Group Housing

Sean Dolan

Newton Pork, LLC.

IPC January 23, 2013

Newton Pork

Built in 19974 rows of 112 gestation stalls for “snake”1 row 48 stalls with pens behind for breeding10 additional pens for gilts, culls, late weaners, lame, etc.2 rows 30 gestation crates for gilts used as “parking lot”

By 2007, something had to be done

•Pre-cast cement water troughs were leaking•Drop tubes rusted up to frame rod•Stall side feet holes oblong•Broken feed boxes•22-inch stalls seemed small

Automated Gestation System (AGS) with trickle feeding system

• Local contractor was a dealer for Schick Enterprises

• If computer went down, still had ability to feed sows

• Could envision how system would work in my mind

Two large pens. Capacity for 185 and 235 respectivelyBig Dutchman chain disk system to fill boxesAP trickle feed system to slowly deliver feed to sows

Printed with permission from Dale Miller

Printed with permission from Dale Miller

How does AGS work?

• All sows are tagged with RFID tags and that number is cross referenced with tattoo

• Both Interrogators are connected via network cable to data module

• Tags, tattoo and group data is stored in data module in office.

• Can access data module with computer using web browser

• Interrogators can perform sorting and marking tasks

•Sows are weaned into breed stalls•Give sows at least one day after standing heat before they are put into pens•Parity 3 sows and above put on one side•Gilts, P1s and P2s on other side•Gilts observe 1st heat in small pens, crated and bred on 2nd heat•Gilts are gestated in crates for about 5 weeks before being put in training pen•After at least 3 weeks in training pen, gilts are moved to large pens

Perceived benefits

• Sows pick to be where they are most comfortable

• Don’t need to do movements to tighten up breed snake

• Use less water…more concentrated manure

• More easily identify sows that need attention, i.e. sick sows don’t leave water court to eat, repeats find the boar when he walks fence line

98 degrees the day this picture was taken!

Challenges

• Training and acclimating gilts to large groups1. One-way gates in isolation

2. Training pen with-in large pen

3. Introduce gilts to feeding\loafing area of large pen

4. Takes about a week to get all gilts to go through sorter on their own

• Constantly adding animals to groups

• Boss sows and aggressive behavior

• Need real-time data in barn

• Removing lame sows and sows in heat quickly

• Vaccinations

• Worker safety