Nick MacIvor, consultant at AM Warkup, outlined his views on the development of the delivery system over the years and why the industry needs clear information to inform future decisions.

During these confinement periods, my mind turned to the most popular confinement story in the pig industry.

The development of farrowing systems is one of the most complex, because the overall requirement is to meet the needs of sows and piglets. To understand where we are currently, we must understand where we have been.

I observed for the first time that childbirth was carried out in a solid floor fence covered with straw, with the most advanced anti-extrusion bars around the fence. Large white sows gave birth to 7 of them, 4 survived and weaned at 8 weeks. It was 1960.

Last November, I visited a farrowing house with 30 sows. Each batch of sows is in a fully slatted, environmentally controlled room, and each sow is confined to the farrowing box for 27 days from birth to weaning. There are on average less than 14 piglets per weaned sow in this batch, and the average weight of each piglet is almost the same as that of similar piglets in 1960.

You may think this is not a fair comparison. I admit that it is quite selective, but please remember that each sow of the top indoor unit can produce 12-15 pigs per year. Today, this number is More than twice as much. Although sows are still unrestricted, systems such as Solari fences (a single pitch box with a rear crawl zone) have proven popular for some time.

Further developments occurred in the late 1960s, including early farrowing houses. Two longitudinal nests are located on both sides of a central narrow box, used to restrain the sows. They are all made of plywood and lined up in a row. There are channels at the front and back for feeding and cleaning.

Steel bars quickly replaced plywood, providing greater visibility, and closely followed by crates in pens, crates for sows, and pens for piglets.

This principle has been refined many times and still applies today. Some improvements represent an important step forward. The slats behind the sow and the cold side slats are adapted to the piglet’s defecation habits, and finally the full slat system with integrated heating pad.

The farrowing bar is also evolving-the Ritchie bar and its successor, the NPD floating rail box, are still the most popular today, and its sophisticated competitor, the Proctor hydraulic bar, all claim to have a good nipple display. Finger strip crates, whose vertical fingers have always been another option.

The genetic ability of sows continues to improve, can produce more piglets, and their viability improves, which means that increasing the total nutrient intake of sows has become more and more important.

Automatic feed distribution with wet or dry feed may and often causes the sow to face up, thereby suppressing appetite, and the result is that the food becomes sour or spoiled. Separate trough-mounted sensors are used for wet feeding. For dry feeding, simple sow-operated wheel distributors or more expensive but efficient Gestal systems solve these problems.

These solutions, coupled with buildings that are easy to clean and clean and environmentally efficient, can now keep up with the growing demands of sows and the industry.

The story up to this point is linear and straightforward. Except it's not like that at all. This production line has some twists and turns, and the farrowing equipment and layout from time to time reflect an attempt to resolve the tension between the "ideal" requirements of live pigs and commercial needs.

Icardan's spring plastic mushrooms

Almost every pig show did not show new solutions, from the clever to the weird, they were all shown. I remember that in those years, the concrete farrowing nest of Beacon Trailers, which is now defunct, won a new equipment award, while Ikadan’s spring-loaded giant plastic mushrooms did not control the sow’s prone position.

Some devices rely on good inventory personnel to obtain acceptable results. The farrowing litter can be traced back to the early farrowing box, but the sows are not restricted and almost require continuous monitoring and care.

The outdoor unit does not seem so clever. It mainly relies on the delivery cabinet, sometimes with anti-extrusion railings, and occasionally with a crawling area. The main focus is to improve insulation and service life.

One exception is the detachable four-position outdoor delivery box, which was equipped with crates, creepers and surroundings on Breckland’s early commercial outdoor units.

In addition, I know of at least one attempt to combine an outdoor farrowing ark with a basically indoor unit, when Paul Wright developed a farrowing "village" in the pig unit of Burton Bishop's College. Both have aroused great interest, but commercial success is limited.

Traditional full slat layout with side-opening crates, but only for easy loading

The crate configuration differs between the UK and the rest of Europe. Various slopes and crates that can be opened on one or both sides can be seen everywhere in the European continent, but they are not common here. Although the side-opening crate option is easily available in the UK, it is still not very popular at the moment. This may change as the legislation may change.

So what will happen in the future?

I think the first problem is uncertainty. I found from colleagues and farmers that the uncertain future is both deeply worrying and unacceptable commercially.

The pig industry provides high-quality food, whether in good times or bad times, and often faces unfair and unknowing criticism. History also tells us that what happened in other countries is not necessarily a good indicator of what happened here. Our biggest customers have different requirements from us, which adds to the uncertainty.

It is undeniable that the delivery system is in the spotlight, and time is not on our side. We need to constantly find a solution to meet the best interests of sows and piglets.

We need solutions that are adoptable, practical, and do not kill another part of our production capacity. In the UK, we already have a wider selection of production methods than most people.

We do not lack well-researched systems and equipment. Pig-Safe, developed and tested by a team led by Emma Baxter and Newcastle University (Sandra Edwards) at the Scottish Institute, has attracted worldwide interest and some commercial applications.

The 360-degree system is the work of Martin Barker and his team at Midland Pig Producers. Their idea is to restrict the sows during farrowing and within a few days after farrowing, but place them in the traditional crate area. On the ground area. Open the crate after the initial high coverage risk is over.

Both require a free delivery certificate, but the space requirements are quite different. The former’s more than seven square meters is in sharp contrast with 360’s four and a half square meters.

If we adopt the requirement of 6.5 million new buildings announced by Germany, where will 360 sit? Other companies, including Warkup, have also developed their own solutions.

I think none of these systems are right or wrong, but they are all viable options and worthy of consideration.

In fact, most people in our industry recognize that enough space is needed, but back to the current popular saying-it must be based on science. Any changes must also have a sufficient period of adoption to maintain business viability.

NPA has eloquently resolved and raised the issue surrounding the farrowing box. In their briefing document to Lord Goldsmith, they cited examples of farmers making construction decisions based on supply contracts, which were subsequently revoked.

This is nothing new, and it happened before it caused the frustration and reasonable anger of a relatively small number of people. Ominously, both this and previous examples involve “rules” of childbirth.

The problem this time is that decisions that affect the entire industry will be made. Without clear guidance, future-oriented childbirth accommodation will lead to confusion and errors.

Farmers are seeking clear guidance to inform current and future decisions. As guardians of animal welfare, they have unlimited flexibility in balancing real welfare with commercial needs.

They realize that nothing is static and that change is inevitable. On this most important issue, sanity must prevail with a viable combination of flexibility and desire to represent the best results for sows and piglets-and a road map is urgently needed and quickly developed.

For mothers and children, birth is never completely stress-free. In this era, when we try to imprint human feelings and values ​​on animal behavior so frequently, we must remember what the real problem is and what freedom really means.

If the price is competitive, are you willing to feed your pigs insect protein?

© 2016 Lewis Business Media. all rights reserved. Lewis Business Media, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

Terms and Conditions | Privacy and Cookie Policy | Refund Policy Poultry Industry News | Farm Business