How to build creep boxes to keep your piglets safe

One of the practices on proper pig management includes the use of creep box, which keeps them safe and warm by housing them in a customized wooden box. This practice prevents the death of piglets from the cold weather or from being crushed by the sow.

This is one of the practices being promoted in a collaborative project by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). The project is titled, “Improving the production and competitiveness of Australian and Philippine pig production through better health and disease control (AH/2012/066).”

To build the creep box, the following materials should be bought: 5 pieces of lumber, one kilo of #1.5 nails, and half kilo of #2 nails, which has an estimated total cost of P670.

Here are the steps to build the creep box:

1. Assemble the lumber to form a box that can fit the piglets. Secure with nails.
2. Create a small opening in the front to allow the piglets to go
How to build creep boxes to keep your piglets safe
in and out.
3. Create a roof using the lumber and build a hole in the middle that can fit a 100-watt incandescent bulb.
4. Make sure that the creep box’s flooring does not touch the floor to prevent water from seeping in.

For more information, visit PCAARRD.

This appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s May 2019 issue.