Pen Gestation Conversion using Electronic Sow Feeders

摘要

There are, in general, five types of pen gestation housing for sows, which are determined by way of feeding rather than by housing. The 5 most common are:1. Floor feeding: Feed is dropped on the floor, competition for feed, no individual feeding, low investment costs.2. Cafeteria style feeding: Sows are housed in a separate pen and are brought once a day to a group of stalls to be fed. No competition for feed, limited individual feeding, low investment costs, very labor intensive.3. Trickle feeding with shoulder stalls: Sows are fed with shoulder stalls typically in small groups where the feed is dispensed at the rate of the slowest eating sow. Some competition for feed, no individual feeding, average investment costs similar tostalls, in most cases easy to convert to from stalls. Typically very small groups of sows with equal condition.4. Self-locking stalls or free access stalls: Sows are fed in a stall and have free access to the stalls. During feeding, sows are locked into the stall.No competition for feed, no individual feeding, high space requirement, high investment costs. 5. Electronic Sow Feeding (ESF): Sows have a RFID tag and are recognized individually and fed by a feed station. No competition for feed, individual feeding, large groups, average investment costs (similar to stalls).ESF has, in my opinion, the best potential to further improve productivity. Not only is the computerized individual feeding of sows a great tool to maintain body condition, and therefore, to improve piglet production, it also has a lot of potential to further assist in and optimize sow management because automatic sorting, spray marking or heat detection can be added to the system.