Entire Hog Farm Operation... for free...

texican · #1 03/06/10, 09:11 PM

A few weeks ago I posted in the SEP subforum about discovering an unsecured megacache of survival goods... There were tons of stuff there... unfortunately, I'm an honest person. I made some contacts with local officials, and have finally discovered the person I need to contact... possibly this next week if I get down there again...

Anyhow. This hog barn 'cache' isn't secured... it's get over there and 'get it'... with the owners permission.

Last weekend my BIL and I went to his momma's place to get some round bales. The hay was year fore last, but I need some to build up an area in my orchard. I'd been over at their place half a dozen times, and "knew" that they raised hogs growing up. BIL will kill a hog and butcher it, but getting him to eat it is a mighty hard chore {they had to eat pork all the time, as when one got injured or died, they had to stop what they were doing, and butcher it}. I knew they had a hog farm, but had never got out and looked at their old operation.

Last month or so, I've been thinking about building a grain storage area, a small silo to put bulk feed in. One thing or another kept getting in the way of me building it.

When we were through loading the hay I asked about the silo's... We drove out there in the tractor (200 yds from his mom's home). There were three huge silos, I'd say 8'x20, possibly 30' tall. Smaller on, about 6'x20', two final feed bin silos inside the barn where ground feed was stored, 6x10. About a dozen 'feeders' 4' around and 6' tall. Two commercial feed mill grinders. Diesel tanks. 6x10x6 movable bin, dozens of pipes with augurs... My head started swimming. I made passing notice of rolls of net wire everywhere...

I knew he was the eldest son, and sidled up to how much he might take for some of the small portable feed bins... he wanted to know what I need em for... told him I wanted bulk grain storage... He said why not get one of the big silos and just take off the upper rings and replace the cap. I finally asked how much he wanted, or thought his momma would want for some of it. He said nothing... no one had been out there for over twenty years... BIL and siblings had stored old engines and transmissions in the 1000 hog barn. Said his momma didn't want anything to do with any of it.

So now I'm in the thinking stage... have a cutting torch to cut off recalcitrant rusted bolts. The silos are bolted down on concrete pads. I could throw the feeders in the back of the truck or a trailer, without heavy tools. I've got to figure out the best way to get a silo down, without destroying it. Be nice if I could take the bolts off the four supports, and pull it over with a winch (having another cable behind it to try and control the fall. I don't have a ladder tall enough to undo all the sections and drop them to the ground individually.

Anyone moved one of these puppies?

I'm going to look at the feed mills next time I'm over there, and see if it's even feasible to get them out of the barn, without taking down a wall, and whether they're worth rebuilding.

Big Dave · #2 03/06/10, 09:33 PM

Lot of work Bro. Seems as though are the man for the job. Knew a guy who built a house a top a silo. His was some sort of ceramic blocks. Good fortune to ya.

DENALI · #3 03/06/10, 10:01 PM

I have watched grain bins being moved and they always dismantled them for the most part. They are none to sturdy when freed from their foundations. Good luck though!

oneokie · #4 03/06/10, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

So now I'm in the thinking stage... have a cutting torch to cut off recalcitrant rusted bolts. The silos are bolted down on concrete pads. I could throw the feeders in the back of the truck or a trailer, without heavy tools. I've got to figure out the best way to get a silo down, without destroying it. Be nice if I could take the bolts off the four supports, and pull it over with a winch (having another cable behind it to try and control the fall. I don't have a ladder tall enough to undo all the sections and drop them to the ground individually.

Anyone moved one of these puppies?

You are on the right path to get them down. I would suggest two cables to control the lowering to reduce the risk of a leg buckling and letting it fall to the side. Also make sure you have good bracing on the 2 legs that will bear the weight on the way down.

Once on the ground, one can pull a trailer beside the bin and run a chain/cable from the trailer, under the bin, and back over the top and use a vechicle/tractor/winch to roll the bin onto the trailer.

I moved 2 twenty ton capicity hopper bottom bins from NW Arkansas to SE Oklahoma using the above method.

ozark mike · #5 03/06/10, 10:12 PM

hey Texican, pm me with your phone number or email address, and I would rather explain by phone to know that you understand... remember it can only fall one way and that is down, and I will tell you how to take the silos down if they are concrete stave style... if wood just cable it down... concrete there is a trick that we use... mike

FarmboyBill · #6 03/06/10, 10:23 PM

Now, Im assumeing your talking about metal grain bins Tex. Am I right??

ozark mike · #7 03/06/10, 10:38 PM

Farm Boy, he said silo... they are wood or concrete... grain bins are not silos... but he did mention bins too

Ken Scharabok · #8 03/06/10, 10:52 PM

Metal grain bins are put up and taken down using jacks. One layer is bolted together and the top put on. It is then jacked up and another layer built under it. The top is then set on the now bottom ring, the jack adjusted and the bin raised again for another ring.

rambler · #9 03/07/10, 01:28 AM

There are regional differences on these things, so lets be sure we are talking the same thing.

Silo 'here' stores green chopped cattle feed, and would not be on a hog farm. they are made of concrete, or blue metal panels with fiberglass coating on them.

'Grain bin' is a big 1000 to 500,000 bu glavanized metal bin to hold bulk grain.

'Feedbin' or 'bulkbin' is a glavanized or painted white metal bin with a cone-shaped bottom that holds 50-1000 bu stands on metal legs to hold it up.

Silos don't move well, the blue steel ones they will move whole if it is a smaller size, with a special trailer you raise up, strap onto the silo, and tilt down.

A Grain bin you can move whole if it is small, or take several layers of tin off and move the top whole, if 20 feet or less in width. Bin movers have rigs to move 30 foot units whole, or will split in 1/2 to drop down upon itself & move it mostly whole.

Feedbin you can tilt over with a cable or big loader onto a trailer & haul it away whole.

--->Paul

ozark mike · #10 03/07/10, 02:43 AM

Rambler, I spent 51 years in your state before moving to Arkansas 12 years ago and was a elevator operator at a local coop up there. we had hog farmers that did use silos for high moisture corn... but they were the big blue harvester silos

texican · #11 03/07/10, 11:23 PM

Reckon these would technically be grain bins... galvanized, two or three foot sections, bolted together. Supported off the ground with steel L braces, bolted onto concrete pads.

I'm probably a few weeks out from even going back... I wrenched my knee a few days ago, and most of the time it's being ok, but if I stress it, it's like getting a 'break' with each move.

My normal rule for scrounging is to get it while the gettings good. Postponing is a surefire way to lose the goods. Luckily, this is with family, so the hurry factor isn't there.

I've seen em raise huge silage silos, by jacking them up... wonder if I could duplicate the process in reverse... will have to look into jacks processes...

Ozark Mike, I'll get a hold of you, if I decide to go after one of the big ones.

To get a big un, I'd really need to have a slab poured here at the house...

dezingg · #12 03/07/10, 11:48 PM

Our local water tank installer has truck with a tilt bed, that has a winch and boom on the top edge of the bed. They hire out to folks who want to move water tanks.

But a 20' dia by 30' high 'tank' seems larger than any one-piece water tank that I've seen, so I doubt that this idea will help any.

Ken Scharabok · #13 03/08/10, 12:53 AM

I believe he said it was 8' by 20-30' tall.

What are the roads like between where you are and where they you would want them? Might it be possible to hire a crane to come in, lift off the top half, place it on a flatbed trailer, drive it to your site and set it aside. Then go back for the bottom, which would go directly on your slab, followed by the top half being placed back upon it.

Can you find a brand name or dealer decal on them? If so, call them and ask how they might be relocated.

rambler · #14 03/08/10, 10:44 AM

I did notr know anyone fed high-moisture corn to hogs around here. Learn something new all the time!

Kinda odd dimentions for a grain bin, skinny & tall.

You can hire a crane or telehandler, attach tot he top, split the bin about 10 feet up, take a seam apart up one side on the lower 1/2.

Set the lower 1/2 on a trailer, spread it a bit or squeeze it a bit, and slip the top 1/2 down on it. Tie it good (4x4 across the top opening, chain down to the middle of the trailer), and reverse to set it up when you get where going.

Rent/ make 3 bin jacks (tripod of metal pipe about 8 feet tall, with a cable winch on it, plate with holes to go in 4-7 holes on the side of the bin). Use the 3 jacks to lift bin, take a ring off the bottom, set down. Repeat. Shouldn't need to do more than 2 rings?

Back a car trailer under the rest of the bin, tie it down, haul to new place, and reverse process.

A $150 electric wrech (or air if you have that) is well worth the money for taking apart. One person inside with a wrench, one outside with the electric to zip out the bolts.

--->Paul

DaleK · #15 03/08/10, 12:11 PM

Entire Hog Farm Operation... for free... - Homesteading Questions

Assuming you mean something like my bin in the foreground only maybe a bit taller. It's 8'x15'ish. I got it about 12 miles away, tied a chain on the top of the ladder, hooked it onto the loader bucket, cut the bolts off at the foundations and pushed it slowly over with the loader, kinda pushing sideways. They aren't as heavy as you'd think, I wrapped the chain around the bin once it was lying on the ground and it was an easy lift up onto my flatbed wagon. It's on two 5" steel pipes for skids, holds about 6 tons.

I'd take a closer look at the bins first though. Depends what they were putting in which bin and how they were mixing but any bins for hog feed around here are rusted out completely within about 15 years. I'd bet they're in worse shape inside than they look.

FarmboyBill · #16 03/08/10, 12:29 PM

Im with u R. I never knew anyone feeding silage to hogs , but noone had silow around here, and further away they only used them to feed cattle. I would imagine it was done tho, as I do know they fed stover to hogs, and thats nothing but the whole stalk. By here I mean back home in NE Kans. Nobody grows corn hardly round here, , Okieland and nobody around here hardly has hogs. I know one farmer who raises corn, and one rancher who raises hogs. Neither does the opposite

texican · #17 03/08/10, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleK

Assuming you mean something like my bin in the foreground only maybe a bit taller. It's 8'x15'ish. I got it about 12 miles away, tied a chain on the top of the ladder, hooked it onto the loader bucket, cut the bolts off at the foundations and pushed it slowly over with the loader, kinda pushing sideways. They aren't as heavy as you'd think, I wrapped the chain around the bin once it was lying on the ground and it was an easy lift up onto my flatbed wagon. It's on two 5" steel pipes for skids, holds about 6 tons.

I'd take a closer look at the bins first though. Depends what they were putting in which bin and how they were mixing but any bins for hog feed around here are rusted out completely within about 15 years. I'd bet they're in worse shape inside than they look.

They're like the one in the foreground. I'd never have need for one of the larger ones... I spent two years in high school working summers, filling a similar large one, with silage... don't think I want to get that big.

I could use two for grain storage. Talked with my fulltime farming/ranching uncle the other night, and he might be interested in one or two of the four available. Which would be great, as he has more tractors than I do, as well as access to a backhoe, which could be useful in maneuvering the bins onto trailers.

ozark mike · #18 03/08/10, 02:57 PM

Farmboy, silage and high moisture corn are in no way the same product... high moisture corn is just that, usually 20% moisture shelled corn and higher %..... silage is everything... ears and stock field chopped while still in the immature stage before denting begins...

haypoint · #19 03/09/10, 10:30 AM

If you can bolt some 2x6s across the inside of the bins, they won't be as likely to colapse when laid on its side.

Someone inside with a socket wrench and someone outside with an air impact wrench will seperate the sections, a ring at a time is the best way.

stef · #20 03/09/10, 11:34 AM

[QUOTE=texican;4316044]A few weeks ago I posted in the SEP subforum about discovering an unsecured megacache of survival goods... There were tons of stuff there...

unfortunately, I'm an honest person.

"Unfortunately, I'm an honest person."

Would that your affliction were contagous.

stef