Automatic Pig Feeder Build | 400lb Capacity Hog Feeder

[@tomlindsay5619]

Thanks for the video. Managed to build one with left over lumber around the house. Not as fancy but works. For the lid issue with them staying up, I cut a full width piece of 1/2 inch plywood and hinged it about 4 inches up the front so that it overlaps the flap hinges about 3 inches. That prevents the pigs from pushing the flaps all the way up and adds down pressure to always close the flaps.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great addition for those flaps!

[@ChrisGuth]

Looking Good! We got our Shipping container delivered this morning, now we are making trips back and forth to clear out the storage rental.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Chris, that's awesome! So basically you're starting to move in....that's how I would look at it! :)

[@pamelamercado6902]

Looks great better than most I've seen I really like the individual feeding stations.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Pamela! Yeah, Lori has a really hard time with the animals tussling over feed, so she sleeps much better now!

[@chetnash5991]

You could have left Feeder 1.0 inside. No Waiting! Great design, Add your logo on the back

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We left if in there for the first 24 hours, but the lid is much louder than the new one and doesn't do a good job of keeping the feed in. We also had it empty that first night which was a mistake! Good call on the logo, did not think of that!

[@sdraper2011]

Brilliant. You two are such a good team.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Lori really keeps me (Duane) grounded and keeps us on track. Sometimes we head in opposite directions to arrive at the same place, so it was good to see this one come together the way it did.

[@benjaminbloomquist5980]

Built a smaller version of this but based off your plans/video. Only think I ran into is the lids get flipped up and stay up. So gonna fix that issue tomorrow. Also, being in the PNW I think I am going to build a cover for it so it doesn’t get rained on all the time.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Benjamin! I agree, those lids are really the sticking point with this design. Even when you can get them to flip down the larger pigs just tear them apart!

[@dirtfarmer7070]

A little more work but I think building the lids angled would help. Obviously, pigs are super destructive so it's only a matter of time even if it's built from rolled homogeneous armor plate.

[@desertdanblacksmith1394]

Piggy Buffet ! Porky says "be de be de be de That's all folks! "

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Dan! Yes, it's quite the piggy buffet with this one!

[@Hybridhuman100]

Glueing between joints & gaps should've been done while assembling the structure together, but other that, it's a great design for a large number of pigs. Thanks for sharing your video.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks for the tip on that Joe. We're amateurs at woodworking, so we can use the advise!

[@iwantosavemoney]

That’s a good looking feeder 👍

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It's a solid option if you're raising less than 10 pigs or so.

[@nvidiasniper]

Good work, you can upgrade it later on adding the same amount of feeding stations on the opposite side of the feeder. Then place the feeder in the center of the enclosure or pen

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that is a FANTASTIC suggestion on doubling this guy in the future. It would make filling it with the tractor much easier as well.

[@danielfisch655]

Great job, love the teamwork and thank you for sharing.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Daniel, thanks! You know how it is when you get your spouse involved on a project...assuming she's willing of course!

[@ruthchelliyn8053]

Wow it's so nice. Thank you for sharing.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Ruth, I'm glad you like this one.

[@christianugwuanyi1582]

Great work. You are a great wood worker. Please, let me see the construction detailed drawing.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hello Christian. If you email us I can send those to you. Our email address is in the About tab here on KZbin. You can also message us on Facebook or Instagram.

[@slamboy66]

Should paint it like a piano and the covers like keys black and white .

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that is a good call. I thought the same thing when I saw the video playback on this one!

[@slamboy66]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm when the lids fall they play a tune

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@slamboy66 yeah, at all hours of the night too!

[@jaredmccutcheon5496]

That’s a nice feeder. We have one of the metal ones and you can hear that lid slamming all the way in the house, lol. We fed 2 Berkshire feeder pigs to 300+ lbs out of it a couple years ago but I think your design is nice and wouldn’t need to be filled up as often.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Jared. We almost went with those metal feeders, but knew they would be loud and we would also need a few of them in order to keep Lori from losing it over the pigs fighting over the feeders! This one cost us about $350 all in (wood, parts, screws and glue included), so it was actually a bit less expensive for 6 "heads".

[@jaredmccutcheon5496]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Yeah those metal ones are really expensive. Mine was a hand me down. My cousins raised pigs in 4H but they’re all long grown up so my aunt asked me if I needed it when I got those pigs. I priced them out and was surprised how expensive they are.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@jaredmccutcheon5496 that's the trade off, your metal feeders are going to outlast the wood for sure!

[@rajiopeyemi4607]

Thanks for the innovation. Don't you think the pigs will chew on the wood?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Raji. Yes, the pigs do chew on the wood, so if you have access to a metal top vs wood that would be ideal.

[@liverocks62]

Good project 👍🏼💪🏼

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We had a few folks that wanted more detail on how to put one of these together, so hopefully this will help a few people design one of their own!

[@huntervful]

Just ran across your feeder build I built one out of steel years ago got out of homestead for awhile now I’m back (thank god) I am curious it havin been a couple years now how are they holding up?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Steel would definitely be the right way to go with these. The only thing that has been a challenge with this feeder is the flaps at the front. They get pretty torn up once the pigs are larger, so we've been trying different options with that. Steel flaps would really be ideal.

[@thomashicklin7864]

for the lifting door flaps you could put scrap 2x4 where the hinges go so you can put longer screws and not have to use a grinder, great build we are looking at something very similar!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That would definitely work as well.

[@thomashicklin7864]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm are you still using these bulk feeders?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@thomashicklin7864 no, we stopped last year due to the number of pigs we're finishing. It's only good for about 6-8 pigs and then it's too small. Last year we finished 20, this year 21.

[@mrporbidin5977]

Nice one

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@ruthchelliyn8053]

Wow it is really nice. If you don't mind, can you give me a picture of the design that you draw. I really want to have the design and measurements of your pig feeder. I'm planning to make it. Please.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Sure, I think I saw your message on Instagram, so I'll track down my drawing and get that over to you.

[@ruthchelliyn8053]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thank you so much.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@ruthchelliyn8053 you're welcome!

[@paulusmura8203]

Thank you so much your idea 😊

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you found this one useful!

[@ustmissouri8029]

I'd have to take out a second mortgage to be able to afford the wood.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Man, you sure are right about that! We have some other projects we have been wanting to do and keep putting them off because of cost...

[@rugbystories3344]

How much more would i spend on feeds versus daily rationing

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I suppose it depends on the breed, but if you ration daily you'll have a lot less spillage. The flip side is, there may be times they are not feeding. The studies I've seen suggest it can be as much as a 5% loss in growth from weening to butcher by rationing vs free feed.

[@rugbystories3344]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you for taking your time to respond to me sir the right way to frame my question was how much more feed would free fed pigs consume compared to those on ration because if the difference is not more than 10-15% i don't see the point of rationing

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@rugbystories3344 understood. We have had good luck with both free feed and rationing. This set up may cause you to waste a bit more feed, but it should give you a larger animal over the course of the season.

[@rugbystories3344]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm is the difference in amount of food taken significant (free vs rationed) i have a hog operation myself sir so i want to have a picture of how much more feed i might need i switch to free feedings sir,

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@rugbystories3344 I wouldn't be able to say with certainty, but we have done both with good success. The one thing worth considering is the amount of feed that may be lost to the weather. If you get a lot of rain it will get into the feeder and you'll lose feed that way. Also the type of feed you're feeding is important. If you're feeding pellets you'll lost less, if you're feeding powder you'll probably lose more.

[@kalaiolele8796]

So this system cannot measure out a daily ration. The pigs feed until satiated or until the hopper is empty. Correct?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Yes, that's correct. This is for free choice feed on your pigs.

[@edgartoribio6437]

Thank

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Sure thing Edgar. Glad you found this one useful!

[@allthingsgrowing]

Maybe next time, drop that front wall down flush to seal it better, then just cut the top flush. You wouldnt have lost any space.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That definitely would have been a better option for this one!

[@elliottjames671]

I want automatic every thing

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Amen to that Elliott, we're on the same page!