Posted: Tue Nov 25, 14 5:39 pm Post subject: New Pig Arks?
I've just had a phone call from a mate who delivers central heating fuel in the area. He's found me three x 2500 litre defunct plastic oil tanks. I've heard of people who have successfully converted these sort of items into suitable pig accommodation. I'll pick them up over the next few days and see what I can come up with. Anyone got any ideas or done this before?
A guy I know who was a heating engineer by trade used one for a couple of porkers, I doubt they would fit a couple of baconers.
My main concern would be the pigs chewing & ingesting plastic.
I've picked the first one up this morning.
All the pigs that I've had in the past have had ample opportunity to chew on wood and plastic but have never bothered. I think that if they have plenty of space to do other more interesting things, then its not a problem.
The question is, where to position the door and how big to make it?
Shan
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 9075 Location: South Wales
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 14 12:45 pm Post subject:
They would make fabulous mite free chicken houses.
Personally to make use of it as an ark,i`d cut the doorway in its side in the upright position,and bolt light angle iron to the cut edges to eliminate chewing and to help keep the body rigid.
Size wise,the width of your biggest pig.
Being`s one of your ark`s blew over the fence in the high winds,i`d knock in a few posts around the tank and tie it down.
We have ex-oil tanks as water butts. We left them for a whole summer in a hot, sunny spot with the lids off. By the end of the summer the smell of kerosene was gone, so we reckoned them to be clean.
I saw a set up on Alderney that successfully used these a couple of years back and also know of a well known enterprise that also uses them down in Devon. I think that they'll prove to be spot on for a group of weaners and/or a smaller set of fatteners. To repeat myself, at a tenner a throw, what's to be lost?
We've got a bitter northerly wind blowing here this morning, so I've simply moved the piggies accommodation about half a turn so that the wind isn't blowing directly in to it. The oil tank is working really well and I'm hoping that I'm able to get some more. The girls really are as snug as bugs in a rug.
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