Water

We don't have water on the land.  This has been a bit of a problem for us, as our animals require water.  Our well is expected to be drilled next week, but in the meantime, we had to think outside the box.  So we bought one.  I found these food preservative tanks on Craigslist and drove nearly 2 hours to pick it up.  We washed it out, went to a commercial plumbing store to fit the valve to a garden hose, and we were in business.  We are blessed with great neighbors, and our one neighbor has graciously allowed us to use his well to fill tanks and water troughs.  We may give him some pork for his generosity.  :) 

We rinsed out the tank, and filled it about half full.  We have a F-250, but that tank holds 250 gallons of water.  And that's heavy.  Half of that will last the pigs about 4-5 days.  We park the truck on a hill and let gravity do the hard work.

We connected a commercial grade hose and my ingenious hubby put a water float on the trough.  When the water gets too low, the water fills up.  No more thirsty piggies!



 

I used to be obsessive about water cleanliness with the pigs.  Then I realized that it's a losing battle.  We do rinse out the troughs every week, and you should see the layer of mud on the bottom.  They come to drink with dirty snouts and that dirt makes for dirty water, and the heavier bits fall to the bottom.  If the water gets too dirty, I do change it out, but as long as it's semi-opaque, I'm happy.  They don't seem to mind.  After all, they pretty much eat all that dirt.  God made dirt, and dirt don't hurt. 

The little ones aren't tall enough to reach over the side and drink.  I love to see their little hooves on the edge.