

I saw a old timer use old tires tied up on the side of the fence.


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

The tire on the fence is a good idea...as is the crate in the ground Firefly! I did this in the winter when the heat of the bucket created a neat little hole. You might find that they will still root it out of there though. I guees we'll see. Of course, you still have the problem of dirty water that gets thrown out on a regular basis.

One more permanent idea might be to mix up several bags of concrete and make a hole for the bucket that they will never root up??


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

Agmantoo...that is exactly what my waterer fittings look like!


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## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

Thanks Agmantoo and john!

kids


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

Well, they knocked over the bucket and crate. :grump: But I think I see the problem and itâs easily remedied. The 5 gallon bucket was too tall after theyâd drunk it down a bit, so I think they knocked it over in frustration. And I just plunked it down in a trough theyâd dug, making it easy to tip. So I will dig a hole in the trough that just fits the crate and set the bucket down in there and build the dirt around the sides. I'm avoiding concrete because I plan to move them soon. If that doesnât work Iâll do the barrel and nipple method. I couldnât find any pig-proof nipples at the feed stores; once again (just try to find DE, I dare ya) they looked at me like no such thing existed and my sanity was questionable, while offering me rubber calf nipplesâyeah, right! Plus they sleep in the barrel now, and as they grow they seem to like being kind of crammed in there all snugly. Watching one back out in the morning, trying to be real fast to get her breakfast, is a hoot! :1pig:


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

:dance: So far so good!! I buried the crate about halfway and put a shorter 4 gallon bucket in it. They drank it down several inches and didnât tip it over!:bouncy: It was cool and rainy today, though. The real test will be when it gets hot again.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

You may as well prepare to do the barrel and nipple. As the pigs grow, so will their tendency and strength in upsetting the water! Look at these waterers
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?PGGUID=30e07697-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5
one pig and one hog waterer mounted at various heights on the same barrel will address your current and future needs.


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

It's been ~10 days and the waterer is still holding up. I saw one scraping against it and trying to lie in it and it stayed in place! Agman, thanks for the link; I have gotten a barrel in case they trash this setup, but so far so good!


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## Argent Farms (Apr 21, 2006)

I have a 20 gallon plastic barrel that had a plastic cap that was threaded for a 3/4 inch fitting, so I attached a 6" piece of 1/2 inch stainless pipe to it with a bushing and threaded the nipple waterer to the end and tipped the whole thing on it's side. right now it's just on a couple blocks of wood because the pigs are still small, but as they grow I'll build a cradle for it.


If it's hard to picture I'll take some photos of it tonight.


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## Bernadette (Jan 17, 2004)

For drinking water Hubby used a large wooden pallet, and cut out a hole in the centre to fit the galvanized metal drain pan he decided to use for water. Then a piece of board over the top to cover 1/2 - 3/4 so they can't get right in it. they get play water and muck in another part of the yard.


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## brian mcf (Feb 21, 2006)

hey everybody,just wanted to add my 2 cents.we used a 55gal.barrel that had a lid on it,it also had a 2 inch screwed plug on the top.we cut our barrel in half.using the top half of the drum,we got a bushing 2 by 3/4 and then used 3/4 pipe nipples.the trick of this whole set up is our water drum is on the outside of our pigpen.we used the long pcs. of pipe to go through the fence,this way the pigs don't get near the drum it self.we also cut a lid out of wood for the top.whats nice is you don't even go in the pen.we only leave water in there for 3 days max,and then remove and wipe out.this works well for us,also were the pipe goes thru the fence we wire the pipe to the fence.good luck, brian


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