# Pig watering question..



## quiverfull (Oct 30, 2004)

Ok.. now I have another question  

I am trying to figure out the best method of watering my pigs. 

I have water (a faucet) at their pen but it comes from a spring and there is little to no pressure. I read that the pig nipples need at least 10lbs of pressure and I don't have that. I thought I read somewhere that you can attach a pig nipple to a barrel and that would work too.. does anyone know if this is correct? 

I know buckets are out.. I don't want to be refilling them all day long. 

What kind of containers do you use for watering? 

What other methods do you use to water your pigs? 

What have you found to be the best method?

Crystal


----------



## kath2003 (Oct 3, 2003)

We just brought home four piglets yesterday,and on the way home someone was giving away a large ,hard plastic sandbox,the green turtle with a cover,and that became my pig waterer.They seem to like,and it holds a lot of water!!


----------



## Guest (Nov 2, 2004)

I use a 55 gal. drum with a lid on it with 2 nipples on it. It works fine. Be sure to put the nipple about 10 to 12 inches from the bottom so there is always some weight in the drum so they don't tip it over. 
I hate to tell ya but your pigs will tear your little plastic sand box to shredds when they get a little bigger. And if it gets warm half of them will be in it and the other half will be trying to tip it over. Been There, Done That!! Those pigs can really push your buttons when your trying keep fresh water out for them and all you have is a trough or tub for water.


----------



## Siryet (Jun 29, 2002)

We use the paddle bowl type mounted on a 55 gal plastic barrel/drum.

We made sure we mounted it with the bottom of the bowl sitting on the pallet we put it on to prevent the hogs from stepping on the bowl and breaking it off the drum. As the hogs got larger we just added another pallet under the barrel/drum to raise it also.

For 5 hogs we added water every other day. No muss no fuss. we use this method because we have a very low water pressure also.

Tried the open container and the spout method and the open type was always dirty or had a hog sitting in it and the spout was broken off the 55 gal drum.


----------



## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Siryet said:


> We use the paddle bowl type mounted on a 55 gal plastic barrel/drum.
> 
> We made sure we mounted it with the bottom of the bowl sitting on the pallet we put it on to prevent the hogs from stepping on the bowl and breaking it off the drum. As the hogs got larger we just added another pallet under the barrel/drum to raise it also.
> 
> ...


Where can I get a paddle bowl?


----------



## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

How good is the spring? Could you let the water trinkle into a trough or concrete pan, and over flow out of the pen down hill. If it freezes in tropical Wa, it would keep the drinker open through the winter.


----------



## Siryet (Jun 29, 2002)

gilberte said:


> Where can I get a paddle bowl?


Try Here or maybe your local co-op or feed store.


http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-...er.html?L+scstore+wnzn0764ff4a284a+1099499751


----------



## GeorgeK (Apr 14, 2004)

A large puddle that collects the runoff from the gutters




quiverfull said:


> What kind of containers do you use for watering?
> 
> What other methods do you use to water your pigs?
> 
> ...


----------



## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Siryet said:


> Try Here or maybe your local co-op or feed store.
> 
> 
> http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-...er.html?L+scstore+wnzn0764ff4a284a+1099499751


Thank you.


----------



## biscoe (Oct 26, 2004)

T. Glade said:


> I use a 55 gal. drum with a lid on it with 2 nipples on it. It works fine. Be sure to put the nipple about 10 to 12 inches from the bottom so there is always some weight in the drum so they don't tip it over.
> I hate to tell ya but your pigs will tear your little plastic sand box to shredds when they get a little bigger. And if it gets warm half of them will be in it and the other half will be trying to tip it over. Been There, Done That!! Those pigs can really push your buttons when your trying keep fresh water out for them and all you have is a trough or tub for water.


How long does it take the pigs to become acclimated to the nipple waterers?


----------



## pandbscott5925 (Nov 1, 2004)

i have been watering pigs with nipples attached to a 10 inch pvc pipe system that i fill every other day and it is just gravity fed, so i dont believe you need 10 psi pressure to work


----------



## Guest (Nov 5, 2004)

Pigs are real courious animals. If you put something new in there pen every pig will lick and sniff it death. The little plunger thing on the nipples are real sensitive, if they are just lighty bumped or licked it will drip water. So to answer your question it will take them about 5 minutes to figure out that water will come out of the nipple if the put in there mouth.
Hope this helps


----------



## biscoe (Oct 26, 2004)

I appreciate it guys. I have been watering my hogs in troughs, but get irritated at having to empty the trough every day or two because it is full of mud. I'm going to try the nipple waterers on a barrel or pipe. I wanted to use them before, but I didn't want to put down a well to maintain them.

Thanks,

James


----------



## MRSSTEAK (Nov 12, 2004)

I also use the Paddle type of waterers for our pigs. But we have the kind you mount to a wall and hook up a hose to the back of it. Turn on the faucet and you never have to worry about filling any water barrel or such. When they need a drink it works the same way as the paddle bowl attached to the 55 gal. drum. It's great for summer pigs, but I'm sure it would freeze in the winter. (We don't keep winter pigs.)


----------



## Hank - Narita (Aug 12, 2002)

Would something like this work for chickens too? Our pigs used the Lixit type of waterers with no problems. Pigs are very smart. Even our goats figured out how to use them. No more bucket hauling.


----------



## kath2003 (Oct 3, 2003)

Now I have a little turtle sandbox frozen solid!  Time to start hauling buckets I guess


----------



## quiverfull (Oct 30, 2004)

pandbscott5925 said:


> i *have been watering pigs with nipples attached to a 10 inch pvc pipe system t*hat i fill every other day and it is just gravity fed, so i dont believe you need 10 psi pressure to work


could you describe this a little more?


----------



## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We also have spring fed water. It goes to 50 gallon plastic barrels buried most of the way vertically in the ground in the pastures and corrals. I cut out a slice of the top of the barrels to give the animals access. The water flows serially through the waterers from the overflow of the spring year round. By being buried below the frost line the barrels get warmed by the ground during the winter and the flowing water helps prevent freezing which is an issue here in Vermont. This works well since we are on a hill side and there is a continuous flow from the spring, whether we use it or not it runs down the hill. From our last waterer it flows to the pond.

Cheers,

-Walter
Sugar Mtn Farm
in Vermont


----------

