Swine Housing The majority of pigs today are

Swine Housing The majority of pigs today are raised in total confinement

Confinement Production l What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of raising swine in confinement?

Advantages l Less labor per cwt of pork produced l A more stable environment l Fewer parasites l Less disease problems l Increased productivity

Disadvantages l Buildings and equipment are very expensive l Energy costs l Reproductive problems l Waste disposal

Waste Handling l Manure disposal is a critical part of raising pigs in total confinement (3 -4 T/200 lb hog/yr. l Typical methods of handling waste in confinement buildings include: l Gutter flush to a lagoon l Manure pit l Mechanical scraper

Floors in Swine Buildings l Solid concrete l Partially slotted l Total slotted l Expanded metal l Plastic coated expanded metal l Plastic

Farrowing Facilities l In the past individual farrowing houses were quite common when sows and pigs were raised on pasture l Today most farrowing houses are ‘central’ in design. l Central farrowing houses consist of one or more rooms that accommodate groups of sows

Farrowing House Continued l Most producers use farrowing crates l Years ago the majority of sows were kept in individual pens prior to and after farrowing l Crates are preferred today because they result in more pigs weaned per litter

Nursery Facilities l Nursery barns often contain several rooms with each room designed to accommodate the number of pigs from an individual farrowing room l Small pens designed to handle 6 to 8 pigs are very common although some pens may be large enough to handle 16 to 25 pigs

Nursery Building Continued l The facilities are designed to provide a fairly stable environment l These facilities may be designed to accommodate 3 week old pigs or perhaps 10 d old pigs l Supplemental heat is provided via heat lamps, radiant heaters or perhaps heat in the floor

Grow-Finish Facilities l Environmentally enclosed (totally enclosed) buildings are the most popular today l Open-front buildings popular in the 60 s l Modified open front (MOF) buildings were popular in the 80 s l Hoop buildings are the most recent l Space requirements of 8 -10 sq. ft. /hd for G-F

Waterers l Nipple waterers are very popular in confinement l Water cups are also popular l Some buildings (particularly gestation buildings) may use a concrete feed trough as a place to provide water after feeding l Rule-of-thumb = provide one waterer/15 pigs

Feeding Equipment l Self feeders are generally used for nursery and grow-finish pigs l Breeding stock are generally limit fed via floor feeding or in self feeders l Pigs per feeder space range from 2 for nursery pigs to 4 -5 for finishing pigs.

Terms you should know l Segregated early weaning (SEW) l Split-sex feeding l Phase feeding l Multiple-site systems l All-in-all-out (AIAO)

Terms defined l SEW = refers to weaning the pigs at 10 -14 days of age when they are still protected from diseases via passive immunity from the mother’s milk. These pigs are removed from the sow and placed in a separate building.

Terms continued l Split-sex feeding = refers to feeding gilts and barrows separate since gilts are normally leaner than barrows and as a result have a higher protein requirement. l Phase Feeding = refers to frequent changes in the diet to more closely meet the specific nutrient requirements for various weight groups.

Terms continued l Multiple-site systems = generally refers to having a different location for breedinggestation-farrowing versus nursery versus grower-finishing. l AIAO = refers to a management system where all animals from a particular building or room are moved in and out on the same day.