Page 6 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Key components of weaner pen design
Average Weight (kg)
Space Required (sq m/weaner)
10 or less
0.15
10 – 20
0.20
20 – 30
0.30
30 – 50
0.40
IN the July edition, I wrote about how pre- paring your piglets in the farrowing unit will set them up for optimal gut health for the rest of their lives and assist in reducing the nutritional stress associated with the weaning process.
Dual climate pens allow pigs to create their own local environment.
Nordic
News
by ASHLEY NORVAL
Feeding and manage- ment are of course, keys to achieving healthy pigs and high growth rates, how- ever the environment in which they are raised can often be overlooked.
This is done by put- ting a cover over the pigs bedding area, where the weaners’ own heat produc- tion contributes to heating the room under the cover, allowing the rest of the room to stay relatively low in temperature.
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Of course, the environ- ment should be clean and hygienic to reduce the in- fection pressure applied to the animals, but what I am referring to is the design of the pens and the space allocation for the animals.
unit, where they stay until 30kg, generally 11 weeks old.
The table shows the rec- ommended minimum area for each piglet according to their weight.
The cover should be placed at a height of 70cm, with the opening to the weaners between 40-60cm, as a 10cm lip should be included at the front.
A lot of practical re- search has been done in Denmark by SEGES Danish Pig Research Centre to identify the key components of weaner pen design, which is important for growth and health.
No more than 30 weaners should be penned together and, wherever possible, keep litter mates together to reduce stress and ag- gression.
The gaps in the slatted floor should be no wider than 14mm and the beam width between them at least 50mm.
In modern production sites, these covers are able to be raised and lowered automatically in response to temperature sensors, but a simple winch can also work well if staff are observing weaner behav- iour.
In this issue, I am going to highlight the main physical recommendations of the pen design, as the temperature and feeding recommendations are for a separate article, or two.
Pens should have a length to width ratio of 2:1 and allow for an un- hindered path between the eating and drinking area, resting area and dunging area – so that any animal can move around where they choose.
Usually, the solid flooring is at the furthest end from the aisleway and provides comfort- able resting areas for the weaners.
It is important in these systems that the creep does not become too hot, as piglets will dung in the wrong area and cause hy- giene issues that are hard to stop.
In standard Danish pro- duction systems, piglets are weaned at four weeks and moved into the weaner
If this is the case, the lip should be no higher than 15cm to allow pigs to easily step over it.
Nipple drinkers ensure water is always fresh whereas bowls can attract weaners to drink – while they are able to service more animals than nipple drinkers, regular cleaning is critical to manage bowls.
Depending on the pro- duction system, the ani- mals will then either be moved to a grower finisher pen or exported for grow out elsewhere, predomi- nantly Germany.
It is recommended that each pen be one third slatted flooring and the rest solid.
Each weaner should have a minimum space of 0.8sq m under the cover.
Eight hours of light per day should be provided with a luminous intensity of at least 40lux.
In many farms, a small amount of shavings or straw is placed in the solid end, with some installing a lip also to keep the straw in.
Both nipple drinkers and drinking bowls can be used for weaners
The key components of weaner pen design are important for growth and health.
If you would like more detail or specifications, contact me at asno@dan bred.com
Further specifications for the management and installation recommen- dations are available, depending on produc- tion preference, but the key point for both is for a minimum flow rate of 0.5-0.8lpm and provision of cool fresh water.
Cooling systems are rec- ommended to be installed as overhead sprayers, mounted 2m above the floor and set to shower for two to three minutes, three times an hour in summer.
As ‘summer’ is classi- fied as above 18C, I ex- pect that, given the climate difference, there has been far more research done on this aspect in Australia, so I won’t go into further detail here.
I have only highlighted the main points to con- sider in the design of your weaner pen.
APSA 2021 registrations extended
THE eighteenth bien- nial Australian Pig Sci- ence Association con- ference will be run as a hybrid event at the Sofitel in Brisbane on November 15-18, 2021 and virtually using the PheedLoop platform.
As a consequence of
Registrations can be upgraded to face-to-face if the situation improves before November.
Authors will be con- tacted, however all pre- senters will be required to register by September 1.
For more information, visit apsa.asn.au/confer ence
increased uncertainty around travel, virtual registration is now avail- able to all delegates, in- cluding anyone residing in Australia.
In light of the opening of virtual registrations to Australian delegates, early bird registrations have been extended to September 1.
All delegates can stay up to date on relevant travel restrictions within Australia by visiting the various state govern- ment COVID-19 web- sites.
Page 6 – Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2021
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