Pig Shelter

The pig shelter is most of the way completed.  It is such a work of art.  J did a wonderful job designing it (in his head, no less) and bringing it to fruition.  And all for a pretty reasonable price (about $200).

The shelter is built on six 4x4 posts that are concreted into the ground.  It peaks in the center so that you can stand comfortably inside.  The trusses are all custom cut and are braced all the way across.  The sides are framed with 2x4s on the inside to withstand the pressure of an itchy pig.  The outside and roof is done with corrugated sheet metal (something we already had here on the ranch).

There are two doors on the entry side.  One door is meant to access the piglet side, the other door is meant to access the momma side.  Inside, we will have a grill that allows the piglets to run from side to side, but not the momma.  This is mainly so that the piglets can scurry out of the way when Ruby decides to lie down.  One of the most common ways to lose a piglet is due to a mother crushing one when lying down.  We haven't put this in yet, but will eventually add it.  We stopped working on it when the outer shell was complete because Ruby seemed insistent that we stop.  Her barking and growling was not conducive to finish work.

Ruby seems to have adopted the "piglet" side of the shelter at the moment, but she has free reign of the whole thing.  And she looks like she's content to wander in and out of it.  Now I just need J to build another one for the goats, and a modified version for Jaws.

Oh, and we need another chicken coop and a horse shelter...