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Is it possible to produce pigs profitably while still meeting their natural needs and minimising environmental pollution? Yes, it is! Big Dutchman’s PureLine products offer practical solutions for sow management, piglet rearing and pig finishing.

Animal welfare solutions: a small selection

Pens for pig finishing and rearing without slatted floors and slurry pits, but with littered lying areas and a comfortable climate: what sounds like a vision of the future has already been introduced to the market by Big Dutchman with the new Havito welfare barn and the pig toilet PigT.

The innovative housing concept works with functional areas that meet the pigs’ needs. Every pen contains a “dining room”, a “bedroom", a “playroom” and of course the “bathroom” with toilet.

Faeces and urine are immediately separated by the PigT pig toilet. A plastic belt, part of the pen floor, removes the manure from the pen at regular intervals. The urine is collected in a pan. The result: urine and manure are separated immediately after defecation, which means there are nearly no ammonia emissions.

Xaletto is a profitable management system for piglet rearing and pig finishing on straw in closed housing. The basis of this animal-friendly and environmentally sound method are a special ventilation system, a specifically developed feed type, and a compost activator. The Xaletto concept puts an end to unpleasant odours from pig houses because there is no slurry and the manure can be composted.

Thanks to a new type of climate control, moisture is constantly removed from the straw bedding. Adding an activator starts an aerobic decomposition process, i.e. cold composting below 40 degrees Celsius.

The straw layer thus remains very low, much less bedding is required in the barn, and water is removed from the straw that has been spread. Nitrogen and ammonia are bound, cannot be emitted and thus do not enter the environment. Aerobic bacteria decompose the manure.

Of course the Big Dutchman product range also includes proven concepts to equip open barns, where the closed area inside the barn is connected to an open-air run. In combination with the pens in the barn, the open-air run contributes to a clear distinction between the different functional areas: lying, eating and activity and an area for defecating. The pigs are thus offered additional incentives to move and play.

Pigs need diversion. They have to drink, feed and rest – but they also need to be active during the remaining time and will search for diversion. Big Dutchman therefore offers solutions to provide manipulable material, such as holders for chewing sticks or scratching posts, but also manual and automatic roughage dispensers. These dispensers deliver and offer organic manipulable material to the pigs as easily as possible. Examples include straw feeders, racks and pellet feeders.

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