Blog posts tagged with 'swine housing'

In 2005 Dustin Anderson and Paul Anderson came to an agreement on a  venture allowing Dustin to quit his job at the local coop and farm full time. Besides farming 1,500 acres, Paul also serves as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and wanted to devote more time to his political career.   Part of the agreement included each of them constructing a 2,498 head finishing house with Dustin managing the sites.

original sort barn

Dustin explained “The integrator that we fed with at the time spec’ed a sort barn system and we constructed the facilities according to the standard plan. The sort barn was different from what we were used to managing.  The pigs had to be trained to go through the sorting scale for about three weeks, we had to force them through until they learned where the feed was. Even with that type of training there always seemed to be a handful of pigs that refused to go through the sorting scale. They would literally starve themselves to death.  In addition, anytime the pigs became sick, the whole barn would refuse to go into the food court.  We would then have to open up the gates and give them access to the feeders. After a couple of days of that, we would have to retrain them all again!”

“Our death loss was a little higher than we would have like because it was hard to treat individual pigs. The pigs had a half a barn to run around in and giving a shot or separating a pig from the group was a job. The one thing I will say is that the pigs loaded for market like a dream. I could literally load a semi in 15 minutes. The pigs were accustomed to moving around in large pens, and they would run right up into the truck.”

Dustin continued, “Several years ago we changed companies and quickly found out our feed conversion and rate of gain were not measuring up.  In order to compete, we felt we needed to convert to a more typical pen layout.

“We called our local Hog Slat rep, Wade Finch, when we got serious about doing the retro.  Wade measured up the rooms and met with us several times before we decided on a final layout.  We set up the rooms with a center alley and 18 pens measuring 18’8” wide X 23’9” long holding 65 head each.

In addition, we created four “sick pens” that are 9’4” wide.

We also added extra gating by the feeders so we can shut off the front of the pen and presort for load out.

It took a lot of cutting and welding, but we were able to utilize most of the existing gating, feed system and watering equipment for the retro.”

Justin was just starting to sort pigs out of the first remodeled barn the day of my site visit.  When I asked about the results he replied, “We would typically start to sell out of the old system after 18 weeks and finish up with the last ones going out at 22 weeks. We’ll start selling the first group out of the remodeled barn at 13 weeks, and I’m sure the last pigs will be gone at 15 weeks. Chores are much easier; I can see all the pigs and treat sick ones without having to chase them around.”

“Now that I see the results, I wish I would have done it several years ago!”

90 degrees, bright sunshine, no rain in the forecast and a light wind; perfect conditions for a firsthand look at roof repair.   Last winter I sat in on a training session with Vanberg Specialized Coatings when they covered the basics on their exterior metal coating product, AMC-100L or Aluminum Moisture Cure Urethane.  The results in the training labs were impressive, and I wanted to get some field experience using the product.

The site chosen was not a livestock building, but a storage building erected in 1968.  The 44 year old galvanized roofing was structurally sound but was starting to show large areas of surface rust.   I greeted Jim and Steve from Vanberg Coating, and we started on the process.

First they sprayed the roof down with a power washer to remove any dirt, bird droppings or loose rust.  Any areas with heavy rust were hit with a wire brush and loose nails were hammered down.  Once the roof was dry, we moved on to the next step.

The second step of the process was to apply VSC Rust Converter to the rusty spots.  Rust Converter chemically changes rust to a stable, insert compound.  Jim poured the Rust Converter into a pump sprayer and applied it to the rust spots that Phillip rolled out behind him.  Steve finished the process by sweeping the semi-dried surface lightly with a broom to smooth out any bubbles.

The results were a little surprising.  In the training demos, the samples that we applied the Rust Converter turned almost immediately jet black.  On this roof, the color was more of a dark red with black edges. The areas with light rust colored up dark red and only the heavy rust areas that penetrated to the carbon metal below showed up as black.

Day two was a carbon copy of the first day only with a little more wind that steadily got stronger as the morning progressed.  The original plan called for applying the AMC-100L with an airless applicator, but Steve and Jim decided there would be too much over spray with the existing breeze.  So instead we applied paint with rollers and paint brushes.  With me straddling the ridgeline and painting it with a brush, Jim and Steve rolling out the slopes, we moved right along.  While I would suggest using an airless applicator for a project this size, the fact we rolled this on by hand does prove the versatility of the product.  The AMC-100L dried quickly into a BRIGHT silver colored surface.  You could feel the heat reflecting off the roof so I would think the attic would also stay somewhat cooler.

Probably no place is as tough on metal roofs as when they are used on poultry and livestock buildings.  AMC-100L is great option for repairing rusty roof areas before they have to be replaced.  AMC-100L also works great to repair rust spots on feed bins.  You can try AMC-100L in a kit by ordering on line from our web-store at http://www.hogslat.com/vanberg-coatings-amc100l-metal-repair-kit or by going to any Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry stores near you. They carry a full line of Vanberg Specialized Coatings metal and concrete repair products in stock.

One final note here.

You will probably be surprised at the consistency of AMC-100L; as you’ll be expecting a thick, heavy product like latex paint.  In fact, it’s actually more of a thin, watery stuff.  I didn’t wear gloves when applying the AMC-100L because it was a hot day and I planned on washing it off when we were finished.

Bad idea. Nothing would take it off my hands and arms.

Not solvent.

Not gasoline.

Not paint thinner.

Not even finger nail polish remover.

I ended up taking an 80 grit foam sanding block and literally sanding it off my hands!

So beware and wear gloves and long sleeves.  This is tough stuff!

While at Dustin Anderson’s site last week reviewing his sort barn conversion, one thing quickly drew my attention.  When the barn was constructed, the builder installed plastic slat mats which are considered “best practice” in our industry.  Look at the result 6 years later.

All the plastic slat mat did was move the problem out 12 inches!   Now, this is not terrible slat wear for six years of usage, but it will get worst.  A bigger mat could be placed under the feeder, but this would just move the problem out a little more.  The best solution to this problem isn’t a mat at all.  The ultimate slat saver comes in a bucket!  Hog Slat offers a product called Armor-Rock.  Armor-Rock is a two part epoxy with blended aggregates that form a wear and chemical resistant coating to protects the slat’s surface.   The liquid epoxy mixture is applied to the slat’s surface and then sand is broadcast on top to create a non-slip surface.

A huge advantage to using the Armor-Rock is it doesn’t cover the slat openings around the feeders.  Urine, water and feed wastes fall through because the normal slat opening remains intact.  Corrosive wastes are not collecting and just getting moved farther out on the slats, which is the problem with conventional slat mats.

There is one slight disadvantage to using Armor-Rock over standard plastic slat mats.  It’s not the cost of the material; if Armor-Rock is purchased in bulk the price is virtually the same.  The key issue is the time it takes to install it under a feeder. When mats are used they are placed under the feeders, the gating is installed, and the installation is complete. With Armor-Rock, the feeders and gating are completely installed and then the feeders must be removed.  The epoxy is mixed, placed on the flooring and allowed to dry.  After the Armor-Rock cures, the feeders are replaced in the gating.   Because of the extra labor the Armor-Rock option is not offered by most contractors.

The choice is yours to make.  Chose the Ultimate Slat Saver with Armor-Rock and do it once or chose standard slat mats and fix it later.  You can pick up Armor-Rock at any Hog Slat store or purchase it on line at http://hogslat.com/armor-rock-kit

Now that cold weather has set in, you may have noticed some condensation on the metal ceilings in your poultry or swine buildings.  Most noticeably, these areas are around the air inlets and rolled ceiling along the sides of the building. In some cases, the metal may be starting to show rust and even developed holes and cracks.

Although these rust areas may be small now, they will continue until the ceiling “rusts through” and needs to replaced.    This is an expensive job because of the labor required to drop auger, electric and water lines plus remove and replace the steel and fasteners. Also additional down time between groups needs to be allowed.

Hog Slat offers a repair product called WMC100, a Moisture Cured Polyurethane White Coating that is specially designed for metal ceilings in confinement building.  WMC100 is single component epoxy that repairs and protects interior steel surfaces.

Simply remove any loose rust by scraping or wire brushing.   The surface is then treated by brushing on Rust Converter, which chemically neutralizes rust by converting it to a stable black compound.  As Rust Converter is applied, rust will turn black and a clear acrylic layer is formed over it.  This acrylic layer also prepares the metal surface to bond to the WMC100.  If there are holes or tears in the metal you can cover them with VSC Seam Tape. WMC100 is rolled or brushed on and the repair is complete.

That’s all there is to it!

The great thing is all these repairs can be done in place….no need to remove auger, water and feed lines.   You can do small repairs as they occur and stop them before they become bigger problems.

Hog Slat makes it easy to try WMC100 with a kit, part number WMC100-K. This kit contains 1 quart of WMC100, 1 pint of Rust Converter and four pieces of VSC Seam Tape; everything you need to repair up to 50-60 sq. ft. of ceiling metal. For various sized project needs, Rust Converter is also available in a 13 oz. spray can and WMC100 can be purchased in gallon or 5 gallon sized pails.

For exterior metal repair projects, Hog Slat offers AMC100 in various sizes as well as in a kit. Learn more about all our Vanberg Specialized Coatings metal repair products here.

Stop in your local Hog Slat, Georgia Poultry or Eastern Shore Poultry Services store or order the WMC100 kit online at http://www.hogslat.com/venberg-coatings-wmc100-metal-repair-kit