Pig housing and Facilities Flashcards by Werner Diederiks

Housing of pigs must fulfil various functions namely ?

• Protection against the elements
• Supply feed, water
• Protection against other pigs (prevention of bullying)
• Protection of suckling pigs
• Facilitation of mating
• Caring of the pregnant sow
• Handling and removal of excreta
• Protection against diseases, parasites
• Prevent pollution of surrounding environment
• Provide good working environment for stockmen

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Pigs lose heat to their environment through:

• Radiation
• Conduction (mostly through the contact with the floor)
• Convection (from body surface)
• Latent heat (evaporative water loss from the lungs)

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Name the Five Freedoms:

• Freedom from hunger and thirst
• Freedom from discomfort
• Freedom from pain injury or disease
• Freedom to express most normal behaviour
• Freedom from fear and distress

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Considerations when building a new piggery

• Environmental impact studies
• Animal welfare
• Impact on vehicle traffic
• Distance from closest rural residences etc.

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Factors to consider when selecting a site for a pig
farm:

• Proximity to other farms and dwellings
• Distance from abattoir, feed/raw material suppliers
• Site topography, soil type and drainage
• Local climate
• Water availability
• Farms should be separated by at least 2 km and
preferably 5 km to minimise the risk of disease spread
by wild birds, vermin or airborne (?) transmission

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On the site, the location and orientation of each building will
be affected by the following:

• Orientation. East–west alignment, especially in hot climates
• Prevailing wind direction
• Avoid valley bottoms in cold areas because of frost pockets
• Shelters around pig building interfering with ventilation. The minimum
separation is at least five times shelter height
• Building layout: Layout depends on pig traffic and feeding and manure
systems, with bulk bins sited close to the boundary fence for remote
filling
• Distance between buildings is governed by ventilation requirements
rather than disease transmission and five times building height is the
minimum

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What is the ambient temperature at which pigs are comfortable ?

For pigs >10kg: Tc = 27-0.6H

Tc = Comfort temperature of the animal
H = Heat output

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Effective temperature (Te) affected by:

• Rate of air movement
• Degree of insulation in roof and walls
• Floor type in lying areas

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Cooling of pigs when it is too hot:

• Cooling pads are the most effective way of cooling a
piggery
• Can decrease house temperature with as much as 11°C
using evapo-transpiration cooling
• Decrease number of pigs per pen – all pigs must be able to
lie on side with extra space open
• Provide floor surface with low thermal resistance (solid
concrete floors)
• Increase rate of air movement (ventilation rate)
• Protect from radiant heat (provide insulated roof and walls)
• Paint roofs white
• Use reflective shade cloth, trees
• Wet floors
• Provide water sprays and drips
• Feed food in wet form
Feed nutrient dense feed high in fat

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Heating of pigs:

• Decrease ventilation rate
• Increase stocking density
• Provide suspended/slatted floors
• Keep floors and bedding dry
• Insulate roof and walls
• Provide extra feed
• Provide lower density feeds (higher heat increment)
• Provide supplementary heat

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What is the comfort temperature (Tc) of a piglet ?

30°C

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What is the comfort temperature (Tc) of a sow?

15°C

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What is the metabolic response to cold (Te

• Direct more feed energy from production (growth) to heat
production (cold thermogenesis)

• Body temperature is maintained at the cost of production
and feed efficiency

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What is the Metabolic response to heat (Te>Tc)?

• Feed intake will decrease when pig cannot dissipate heat
into the environment

• Appetite decreases with 1g of feed / kg LW / °C above Tc

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What is the aerial pollutants found in a piggery?

• Dust
• Gases
• Microorganisms
• Inhalable endotoxins produced by microorganisms

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What are the main sources of pig dust ?

• Feed
• Faeces
• Bedding
• Skin

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What is the effect of ammonia concentrations?

• Ammonia is an irritant
• Detectable by humans at 5-50ppm
• Causes irritation of mucous surfaces at 100–500 ppm
after 1 hour
• Lethal at exposure to 10000ppm

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How does endotoxins arise ?

From the breakdown of the outer cell wall
of Gram-negative bacteria

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Are pigs seasonal breeders?

No, Photoperiod has no effect on reproduction

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What is the recommended light intensity and duration?

40 lux

At least 8 hours per day light

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What are the desirable levels of gases in a piggery?

• 3000ppm carbon dioxide
• 0.1ppm hydrogen sulphide
• 10ppm ammonia
• 5mg dust/m3

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What are the main principles of ventilation?

• Negative pressure mostly used to create ventilation

• Positive pressure can be used, but since humid and acid
containing air is forced through all the cavities, the
lifespan of the sheeting and fasteners are severely
reduced

• Smooth ceiling and wall surface important for effective
ventilation

The ventilation system must be able to Control building air temperature by varying the ventilation rate in a well insulated building

• Must create an appropriate airflow pattern

• Ensure that ventilation does not allow dead spots in the house

• Provide acceptable temperature distribution within the piggery

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What is the minimum ventilation rate of a piggery?

0.2m3/hour/kg pig live weight

What is the maximum ventilation rate of a piggery?

2.0m3/hour/kg live weight of pig

What is the rule of thumb when it comes to space in a piggery?

1m2/100 kg of pig weight in an environmentally controlled house with fully slatted floor

What is the group size of pregnant sows?

Less than 10 20–60 animals are possible when using straw-based electronic feeding systems

What management strategies can be used to prevent tail biting?

Provide ‘manipulable’ materials such as straw or secondly provide toys to play with.

What management strategies can be used to prevent tail biting?

Provide ‘manipulable’ materials such as straw or secondly provide toys to play with.

What management strategies can be used to prevent tail biting?

Provide ‘manipulable’ materials such as straw or secondly provide toys to play with.

How much water does a weaner piglet require ?

How much water does a finisher require?

10L

How much water does a dry sow and boar require?

15L

How much water does a lactating sow require?

30L

What should the water pressure in a unit be?

2-3 liters/minute Using nipple system

How much raw manure does a pig produce daily?

8.4 % of body weight

The main pollutants from pig waste are:

Ammonia Phosphorus Nitrate Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)

How many times a day is a weaner fed?

3-4 times a day

How many nipple drinkers should be provided to weaner pigs?

One for every 16 piglets At a flow rate of 1 liter/minute

Describe growers and finishers - Dry Feeding

Dry pellet or meal feeding Ad libitum Automated system with auger and down-pipe delivery from a bulk feed hopper situated outside of the house Trough length of 60-70 mm

How do we regulate feed intake in a grower and finisher dry feeding system?

Regulate the gap at the base of the hopper through which the feed can flow at a limited rate Feed intake can also be limited by increasing the number of pigs per hopper (increase competition) Hoppers can be divided over its length by bars or solid divisions

Describe growers and finishers - Floor Feeding

• Deliver dry feed (pellets or meal) directly onto the floor of the pen • Done either by hand or by an over-head auger and hopper system • The floor must be clean and dry • Feed must be presented frequently (4–8 times) throughout the day to ensure rapid clearance

What are the advantages of growers and finishers - floor feeding?

• Cheapest feeding system • Saving on both equipment (trough expenses) and pen space (allowing another pig or two per pen) • Amount delivered can be controlled, and the pigs’ daily feed allowance allocated as required

What are the disadvantages of growers and finishers - floor feeding?

• High wastage • House atmosphere tends to become dusty • Intakes and therefore growth rates vary between pigs

Describe growers and finishers - Damp Feeding

More readily eaten than that given dry Less wastage Ad libitum feeders can be provided with nipple drinkers over the trough Feed may be placed into the trough in dry form and water added on top

What are the advantages of pipeline wet feeding systems ?

• Freedom of ingredient choice - utilisation of wet feed sources such as milk products, brewery waste, vegetables and by-products from the human food industry • The system can be used either to restrict feed intake (where this is deemed necessary to avoid over-fatness) or to encourage feed intake (where growth rate is to be maximised) • 10–20% higher daily nutrient intakes can be achieved than with dry ad libitum self-feed hopper systems

What are the advantages of dry sows small groups?

all sows eat at the same time easy supervision no training phase needed cost effective

Problems with Electronic Sow Feeders

• Training is needed before a sow can join a group • There can be high levels of fighting between sows • Particularly stressful for new sows in the group • Pigs may spend a significant amount of time queuing for access to a feeder resulting in fights • Dominant sows may block the entrance to the feeder • The feeder station and associated equipment can be expensive to buy • Requires sophisticated mechanical and computer maintenance

Solutions to Electronic Sow Feeder problems

• Keep group size relatively low • Provide ample space per sow • Provide forage (or straw) in addition to the concentrate feed to alleviate hunger and avoid excessively aggressive encounters

Pen requirements depend on:

• House type • Weight at which the pigs move from one type house to the next • Performance of the pigs

How many days is a sow pregnant?

115 days

How many days from weaning to conception?

12 days

How many litters does a sow produce per year?

2.3 litters per year

What is the replacement rate of a herd?

40%

How many boars is needed per 100 sows?

6 boars per 100 sows

What are the major confusion factors in allocating housing?

• Bunching • Variation in growth rates and reproductive performance between batches • Variation in growth rates and reproductive performance within batches