Automatic Sow Feeding System

Automatic Sow Feeding System HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Hog Equipment & Ideas (351) 17-3-9 "My home-built sow feeding system automatically feeds my gestating sows twice a day. I built it from salvage material for less than $600," says Steve Moeckly, Polk City, Iowa. The automatic feeding system is mounted inside a 100-ft. long, 6-ft. wide open-sided shed that has a concrete floor. A pair of enclosed 2-in. dia. augers ex-tend the length of the building - one positioned above a series of feed hoppers and one below. The top auger is powered by a 3/4 hp electric motor that's wired up to a time clock. It delivers feed twice a day from a bin at one end of the shed to downspouts that fill the steel feed hoppers spaced at 4-ft. intervals. The lower auger mounts along the bottom of the hoppers and drops feed through small holes - spaced between the feed hoppers - onto the floor. "It takes most of the work out of feeding sows and lets them all eat at the same time so they all get the same amount of feed," says Moeckly, who has an 80-sow farrow-to-finish operation. "I had been using a 5-gal. bucket to feed but that always caused a brawl at feeding time and the strongest sows would get more to eat. "I bought the feeding system from a neighbor for $500. My neighbor finishes hogs and switched to a continuous feeding system. However, a limit feeding system works great for me because my gestating sows need only about 41/2 lbs. of feed per day. "I can vary the amount of feed in the hoppers by adjusting the length of each downspout. Each hopper holds 12 lbs. of feed when full, but I can adjust the amount down to as little as 2 lbs." Moeckly salvaged the time clock from an old refrigerator. He simply changes the position of pins inside the clock whenever he wants to change feeding times. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Steve Moeckly, 11380 N.W. 44th St., PolkCity, Iowa 50226 (ph 515 984-6652).

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