Your welcome to try it that way, I have used shaving in the past and to keep the pigs clean outside the shaving do not do it and they get wet and stick to the pigs. Also shaving are either bought by the $6 bag up here or by the truck load at $500 per load so cost over time it wasnt going to work. Also the pigs rut the shavings and then try to lift the fence, they dont get out if you repair it yearly or keep the fence buried but after a few years you see the fence in the ground up here will rust and decay and I dont like that either since then you have replace it. We have seen the gravel and the pigs occasion get sores for the gravel depending on the size, also the gravel is hard to keep clean, after a year of so the manure on it is mess and you cant clean it. So if you like give it a try, I am not a fan of either of those methods up here in the north country.

yes most pigs are raised on slatted concrete floors, since they like to get into the mud and dirty and up root fences to get out. We find the advantage of cleaner and cooler pigs on it in the summer is better then loose pigs, huge warrler holes and such=)

You might think that but feed lasts really well it in, doesnt get wet so mold isnt issue and since the pigs move it every day they really go through it. I say about 1500lb of feed in it lasts about just under 3 months is about how much they are going through now and if that was in bags that be 50lbs a bag about 30 of them in that mean lifting and moving that 50 lbs bag about every 4 day and whom wants to do that lol

Lol that feed will go stail in 7 days,

We as veterinarians would recommend you get new feed source since if your mash or grind is only lasting 7 days that must be little hot on the TMR. Even most commercial hog feeds in feed stores last 6 months and most co-op ground feeders last a few months in their bags or at the mill for sale.

You will learn. Once you actually grow fat hogs for a living not a hobby, do some research on the ethinal plant, this isn't the 50 s bud that ain't just corn and bean meal no more..but like I said you'll learn when u get some bigger numbers

LOL Been raising hog a lot longer than you think, thank you for the compliment I take it you think we am young in the field. As a DVMs I pretty sure we know feeds since we work with them daily like you. Your feed is going south in 7 days as you said stale then yes you will need a lot hogs eating it fast. But when you work with lesser or smaller farms then we use feeds not at hot as yours and it will lasts a lot longer. Most commercial feeds and many co-op-made feeds can last a lot longer than 7 days (Purina and other feed manufactures would go under if that was the case just due to shipping delays lol. Also just because this feeder has three rings one can add to it doesn't mean that the farm needs them all. This feeder has one ring and we fill it enough to last about 3 months which is half the time the feed lasts (yes our feed can easily last 6 months if dry. This feeder can really handle over 80 hogs if all the rings are on it but if one go ring-less or one ring only and fill correctly the need of the number of hogs on it with longer stable feed then know worries my friend. If you like talk to Osborne and they can walk you through how to use a big wheel feeder in small hog production they help many people each month make their feeders work for them. Many a small american farmers with few personal hogs, new homesteaders or back yard hobby pig feeders like this can use this to help decrease manual labor and allow constant feeding for hogs, we use them often and most clients like them. Hopes this helps.