#55 gallon drum gravity feeder how to#

The area where the pigs eat will has to be big enough so it holds a decent amount of food. I cut a hole in the bottom of the drum, leading to an inverted V so the feed slides down both sides. I wanted to use the removable lid on the drum to keep the grain rain-proof. Last summer, I built and installed new kitchen cabinets and used the leftover plywood for the feeder.

One day at the dump, I found an old pair of downhill skis and used them to slide the feeder from paddock to paddock. Since I mix my own grain, a 55-gallon drum will hold enough grain for our pigs for the week.

A 55-gallon drum holds roughly six bushels of grain, or roughly 250 lbs. I found a food grade 55-gallon plastic drum with a removable lid on Craigslist for $10.

#55 gallon drum gravity feeder how to#

That is a lot more than I wanted to spend, so the decision was made to see what was available around the homestead and figure out how to build a portable pig feeder of my own. The commercial pig feeders of that size start at $500. You can find small feeders that start at $100 that will handle two pigs, but they only hold 100 lbs. To make the project easier and more enjoyable, I learned how to build a portable pig feeder. The final cost of the pork was much lower then what the supermarket charges and the taste of the meat was superior. I wanted to see how much work and cost goes into raising feeder pigs. In 2017, I raised two pigs as an experiment.