Fun weekend critter house build

[streetstar]

Impending bad weather has me concerned for my mini pigs, so i needed to upgrade their shelter. Their former shelter was severely damaged by zigging when i should have zagged on my tractor, - so they have been residing under a makeshift lean to constructed of plywood with cedar chips on the ground for bedding.

Off to Lowes - utilized the sheet stock stacking feature in my Tacoma's bed for the first time -- bedsides have cutouts to slip in a couple of lengths of 2x6's so 4' wide sheets can lay flat in the smallish bed -- most trucks have some variation of this feature i think



The last structure i conventionally stick built it - 16" OC framing and a peaked roof covered with laminate shingles --- it was extremely heavy for its size , so i started thinking about alternate methods and decided to laminate some structural foam core panels together with siding for exterior and 1/4" OSB facing the interior








Floor is just 3/4" OSB TG on top of 4x4 skids --- I have a curious helper





The 2x4's are there to give fastening points in the corners



This one wil stay on this deck and out of harm;'s way from errant tractor tomfoolery .

Ran out of daylight and will update this thread when 100% finished but a sheet of 3/4" TG forms the roof -- the plan is to place a 2" thick layer of foam up there and cover with TPO commercial roofing material that is perimeter adhered and i will place a large eyehook in the center for ease of moving around with my loader if need be



And - so far so good -- the laminated "monocoque" style structure is much lighter and easier to scoot around than the old house and the pigs seem to be taking to it well -- happy so far and will be even happier when i update this with a completed roof and final paint !

 

[mike93lx]

How many pigs and how mini are they?

 

[captain14]

Will the shed get a flap for a door?

And does the entry need to face south like other livestock sheds I’ve seen.

Good project. Did you have to explain to the occupants what happened to their previous abode?

 

[stinkity stoink]

nice Job and definitely does not look like some kind of eyesore. I Just thought little pigs preferred brick houses .

 

[In The Doghouse]

Yeah, looks nice but hope it isn't so light that it blows away. There's a historical documentary about that happening.

 

[PCustoms]

Yeah, looks nice but hope it isn't so light that it blows away. There's an historical story about that happening.

Brick may have been a better material!

 

[mrb1]

Cool. I gotta check, but is this the same feller that started a thread lookin' for pork chop recipes the other day?

 

[streetstar]

How many pigs and how mini are they?

Just the 2 sisters in the photo --- taking an educated guess by trying to boost her up on the porch that the smaller black piggy is around 75 lbs and her big sister is likely twice that

The adoption of "mini" pigs was a project intended to make my fiance happy (didnt work) and initially they were small enough to spend their first 2 months in a rabbit cage , but the criteria for a mini pig is anything up to 200 lbs --- and if youve ever seen a farm pig that has escaped the slaughterhouse and allowed to grow old -- they can reach impressive numbers (up to a thousand pounds more or less) -- so i guess a 200 pound piggy is small in comparison --- but is still a large , curious, smart and destructive critter

Their toes (hooves) need to be trimmed every 6 months or so and the first time i tried to do it, i recruited a horse farrier to help me . HE didnt have pig experience and it turned into a rodeo of sorts and we failed, but the pigs won my heart over as when i had the the big white piggy (Chloe) held down -- she was squealing like she was facing the hangman's noose --- while the farrier was trying to tend to her back hooves, the little girl (Daisy ) attempted to climb on the farriers back and was actively trying to bite him and trample him

Seeing how these 2 look after each other kind of touched me so i decided that regardless of me and my ex's issues , these 2 have a permanent home with me

 

[streetstar]

Will the shed get a flap for a door?

And does the entry need to face south like other livestock sheds I’ve seen.

Good project. Did you have to explain to the occupants what happened to their previous abode?

Wasnt planning on it - they would destroy a simple flap opening with their track record -- i set the place up with 3 IR red heat lamps hung from the ceiling and i hopped in there on our coldest night to check it out and it was performing very well --- and yes, it is facing south


I apologized to them profusely about the old house -- they didnt listen. But humorously when i hopped in to check the temperature , my big girl grabbed my pants leg and tried to drag me out because she wanted back in , so i guess its a success so far !

 

[streetstar]

Yeah, looks nice but hope it isn't so light that it blows away. There's a historical documentary about that happening.

When i mentioned it being lighter, its still a 4x4 structure made with a sheet of 3/4" TG, 2 sheets of T-111 style siding, 2 sheets of 1/4" ply, some foam, (6) 2x4's and some foam

Guessing it still weighs 200ish pounds . Its reasonably easy to scoot it around on that Trex deck with the 4x4 skids but i may anchor it before spring - wouldnt be a bad idea at all.

 

[paulsomlo]

Guessing it still weighs 200ish pounds . Its reasonably easy to scoot it around on that Trex deck with the 4x4 skids but i may anchor it before spring - wouldnt be a bad idea at all.

Agreed - the idea of pigs flying sounds humorous, but in practice, not a good thing.