Hog Holder - Castrating Stand
Hog Holder - Castrating Stand
Here are pictures of a home made Hog Holder used for castrating pigs that Marc's father made. The best age to do the pigs would be two weeks old.
Front legs are 39" long, 1 inch x 1 inch x 1/4 inch thick angle iron. Back legs are 42" long made out of the same angle iron. Top frame is 14" square, same angle iron. Bottom frame is 17" square, same angle iron, about 4" from the bottom. There is no brace between the back two legs in order for the hold-down peddle to work.
The holder to put the pigs on is heavy duty 4" PVC pipe 18" long. Make a trough by removing 15" of length 2" deep (half way through). This should be fastened to the top frame near center or slightly off-center to the left. This is bolted with carriage bolts through the frame with 1" overhanging the frame on the back and 3" on the front. Underneath that PVC pipe you will need to weld a 3/8" piece of pipe or something similar for the hold-down mechanism to fasten to. The hold-down mechanism is a rectangle 7" wide and 8" long made from 3/8" rod. It has a loop in the top corner for the rope to go to the peddle. The foot peddle is fastened with a conduit "U" clamp and the peddle is 29" long fastened to the front brace pipe. Attach the rope to the peddle with an "I" bolt thru the peddle half-way down the peddle.
Front view
Back view
Left View
Right View
To put a pig in the stand, hold the pig upside down and shove his nose into the whole section of the PVC pipe, all legs should be in the air. The holding mechanism will hold the back legs towards his belly when you put pressure on the foot peddle. Adjust your rope on the foot peddle so that there's just enough pressure on his legs to hold them towards his belly so that he can't kick. The peddle should be resting on the floor when his legs are held down so that you can't put too much pressure on him. He is now safely secured for his operation. We also give them shots at this time as they're contained safely.
To release, take your foot off the peddle and pull the hold-down mechanism towards you, holding firmly to his back legs. Pick him up by his back legs and place him on the ground. Job well done!!