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Homesteading: Building a Pigpen with what we have on hand...
Posted on Thursday, March 23 @ 13:03:45 CST
Topic: Agrarian Interest
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 Because we are generally fairly broke, and donations come in in bursts separated by long periods of silence... we decided to keep to our agrarian plans by building a pigpen from things we either already owned, or that were readily available on the land...
We started by marking off a 10 x 12 square (ok, I know 10 x 12 is not square, but it looks squarish). I picked an area to the east of the cabin (since we rarely get winds from the east), and in the southern end of a large field that will one day be a paddock (DV). The pen will be located along a line of trees that will offer some shade in the mornings and evenings here during the summer.
We wanted to bury the fence walls quite deep since pigs are known to dig extensively. So we dug trenches at the perimeter line about 20" deep. The main post holes will be a little more than 2 feet deep.
We cut mesquite poles (about 6" in diameter) for the main support poles and sunk them in the 2 foot deep holes. At this stage it took some work to keep the poles supported since holes were in the trench.
We made a 4 foot wide opening for a gate. Since the gate cannot be buried 20 inches and still operate (!!!) we placed some thick logs horizontally in the ditch under where the gate will be. These logs extended down the 20" and will keep the pigs from digging under the gate.
At this point we have all the main poles in place. You can see the opening for the gate.
We want this pen to be strong, so we decided to notch and fit the horizontal poles. Mihai is good with a chainsaw, so we used the chainsaw for this, but in the old days this would have been done with a hand saw or axe.
Now the verticle uprights are attached to the horizontal poles. Remember these uprights are all 20" down into the trench, so when the dirt is put back in, and after the first rain, it will be like they are sunk in concrete. This makes a very, very strong wall. Everyone was shocked at how solid this pen is. If you are going to use mesquite wood like we did, and you plan on using nails... this can be a very tough job, since mesquite is so hard. It is like driving nails into concrete.
After the four walls are finished, a shade roof is built. It extends about 3 feet from the back of the pen and is angled for rain run off. We used donated old cedar fence slats for supports and some old salvaged roof tin on top of that. Eventually, some concrete will be poured under this roofline so the pigs can stay high, dry, and out of the sun.
A gate frame is fashioned from the donated cedar 4X4 posts. You could easily make this gate from mesquite poles just like the rest of the pen. We will then attach either mesquite poles or some other form of fencing to keep the pigs in. The hinges here for the gate were the only thing we bought specifically for this project.
This same technique can be used for any number of farm projects, and it was the primary fencing and pen technique used in this area for most of the history of Texas. As I said, we were all shocked at how strong this pen is. We also learned how to pick, cut, shape and use mesquite poles, which are abundant here on the land.
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
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Re: Building a Pigpen with what we have on hand... (Score: 1)
by Cathy on Friday, March 24 @ 05:54:55 CST
(User Info | Send a Message) | How inovative! Isn't it amazing what can be done using the rough materials God has provided rather than man-made materials? I'm sure that all the physical labor required to accomplish such a project explains why biblical agrarians of yesteryear (as well as those today) do not need to worry about being overweight.
Congratulations and praise God for granting you the ingenuity to be one step closer in the process of living a biblical agrarian lifestyle.
Thank you for sharing how much can be done with seemingly so little.
Cathy
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Re: Building a Pigpen with what we have on hand... (Score: 1)
by MrDud on Thursday, March 23 @ 20:19:04 CST
(User Info | Send a Message) | I've personally visited the pigpen on many occasions and even assisted in its construction. Bang up job to the boys who built it! This is one fine structure. I would be glad to keep my own pigs in it....if I had some. I don't think I could get out of it if I had to.
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