Having decided on the number of pigs bred and the purpose of their maintenance, you can begin to design and build a pigsty. Available standard drawings and instructions will help, adhering to which it will be possible to erect a clean, dry and spacious room with good lighting, where animals will feel completely safe and comfortable.
How to calculate the size of the pigsty?
In order to correctly design the future structure, it is necessary to determine its size. How to calculate the area and height of the shed, we will consider separately.
Area
It is believed that about 3-5 square meters should come to one animal. m. So, if you want to build a pigsty for 10 goals, then its area should be at least 30-40 square meters. However, for a more accurate calculation of the area of the premises, it is desirable to take into account the age of the animals, as well as the method of their maintenance - breeding or fattening. Standard standards are given in the table:
Livestock | The number of animals in the machine | Machine Area | |
when breeding | when keeping fattening | ||
Boars | 1 | 8 sq. m | 8 sq. m |
Sows: | |||
single and pregnant up to 2 months | 4 | 3 sq. m | 3 sq. m |
pregnant at 3 months | 2 | 6 sq. m | 3.5 sq. m |
suckling with piglets | 1 | 10 sq. m | 7.5 sq. m |
Piglets: | |||
young growth up to 5 months | 10-12 | 0.6 sq. m | 0.5 sq. m |
breeding boars aged 5-8 months | 2-3 | 1.15 sq. m | — |
feeding pigs aged 5-6 months | 20 | — | 0.7 sq. m |
fattening pigs aged 6-10 months | 15 | — | 1.0 sq. m |
In the room, it is also necessary to provide transverse passages with a width of 1.4-2.1 m and forage corridors with a width of 2 m.
For example, we calculate the optimal size of the pigsty per 100 goals. Suppose there are 5 sows, 90 piglets, 1 boar-producer and 3 breeding pigs in the herd. Piglets are supposed to be from 2 farrowing per year, so they need to be kept in machines of different sizes. Based on these data, the calculation is performed in the following order:
- Calculate the area for each category of animals:
- for sows with piglets - 5x10 square meters. m = 50 sq. m;
- for a boar - 1x8 sq. m = 8 sq. m;
- for piglets older and younger - 45x1 square meters. m + 45x0.5 square meters m = 67.5 square meters m;
- for young pigs - 3x1.15 square meters. m = 3.45 sq. m
- Add all the obtained values - 50 + 8 + 67.5 + 3.45 = 128.95 sq. m
- Calculate the length and width of the area used for machine tools. Suppose that machines with a depth of 3 m will be arranged in 2 rows, and along the walls passages will be organized - 2 longitudinal and 1 transverse. To calculate the length of the pigsty, you need to divide the calculated area by twice the depth of the machine and add the width of the passages: 130 / (3x2) +1.5 = 23 m. As for the width, the calculations are as follows: 3x2 + 2 + 2 = 10 m.
Thus, the optimal pigsty area per 100 goals is 130 square meters. m, length and width - 25 m and 10 m, respectively.
Here are some examples of pigsty drawings:
Height
When determining the height of the room, you need to consider the following nuances:
- if the construction is planned to be carried out without a ceiling with exposed beams, the maximum wall height is 2.6 m;
- if in order to warm under the roof insulation will be laid, the optimal height of the room near the walls to the beams is 1.8 m;
- if the ceilings are flat, they must be mounted at a height of at least 2.2 m.
In any case, the height of the outer walls of the pigsty cannot be less than 1.6-1.8 m, otherwise the air in the room will be poorly ventilated. The highest overlap point should be at the level of 2.2-2.6 m. It is better to make the roof itself 1- or 2-pitched.
How to correctly calculate the size of a pigsty to make it from boards, find out from the video below:
Room 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. With a content of 10 goals, its optimal area is about 100 square meters. m
- Provide a space for the installation of sewage complaints, through which all waste will be discharged.
- The sow pen should be kept away from the cold walls so that the newborn offspring is warm and comfortable.
- The walls of the pens need to be taller than the growth of animals. The optimal level is 180-190 cm. Their normal depth is 2.5-3 m, however, in conditions of limited space, machines can be made less deep, located only on one side, so as not to make a passage.
Experienced farmers do not make many pens of different sizes, but organize 2 machines - 3x4 m in size for the maintenance of the entire livestock and 4x4 m in size for fattening.
- If you plan to build not one, but several machines, it is imperative 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, because too bright lighting will disturb animals. To organize moderate lighting in a pigsty for 10 goals, you will need 2 medium-sized windows.
- To maintain internal heat, especially in harsh climatic regions, reinforce the walls with a heater 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 plan of the pigsty, you need to prepare its drawing. Here are the schemes of two-row rooms with a different number of aisles - from one to three:
Seat selection
When choosing a location for the entire economic complex, one must proceed not only from considerations of its area and availability of space for walking, but also from such rules:
- The place is flat and dry, protected from moisture. It is dangerous for the premises, as it is a favorable environment for the development of bacteria and fungi. For these purposes, it is desirable to build a pigsty on a hill. If lowlands prevail, they must be raised and made a mound. Otherwise, a pigsty with a walk can flood during rain or snow melt, which will lead to the death of young animals.
When choosing a place, you should avoid areas that are prone to waterlogging or are flooded with floods, sewage or groundwater.
- The plot is protected from cold winds, ideally located near the forest-steppe. Artiodactyls are extremely sensitive to drafts, especially in combination with excessive dampness. To create the most comfortable conditions for them, along the perimeter of the site it is worth planting fast-growing shrubs or other artisanal stands.
- The distance from residential facilities to the pigsty is at least 15 m. Correcting this value is necessary depending on the direction of the prevailing odor-carrying winds and the slope of the relief, on which the runoff of slurry and liquids depends.
Pigs belong to noisy animals, so it is undesirable to place a house for them close to residential objects, and a shed with birds.
What materials and tools will come in handy?
For each element of the building you need to prepare your own material:
- Foundation and floor. Cement and sand are often used to fill the foundation. The coating itself may be different:
- Wooden. Made from edged boards 50 mm thick. They are nailed to each other closely or with a small gap. Such flooring is non-slip and warm, but it absorbs odors and urine, and also swells from increased dampness and quickly collapses.
- Concrete. The best option, since the surface of this floor is smooth, does not absorb water and odors, is easy to clean and not afraid of high humidity. As a disadvantage of concrete, it can be noted that it does not retain heat well, so it must be insulated for the winter with the help of boards or roofing felt. The floor can also be made heated (with heating from water heating, from electric cables) or multi-layer (with heat-insulating layers).
- Asphalt. This coating is non-slip, warm enough and reliable, but it is porous and hard to wash, so particles of dirt remain in the pores. Over time, acids and alkalis corrode the floor, so it becomes sticky.
- Earthen. The only advantage of this gender is low cost. It has many drawbacks - cold, quickly absorbs urine, mixes with manure and retains an unpleasant odor. It should also be borne in mind that pigs love to dig the ground, so they can dig under the wall and run away. Consequently, an earthen floor can only be a temporary solution, but when installing another flooring, a decent layer of soil will have to be removed to remove the smell of manure.
- Brick. Such a coating retains heat better than concrete, but at the same time has all its advantages. As a disadvantage, high cost can be noted, therefore, in order to save money, you can use second-hand bricks. They fit tightly together in the form of a "Christmas tree" on the rammed soil, and the cracks between them are filled with soil.
- Walls. They need to be built from a material that does not pass heat through itself. The most popular options are bricks, rubble stones, thick beams or logs, gas silicate blocks. For a quick construction of pigsties, you can use modular or sandwich panels, however, their purchase and installation will significantly increase the total cost of construction. To calculate the amount of material required for the construction of the walls, the formula K = ((Lс x hс - Рс) x tс) x ((1,000,000 / (Lб x bb x hb)) is used, where:
- Lс - wall length;
- hс - wall height;
- RS - the area of window and doorways;
- tс - wall thickness;
- Lb, bb and hb are the length, width and height of the blocks, respectively.
Inside the wall, you can insulate the boards with solid wood, but first you need to grind them, otherwise they will greatly absorb moisture and smell.
- Roof. The roof of the building is best covered with slate, since it easily and reliably lays on the rafter system. To calculate the optimal number of sheets of material, the length of the slope must be divided by the width of the slate segment, and the resulting value multiplied by the result of dividing the width of the slope by the length of the material. The ceiling can also be covered with reinforced concrete slabs and boards, and sawdust and sand will serve as a good insulation.
Having dealt with the materials, you need to prepare tools and fasteners:
- a bayonet shovel for digging a trench and a shovel for leveling concrete:
- ax;
- hacksaw;
- hammer and nails;
- a saw;
- screwdriver, screws, bolts, screws;
- metal corners;
- hammer drill;
- building level and tape measure.
Step-by-step instructions for building a pigsty
The technology of the construction of the pigsty resembles the creation of a conventional insulated barn. This process can be divided into stages, each of which we will consider separately.
Foundation and flooring
The construction of a pigsty, like any other structure, begins with the preparation of the foundation - the main support for all the supporting structures of the future building. In finished form, it should rise 0.2-0.6 m above the ground. In the case of wet and clay soils, the foundation should be laid below the level of possible freezing of the soil. As a rule, it is made of a tape type, and not monolithic, since the load on it from the side of the walls and animals is small.
The general scheme of work is as follows:
- On the surface of the plot, outline the contours of the future trench, along the perimeter of which remove all vegetation and debris.
- Dig a trench to a minimum depth of 0.5 m and reinforce.
- Fill a layer of sand and gravel, and then pour concrete or install stones, iron blocks, etc.
- Along the basement from the outside, make a blind area 0.7 m wide from well-packed clay, concrete, asphalt and other materials. It should have a slope from the base to the ground so that water falling on the walls flows into the ground.
- Lay roofing or roofing material on the foundation so that the walls are not wet or damaged by its capillary moisture.
The nuances of creating a floor depend on the particular technology, the most popular of which are considered separately.
Solid floor
An easy-to-organize option, but the farmer will have to put a lot of effort into cleaning the pigsty. To make this process easier, you need to make a ditch along the machines, and give the floor a slope in its direction (2-5 °). The ditch is best laid out of brick and plastered. Next, it needs to be withdrawn to a storage tank, which should also have a slope for normal outflow.
The collected masses can be taken out with a special machine or poured into pits for decaying and fermentation, in order to eventually obtain fertilizer.
As a rule, a solid floor is made of concrete and insulated. Work is carried out in the following order:
- Remove a layer of soil 40 cm thick on the site, and level and tamp the bottom of the pit.
- Pour crushed stone with a layer of 5 cm and compact well, and then repeat the same steps. As a result, a crushed stone layer without cracks 10 cm thick should be obtained. Pour sand on it with a 5 cm layer, pour it and compact it so that there are no traces of the sole.
- Put waterproofing on top (for example, a dense plastic film) and pour insulation in the form of expanded clay or granular foam glass. The second option is more expensive, but also 3 times warmer, and also does not absorb moisture. Tamp down to insulate, but not as thoroughly as a pillow of rubble and sand.
- Pour concrete grade B20 (the ratio of cement, sand and gravel is 1: 2: 4, respectively). Its minimum layer is 3 cm. When pouring concrete, form the required slope towards the ditch.
The finished concrete floor should immediately be covered with plastic wrap and left for 2-3 days, so that it is better ripened and forms a flat surface.
Crevice floor
The principle of arranging such a floor consists in a uniform arrangement of cracks into which fecal masses and sewage will flow, which will greatly simplify the maintenance of the household. In fact, this is a double gender:
- Below, a solid concrete floor is made like a trough with an inclination towards the ditch.
- A slit floor is laid on top, and either over the entire surface, or only in certain areas where pigs will go for bowel movements.
Depending on the materials used, slotted floors can be:
- plastic, metal - the best option for piglets, because the cracks in them are made small, and the surface of the flooring is a little ribbed and rough;
- concrete - are produced in series, differ in relatively small hole sizes and wide jumpers in order to minimize injuries;
- wooden - inferior to the previous options, because the cracks are wide, so pigs often cling to them and turn thick boards.
Floor with self-alloying manure system
A similar technology is used on modern pig farms, because it allows you to maintain all sanitary and hygienic standards and the environmental safety of the territory adjacent to the construction.
Its essence lies in the construction of concrete baths - recesses running along the entire length of the room. All manure will accumulate in them. Such bathtubs in the center of the floor bend towards the drain opening leading to the sewer system. A special cork is provided for it.
Such baths should be cleaned of impurities once every two weeks. To do this, you just need to remove the drain plug so that the accumulations by gravity in the sewer move to a special tank outside the farm. At the exit of the bath, you can install sewer pipes that will speed up the cleaning process.
The manure removal system is justified if the floor in the pigsty is slotted. If it is continuous, then such a system will need to be supplemented with hydraulic washing. However, this solution has two significant drawbacks:
- large amounts of water are consumed;
- Through the channels of the system, constant drafts penetrate the premises, which are dangerous to the health of the livestock.
So, in the case of a solid floor, it is better to refuse to install such a system.
Walling and window installation
Often they are built from wooden structures as follows:
- Prepare the wood - soak with an antiseptic, treat with stain and varnish in at least 3 layers. This will increase its life by 2 times.
- To erect support posts and intermediate supporting structures.
- Install the lower harness, supports and upper harness.
- Fasten using metal corners and self-tapping screws. It can be strengthened by additional fastening in the form of a rigid triangle.
- Beat the inside of the walls with a board, smooth with plaster and whiten. Additionally, you can lay a layer of insulation material.
Acceptable thickness of the wooden walls is 0.18-0.25 m. If bricks are used for their construction, it is better to withstand 0.51-0.64 m.
The pigsty must have a window for natural lighting. Its area cannot be larger than the floor area, because too bright light will make animals aggressive. The best lighting option for them is dim light.
The window should be installed at a height of 1.5-1.7 m. It should open at least half in order to ensure normal ventilation of the room. It is important to prevent drafts. To do this, you need to either make double glazing in a wooden frame, or immediately install a plastic window.
Ceiling and Roof Laying
If in winter the temperature drops below -20 ° C, it is imperative to install a ceiling in the pigsty for additional insulation of the room due to the heat-insulating layer created between it and the roof. It can be laid out from boards or reinforced concrete slabs. The ceiling must be whitewashed below, and insulated with sawdust, chaff, sand or other available material from above.
The roof itself is better to combine with a canopy, which will protect the building from rain and sun. It can be made single or gable, and then covered with slate and necessarily insulated with roofing paper. The roof should be insulated with sawdust or mineral wool. It is better to refuse foam and other artificial materials, since they practically do not allow moisture to pass, which makes the room too stuffy and condensation builds up, which gradually destroys the roof and walls.
The attic can be used to store bedding and roughage. In this case, for greater convenience, it is worth making a special hatch in the ceiling.
Finishing work
In order not to miss important details during the internal arrangement of the room, this process should be conditionally divided into several parts.
Lighting
Natural light in short daylight conditions will not be enough to meet the pigs' need for light, which determines the biological processes in their body. So, it is necessary to organize artificial lighting of the room. When laying wires and installing lamps, one must proceed from the fact that one 60 W lamp illuminates 3 square meters well. m
Planting sows with piglets need an 18-hour light period with an illumination of about 15 lux, and a 12-hour day with an illumination of 5-8 lux is enough to feed animals.
Ventilation
The pigsty must be equipped with a ventilation system, following this instruction:
- To conduct exhaust pipes of large diameter (40-50 cm) almost under the ceiling at the rate of 2 pieces per 10 heads.
- Equip the air inlets 20 cm above the floor.
- Install gates on the pipes (disks for opening and closing the lumen of the hole), and on the supply holes - shutters in the form of metal grates.
- Install additional fans in the supply air holes. They should be included only in the hottest weather.
The operation of such ventilation is based on the principles of the natural circulation of air masses: warm air rises up and out, and cold air enters from below and fills the vacant space.
Some neglect the implementation of special supply channels, believing that their functions can also be performed by windows. 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 a temperate climate, a pigsty can be built without additional heating, because the animals contained in it generate enough heat. The main thing is to properly insulate the room.
In areas with a harsh winter season, it is still worth organizing additional room heating. This can be done with the help of air heaters, stove or any other possible heating. For piglets, it is also worth providing special heating lamps.
Machine tools
The interior of the pigsty can be partitioned into machines with two types of materials:
- 5 cm thick edged board and timber for uprights made of hardwood;
- metal pipes, sheet, corners.
The height of such partitions is about 1 m. A separate entrance must be provided in each pen. Wickets should be well closed, so simple bolts should additionally be faked with patchwork.
When breeding pigs, you first need to decide where they will be kept. For them, the farmer can build a pigsty with his own hands, having previously calculated its optimal size based on the number of goals in the herd. At the same time, you can use various materials and technologies, so everyone can choose the option that meets their requirements and financial capabilities.