John Rosseau

You may also need a hefty amount of beer! I'm sure they would lap it up though. Agreed that it's probably not the best solution. On commercial farms I believe they restrain and hoist the animals - not possible with my operation...

Does anybody have advice on keeping hooves trimmed on large pigs?

400lb sows and equally large boar to be taken care of

I'm looking for advice on trimming.

But also I wonder if creating an abrasive surface that they are forced to walk on could solve the problem long term. Think rough stone or concrete pad around their feeding area. They would spend time walking/moving/jostling for position at the feeder and may naturally wear those hooves down. Thoughts?

Steve Harvey wrote:Yes, you will need one of these though. You can't just hook up the wires to the charging clamps.

https://www.amazon.ca/Camecho-12V-Cigarette-Power-Electric/dp/B073ZBNP7K/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4feBBhC9ARIsABp_nbUlFDum80OXHwdQ7fwlZXA3l4aS74qz_QIdh

Edited/deleted - posted in haste without really thinking about the battery booster pack.  

A good doc film worth checking out, The Fruit Hunters:

Official Trailer

I have the space for a riser, but would the most effective cooking surface have to be at the top of that? I'm assuming that the top surface of the riser has the highest temperatures.

thomas rubino wrote:  
have you looked at Matt Walkers riserless RMH cookstove plans?  They can heat a bench/bell as well as be a standard cook stove.
Here is a link to his site https://walkerstoves.com/index.html

Thanks, yes I have checked out some of his stuff before, and I gave it another look today. His larger cookstove looks like it has some aspects that may work well for my application.

Aaron Yarbrough wrote:

I'm thinking about installing a 2 gallon thermal expansion tank inline just before the shower to provide a little moderation between scalding and ice cold.  

Ah, interesting, as long as the incoming and outgoing water gets mixed nicely this could be a good solution.

PEX pipes are pretty resilient to freezing in my experience.