Method and means for quasi ad-libitum feeding for gestation sows in loose housing

摘要

A gestation sow feeding system has a sow bedding enclosure, a gated scale weighing station, an alley connecting the scale weighing station with two separate feeding pens having entry and exist gates, and a bypass gate connecting the alley and the bedding enclosure. The traffic of sows through the system is monitored and controlled by a computer which controls the gates of the system, measures the weight and average daily gain of each sow weighed, and directs the weighed sow to the feeding pen for a ration of feed to permit the sow to adjust to a targeted average daily weight stored in the computer.