Note for the busy home owner: how to build a pigsty

Having decided on the number of pigs to be bred and the purpose of keeping them, you can begin to design and build a pigsty. Available standard drawings and instructions will help with this, following which it will be possible to build a clean, dry and spacious room with good lighting, where animals will feel completely safe and comfortable.

Preparing to build a pigsty

Before you start designing, let alone building, you should decide on the general concept of the pigsty. It is necessary to decide in advance not only how many animals will be in the barn, but also what technology for keeping them the farmer will use. For example, will it be just fattening of purchased young stock, or will it be planned to create your own breeding stock, will it be planned to automate work processes, or will you do everything by hand?

The answers to these questions will greatly influence the size of the pigsty, its layout and technical equipment. After all, the raised young animals must be kept separately from the queens and piglets, which in turn require special conditions of detention. And the use of automatic systems for waste removal and feed distribution will require a specific building layout, which is completely different from when performing these works manually.

In view of the above, before you start building a pigsty, you should do the following:

• study the most popular projects, taking into account the planned livestock and technological processes;
• choose the optimal location for construction;
• develop a building plan that takes into account all of the above factors.

Do not forget to coordinate the construction with all interested government services and institutions - BTI, SES, tax, etc.

Premises requirements

To properly design such a structure, it is necessary to take into account a number of rules:

• Before going to the pigsty, you can organize a platform with a canopy for walking animals. It should be spacious so that there is about 10 square meters per head. m. When keeping 10 heads, its optimal area is about 100 sq. m.
• Provide space for the installation of drains through which all waste will be discharged.
• The sow pen should be located away from cold walls so that the newborn offspring is warm and comfortable.
• The walls of the pens must be made higher than the height of the animals. The optimal level is 180-190 cm. Their normal depth is 2.5-3 m, however, in conditions of limited space, the machines can be made less deep, positioned only on one side, so as not to make a passage.

Experienced farmers do not make many pens of different sizes, but organize 2 pens - 3x4 m in size for keeping the entire livestock and 4x4 m in size for fattening.

• If you plan to build not one, but several machines, be sure to provide a passage between them with a width of at least 1.5 m.
• Equip the walls with 1-2 windows, but no more, since too bright lighting will disturb the animals. To organize moderate lighting in a pigsty for 10 heads, you will need 2 medium-sized windows.
• To preserve internal heat, especially in harsh climatic regions, reinforce the walls with insulation and a layer of vapor barrier.
• Pay special attention to the floor so that it is both warm and durable.

Having decided on the dimensions and layout of the pigsty, you need to prepare its drawing. Here are diagrams of two-row rooms with different numbers of passages - from one to three:

Pig sty project

If you are planning to build a small pigsty with your own hands, literally for 2-10 animals, then you can start drawing up the project yourself. But it is better to entrust the design of a larger structure (for several tens or even hundreds of pigs) to specialists. Especially if you are not a professional builder or architect.

You need to start designing not with sketches and drawings, but with determining an approximate construction estimate. The whole process inevitably comes up against this very question. It depends on him whether you have enough money for a state-of-the-art automated pig farm for 200 sows, or whether everything will be limited to a wooden two-person barn made from boards stolen from a neighbor.

If you are sure that in any case you will be able to get the amount necessary for construction, then you can start calculations by determining the number of livestock. And then bring everything else under this parameter.

You also need to remember about the norms for calculating the area per animal. Of course, in the end, it is up to you to determine whether the pigs will walk around the spacious enclosures like kings, or whether they will be content with a minimum of comfort. In any case, you should not make the room more crowded than required by objective standards for pigsties. As a rule, pigs are kept in small pens. The area standard for them is as follows:

• boars (male breeders) - one animal in a pen with an area of ​​8 square meters. m.;
• sows at an early stage of pregnancy - 3-4 animals per pen, 2-3 square meters each. m for each;
• sows in late pregnancy - 1-2 animals per pen, 4-5 sq. m per animal;
• sow with piglets - alone in a pen with an area of ​​7-8 square meters. m;
• fattening piglets (without a sow) under 5 months - 10-12 per pen, 0.5 sq. m on the head;
• fattening piglets over 5 months - 15-20 per pen, 0.7-1 sq. m per animal.

The indicated figures are the minimum acceptable, that is, if possible, it makes sense to give the pigs a little more space, but in no case less.

Also, we should not forget that in addition to pens with animals, a significant part of the premises in the pigsty building will be occupied by technological passages and blocks. Their area will depend, among other things, on how automated your pig farm is.

It is recommended to make the outer walls of the pigsty within 1.6-1.8 m, and the ceilings - no higher than 2.2-2.6 m from the floor.

Carrying out finishing work

In order not to miss important details during the interior arrangement of the room, this process should be divided into several parts.

Lighting

Natural lighting in conditions of short daylight hours will not be enough to satisfy the pigs’ need for light, on which the biological processes in their body depend. So, it is necessary to organize artificial lighting of the room. When laying wires and installing lamps, you need to assume that one 60 W lamp illuminates 3 square meters well. m.

Breeding sows with piglets need an 18-hour daylight period with illumination of about 15 lux, and for fattening animals a 12-hour day with illumination of 5-8 lux is sufficient.

Ventilation

The pigsty must be equipped with a ventilation system, following the following instructions:

1. Place large-diameter exhaust pipes (40-50 cm) almost under the ceiling at the rate of 2 pieces per 10 heads.
2. Equip supply openings 20 cm above the floor.
3. Install dampers (discs for opening and closing the opening) on ​​the pipes, and dampers in the form of metal gratings on the supply openings.
4. Additionally, install fans in the supply openings. They should only be turned on in the hottest weather.

The operation of such ventilation is based on the principles of natural circulation of air masses: warm air rises upward and is expelled, and cold air enters from below and fills the vacant space.

Some people neglect the implementation of special supply channels, believing that windows can also perform their functions. This is not the best solution - the windows in the pigsty are located quite high, so they will not circulate air below, where the pigs are directly located.

Heating

In temperate climates, a pigsty can be built without additional heating, since the animals contained in it generate a sufficient amount of heat. The main thing is to properly insulate the room.

In areas with a harsh winter season, it is still worth organizing additional heating of the room. This can be done using air heaters, stoves or any other possible heating. It is also worth providing special heating lamps for piglets.

Machine tools

The inside of the pigsty can be fenced off using two types of materials:

• edged board 5 cm thick and timber for racks made of hard trees;
• metal pipes, sheets, corners.

The height of such partitions is about 1 m. A separate entrance must be provided for each pen. The gates must close well, so simple bolts should be additionally counterfeited with snouts.

How you can set up a pig barn with your own hands is described in the following video:

When breeding pigs, you first need to decide where they will be kept. For them, a farmer can build a pigsty with his own hands, having previously calculated its optimal size based on the number of heads in the herd. In this case, you can use various materials and technologies, so everyone can choose the option that meets their requirements and financial capabilities.

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Pig barn diagram and materials

There are many typical pigsty layouts, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. Most often, farmers choose one of three designs:

• two rows of machines along the outer walls and a technological passage in the center;
• two rows of machines facing each other and two technological passages along the external walls;
• The diagram is from point “b”, but the rows of machines are separated by a third central passage.

Based on data on the internal area, the height of the walls and the layout of the pens, preliminary calculations of the required amount of building materials can be made. It is also up to you to decide which materials to choose. There are no strict restrictions in this matter, the main thing is that the pigsty room is warm in winter, not hot in summer, and can be easily disinfected.

When building walls, preference is most often given to stone or brick, but small farmers can even get by with a wooden structure. In addition, you can use modern technologies - sandwich panels on a steel frame.

The foundation and floors will require large volumes of cement-sand mixture. At the same time, moisture insulation can be ensured using ordinary roofing material. There is also no point in covering the roof with tiles or sheet metal. Slate will do just fine.

The interior of the pigsty is usually lined with hardwood planks. Many farmers use metal gratings to delimit space. But keep in mind that such a lattice must be strong so that the animals do not break it and then, firstly, do not scatter throughout the barn, and secondly, do not get injured by the protruding ends of the torn out rods.

How to make a pig pen

Briefly about the nuances of constructing a summer enclosure. To build it for several individuals, wooden boards made of hardwood (for example, cedar), nails and wooden posts are useful. Select sizes according to the size of your pets. Deepen the pillars into the ground 20–40 cm, then nail boards to them.

The gaps between the boards and stakes directly depend on the size of the animals. The fence must be durable enough to support the weight and strength of the pigs. If financial capabilities allow, it is advisable to use metal poles instead of wooden blocks. Galvanized mesh panels are also ideal for fencing.

Did you know? Piglets need a piglet to loosen the soil in order to look for food in the ground.

The overall size of the pen will depend on how many pigs you have. The ideal height of the fence is at least 150 cm. During cold weather, pigs sleep closely huddled together. But when it gets hot, animals will want more space. Therefore, if you decide to raise pigs on a pasture-type farm, plan at least 5 square meters per pig. m.

Outdoor animals have a doubly need for protection from unpredictable weather. Provide a shelter where the pig can hide from rain and snow.

It is good if the soil in the paddock is loose or even wet. The procedure of wallowing in mud will help keep you cool in warm weather and cope with parasites. If you don't want your animals to get dirty, provide them with shady areas, which will also prevent overheating.

Place for a pigsty

As a rule, farmers place a pigsty on a site where it is convenient for them, without really thinking about whether the chosen location is correct. But a bad location can ruin the entire pig-breeding business.

The fact is that pigs do not tolerate increased dampness very well, especially if the room is full of drafts. As usual, such conditions have the most negative impact on small piglets and weanlings, who instantly become ill and remain ill for a long time, gaining weight extremely slowly. In particularly bad conditions, the mortality of young animals increases significantly.

To avoid such troubles, you should carefully look at the land plot that is at your disposal. To build a pigsty, it is preferable to choose a dry, elevated place. Areas subject to waterlogging processes or flooded by groundwater or floods are strictly unsuitable. You should also avoid places exposed to strong winds. Cold air masses will not only cool the room, but also create drafts.

Only after taking these factors into account should we move on to issues of convenience in terms of farm maintenance - the availability of access roads, laying utilities, etc.

Construction stages

In addition to drawing up a construction project and detailed drawings, an important point is the choice of building materials and thinking through the features of the room and its design.

A detailed drawing of the premises greatly facilitates preliminary calculations of the amount of building materials required and their cost for the final calculation of your investments.

This factor is one of the determining factors when choosing materials for construction. In addition to this, the following are taken into account:

• your professional skills;
• climatic features of the area.

To build a building for keeping pigs, use:

• tree;
• brick;
• stone;
• clay.

Arrangement of the foundation will require the purchase of cement and sand. It is easy to waterproof a structure using roofing felt.

Experts advise making the interior wall cladding from hardwood. For the manufacture of internal partitions, timber with a cross section of 5x50 mm or boards of the same thickness are purchased. Another option would be metal partitions. When making partitions with your own hands, you need to ensure that their surface is smooth, without protruding sharp elements that can injure animals.

A pigsty, like any other building, needs materials for making a roof, doors and window blocks. The roof can be covered with slate, and homemade options can be used for windows and doors.

Homemade pig pens can have a wide variety of designs depending on the financial capabilities of the owners. The main thing is that the room is bright, dry, warm and easy to maintain.

The modern construction market offers prefabricated structures of a modular type or made of sandwich panels. However, their cost is quite high, and construction often requires the involvement of third-party specialists.

Foundation and floors in a pigsty

Construction itself always begins with the arrangement of the foundation. The strength and durability of the entire building largely depends on it. For a pigsty, a foundation made of stone, concrete, or reinforced concrete blocks is suitable. The depth of its placement strongly depends on local specific factors (soil density and moisture, groundwater depth, etc.), so it makes no sense to indicate specific values ​​here.

But a protruding base with a height of 20 to 60 cm should be installed above the ground surface. It is advisable to make a blind area along the perimeter of the pigsty. If there is no money for asphalt or concrete, then tightly compacted clay will do for these purposes. To prevent the walls from drawing moisture from the foundation, roofing felt should be placed on top of it.

Floors in a pigsty are a fairly important element. Both the health of the animals and the ease of maintenance of the complex depend on them. They can be made from concrete, boards and other materials. This is not as important as the floor design. If you only have 2-3 pigs, then a regular solid floor will do just fine. But for a large livestock complex with several tens and even more so several hundred animals, it is preferable to use slatted floors. We'll talk about them a little later.

Floor is an important element of construction

The floor in a pigsty requires special attention if you want it to be not only warm, but also durable. You can do it:

• concrete;
• brick;
• wooden.

Concrete floors are practical and durable, and are very easy to clean. However, if you plan to keep pigs all year round, then such a foundation is not the best choice. The fact is that concrete tends to cool quickly, therefore, animals will freeze and gain weight much more slowly.

Brick flooring is considered the “golden mean” when it comes to thermal insulation and durability. That is why this option is often used by farmers. But this also has its drawbacks: laying a brick floor yourself is quite difficult and costly from a financial point of view.

Wooden flooring is the most popular and affordable, usually made from smooth, thick boards. The pigs will be quite comfortable on it, even when the temperature outside is sub-zero. However, the durability of such a coating leaves much to be desired.

The wooden floor in the pigsty provides dryness and warmth well, but wears out quite quickly

There are also combined flooring options that allow you to create a warm and at the same time durable surface. Let's consider one of them.

First you need to knock down a dense wooden board and drill holes in it with a diameter of 10 mm. Then you can begin to implement the second stage of work, the essence of which boils down to pouring concrete onto a surface that has a slope of 5 degrees towards one of the walls. A concrete trench is made under this wall, which in turn is slightly inclined towards a special container (“bath”) for waste. Next, the shield, which was discussed just above, is tightly laid on the screed. Thus, you get a warm floor that will last longer than a conventional wooden covering. The pigs' urine will flow through the drilled holes towards the drain due to the subtle slope of the floor. When the wooden frame becomes unusable, it can be replaced with a new one, which is much easier than re-laying the floors.

The owner of the farmstead must understand that such a floor should be made only in the case when the room for pigs is supposed to be heated during the cold season . In an unheated pigsty, animal waste in cold weather will form ice on the surface of the panels and under them, which will negatively affect both the sanitary condition and the microclimate of the room.

You can watch how to build a pigsty with your own hands in the following video:

Roof, ceilings and walls of the pigsty

Regardless of what material you prefer when building walls, it is important that it retains heat well and does not absorb moisture. In this case, the inside of the pigsty walls are usually covered with boards, and then plastered and covered with lime for disinfection purposes. In the northern regions, it is advisable to insulate the walls from the outside as well.

Everywhere, with the possible exception of the Southern Federal District, it is highly desirable to equip a pigsty with full ceilings, as they help retain heat in the winter.

As for the roof, there are no special requirements for a pigsty in this matter. The classic rafter-pitched scheme made of logs and slate will do just fine.

Additional Tips

Here are some more nuances that we didn’t have time to talk about above:

1. Pigs instinctively create separate areas for their daily activities. Therefore, they need to be provided with a place for eating and water, an area for sleeping and a place for defecation, and between these areas there must be enough space for the animals to move freely.
2. It is advisable to place containers for food and water in different corners of the room. This arrangement will promote the development of pigs - farm animals need to move around to stimulate muscle tone and bone development.
3. Pigs have a habit of burying their faces in the soil. The livestock owner needs to monitor the holes the animals make in the mud and fill them as needed. Special control is needed for holes near the fencing of the pen, since holes can cause “escapes”, as well as falls and injuries to animals.
4. No matter where you keep your pets, make sure doors, fences and gates are secure and durable. Check their integrity periodically.
5. Before you buy pigs, research the characteristics of the breed to ensure compliance with the rules of husbandry and rearing.

Manure removal in a pigsty

Timely removal of animal waste, that is, manure, is one of the main tasks that falls on the shoulders of pig farm workers. Contrary to popular belief, pigs are not dirty animals who love to swim in puddles. It’s just that most owners don’t know how to create the right conditions for them.

In reality, pigs don't like dirt any more than any other pet. Moreover, unsanitary conditions and dirt in the pigsty are one of the main reasons for the death and illness of these animals. Therefore, maximum attention should be paid to the organization of manure collection.

As mentioned above, the optimal solution on large farms is slatted floors for pigsties. This system simplifies the cleaning process as much as possible, maintaining the cleanliness of the pens at an acceptable level.

It should be noted right away that slatted floors require the presence of special concrete baths in which manure falls. Although outwardly these bathtubs have nothing in common with the one installed in your home, they have the same operating principle. As the bath is filled, the “plug” is removed and the contents are sent by gravity to a special tank away from the pigsty. If the terrain does not allow organizing a gravity system, manure can be pumped out of the baths by force using a pump.

Of course, the organization of slatted floors requires a much more complex foundation design than when using solid floors.

Pig farm project for 100 heads

The plan for a pig farm for 100 sows is drawn up according to the area standards for 1 animal. The approved regulatory indicators are contained in the state document NTP AIC 1.10.02.001-00 Standards for technological design of pig farms for peasant farms. Based on the number of heads, the area of ​​pens for comfortable placement of animals is calculated.

The project documentation develops a full range of construction and installation work for the construction of the farm, organizational measures for creating a water supply and sewerage network, and a plan for the electrification of the farm. High livestock productivity largely depends on creating comfortable conditions for keeping pigs. Therefore, the project shows on the floor plan the mandatory attributes of the internal arrangement of a pigsty: pens, feeders, drinking bowls, and a manure removal system is also being developed.

Lighting and ventilation in a pigsty

To ensure that pigs do not get sick and grow quickly in the pigsty, it is necessary to equip them with normal lighting and a high-quality ventilation system. In summer, it is quite possible to get by with natural light that will penetrate through the windows. But in winter, daylight hours are too short, so artificial lighting helps stimulate the development of animals.

It is believed that sows with suckling piglets need to be provided with eighteen hours of daylight, and fattening young animals at least 12 hours.

Ventilation in a pigsty is by no means a luxury, but an objective necessity. The farmer must ensure the timely removal of gases and the flow of fresh air into the room where animals are kept. Whether the ventilation system will be with natural or artificial impulse is not a fundamental question. The main thing is that there is high-quality air exchange without drafts.

Heating

In order for pigs to be comfortable and gain weight well, it is important to create a suitable microclimate in their home. Maintaining a certain temperature and humidity in the winter is especially important for small piglets that have been weaned from the sow.

The modern market offers farmers various options for heating systems for pigsties. However, the most popular today is equipment that provides animals with infrared heating, the main advantages of which are high operating efficiency and relatively low energy consumption.

The photo shows one of the options for placing an infrared heater, which helps organize convenient and economical heating of the pigsty

Heating of the pigsty and running water

Typically, pig breeding complexes do not have special heating systems, since the heat generated by the animals themselves is sufficient to maintain a comfortable temperature in the room. But the piggery, where suckling sows with small piglets are kept, should either be more thoroughly insulated or equipped with a small autonomous heating system. It also makes sense to equip a pigsty with full heating in regions where winters are very harsh.

Finally, it is worth saying a few words about the water supply of the pig farm. Animals require quite a lot of water, so for a large farm it makes sense to install a full-fledged water supply system with a pipe system in the pigsty itself. This way you will save yourself from having to manually carry cubic meters of water in order to water the pigs.