Dr. Don Levis - What Are The Major Group Sow Housing Designs?

SOW HOUSING SEMINAR2013 PORK ACADEMY

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Donald G Levis, Ph.D Harold Gonyou, Ph.D. Ronald O. Bates, Ph.D.

Levis Worldwide Swine Consultancy

Prairie Swine Centre(retired)

Michigan State Univ.

Lincoln, NE 68526-9486 Saskatoon, SK, Canada E. Lansing, MI

Email:donlevis@Hotmail.com

Email: harold.gonyou@usask.ca

Email:batesr@msu.edu

Outline for Sow Housing Seminar

• Objectives of the seminar

Brief description of the main types of group-housing systems

General factors involved with deciding which group-housing system to use

Overview of retrofitting project

Retrofitting an existing individual stall gestation facility into:– Electronic sow feeding facility

– Short-stall feeding facility

Comparison between ESF and short-stall system2

Sow-group housing systems

• Noncompetitive feeding system

– Electronic sow feeder

– Free-access stalls (self or caretaker locked)

– Cafeteria feeding with lockable feeding stall

• Competitive feeding systems

– “Short” feeding stalls (Trickle feeding; Traditional drop box)

– Full-body length stalls (non-lockable)

– Floor feeding

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Electronic sow feeder (ESF) system

4Photo: Jeff Schoening / AP

Resting bay

Sows enter

Sortsows

Water

Sortalley

Protectedfeeder

Feed delivery

This specific system:Feeds up to 80 sows per stationFeed two different diets & top dressTo establish a “day” for the sows, feeder is closed 4 to 6 hours per 24-hour period

Electronic sow feeder (ESF) system

5Photo: Jeff Schoening / AP

Individual stalls for weaning, breeding and early gestation

Electronic sow feeder (ESF) system

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Multiple feeders can be used to fit the number of sows in the pen.

Photo: Nedap Livestock Management Systems

Free-access stall (locked rear gate)

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“I” Configuration with front alley

Photo: Prairie Swine Centre (Canada)

Free-access stall (locked rear gate)

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“L” Configuration with front alley

Photo: Dr. Niels-Peder Nielsen (Denmark)

Minimum = 9’10”

Free-access stall (locked rear gate)

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“T” Configuration (ease of cleaning floor)

Photo: Egebjerg International / Axel Sogaard (Denmark)

Trickle feeding (non-gated feeding method)

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Top auger fills feed drop boxBottom auger slowly turn to dispense 0.17 to 0.44 pounds of feed per minute (eating time: 15 to 30 minutes)

Partition length• Head• Shoulder• Half-body• Full-body with

no rear gate

Feeding spacewidthIf shoulder:18 to 22 inches

Floor feeding

11Photo: Prairie Swine Centre (Canada)

Feed drops in bays.

Slattedfloor

Feed drop 2

Feed drop 1

Cafeteria feeding

• High amount of staff time is needed for feeding sows

• Potential for injury

of sows and staff

• Requires patient staff

• Can top-dress feed

• Feeder management

needed; unequal

number sows per pen;

different sow body

condition between

pens

12Lee Whittington, Prairie Swine Centre (Canada)

Choosing a group-housing system involves:

• Investment costs

• Ability of housing system and management to maintain a high level of the sow’s health and welfare

• Ease of performing daily management practices

• Labor requirement and availability of skilled labor

• Feeding system (major factor to consider)– Competitive while eating

– Non-competitive while eating

• Method of housing (static vs dynamic)

• Reproductive performance

• Overall simplicity of the system

• Not one system fits all situations13

Overview of remodel project

• 2,500-sow unit

• Goal is to produce 1,000 weaned pigs per week

• Farrowing ~108 sows per week

• Breeding 120 per week

• Breeding-gestation facility– 79 ft wide x 492 ft long (interior dimensions)

– 4 cross-over alleys

– 720 breeding-gestation stalls (2 ft x 7 ft)

– 1192 gestation stalls (2 ft x 7 ft)

– 239 stalls per row; 8 rows of stalls

– Partially slatted floor

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36" feed alley

36" feed alley

36" a

lley

36" feed alley

36" feed alley

36" feed alley

7’

2’

7’

7’

7’

7’

7’

7’

3’

2’

2’

2’

7’

3’

3’

3’

3’3

9.5

’3

9.5

’

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BEFORE

AFTER

Courtesy of AP

Typical floor plan for a partially slatted breeding-gestation stall building. How can this facility be modified for use with a group-housing system that uses ESF or short-length feeding stalls? Is the raised feeding alley a problem?

Overview of remodel project

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Factors to consider when remodeling

• Feeding/Housing System

• Stay within the present building shell or expand

• Work with the present feeding system

• Floor space allocation per sow

• Number of sows per pen

• #Boar pens

• Size and configuration of relief space

• Number of relief spaces

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Nutritional Care of Group-Housed Sows

• Electronic Sow Feeding

Specify amount of feed offered to each sow each day

Can modify diet fed

Can change daily feed intake based on body condition, body size and stage of gestation

Provides a daily report that indicates which sows did not completely eat their previous day’s allotment of feed or did not eat any feed.

Potential feed savings18

Feeding method with most control of daily

feed intake and diet

Nutritional Care of Group-Housed Sows

• “Short-length”, non-gated feeding stalls

Allocate feed volume to average body weight of

sows in the pen?

Use of multiple pens for the same breeding group

can improve feed allocation requirements per pen

(body weight; body condition score)

Gilts

Small & thin sows

Big Sows 19

Feeding method with “partial” control of

daily feed intake and diet

Nutritional Care of Group-Housed Sows

In any competitive feeding system, dominant sow(s)

have opportunity to “steal” feed from other sows.

• Short-length feeding stall

• Non-gated, full-body length free access

feeding/resting stall

• Floor feeding

• Trickle feeding

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Conclusion

Factsheets and the accompanying webinars for the Group Sow Housing project can be found at:

www.pork.org/sowhousing

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