How to Make a Self-Feeding Pig Feeder

Pigs require a constant supply of food to keep them healthy while fattening them up. Whether you are raising a pet pig or a pig to sell for meat, the animals eat large amounts of food so you need to be prepared for that. Take the time to build a self-feeding pig feeder so you do not have to worry about your pig ever lacking food. These instructions will make two feeding troughs.

Things You'll Need

  • Large plastic barrel
  • Saw
  • Electric drill
  • 1/4-inch drill bit
  • 4 PVC pipe sections (48 inches long, 3 inches in diameter)
  • 3-inch hole saw drill bit
  • 4 Large 8-inch diameter industrial powder funnels with 2 1/2-inch diameter necks
  • Epoxy
  • Knife
  • Wire
  • 8 wood sections (6 inches long, 2 inches thick)
  • 16 wood screws
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Instructions

    • 1

      Thoroughly clean a large plastic barrel inside and out and dry it. Cut the barrel into two pieces by cutting it lengthwise with a saw. Use a 1/4-inch drill bit to drill 20 to 30 holes along the bottom of each piece of the barrel to allow for drainage.

    • 2

      Build feeder tubes to hold and release the feed by using epoxy to glue an industrial powder funnel (available at a feed store or home-supply store) into each of the four 48-inch PVC pipes. Allow the epoxy to dry for 24 hours before placing feed into the tubes.

    • 3

      Measure 6 inches from the end of each side of both troughs and mark all four spots. Cut a hole into each of the four spots that you measured with a 3-inch hole saw drill bit. Cut a slit halfway down the wall of the trough above each hole with a knife. Place a completed feeding tube into each 3-inch hole and secure it with wire. Leave a 3-inch gap between the bottom of each tube and the bottom of the trough to allow feed to release. Secure each tube by running the wire through the slit above each hole and wrapping it around it each tube.

    • 4

      Add four legs to each trough by attaching wood sections to each corner of the trough with two wood screws.

    • 5

      Fill the funnel at the top of each tube with feed. As the pigs eat and the amount of feed in the trough falls below the bottom of each feeder tube, food will release into the trough automatically.