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Potter's colony nests

A group of Missouri farmers is developing production systems needed to meet the growing demand for cage-free eggs. The producers contract with local egg companies to provide facilities that meet established humane standards for egg production. Unlike typical industry contracts, the farmers are also responsible for purchasing the birds and feed along with supplying labor.

Side doors allow chicken access to outdoor pasture

Farms produce either free-range or pastured eggs. Free-range hens have access to exterior areas equal to 2 sq. ft. per bird, while the pastured designation requires 108.9 sq. ft. per hen.   The farms receive 17-week old pullets that begin laying at 19 weeks with full production reached at around 24 weeks.

Center egg gathering belt with AstroTurf pad

The 50’ wide buildings feature a double row of colony nests down the center of the room, allowing nine sq. ft. of nest area per 100 hens.   Curtain fronts on the nest provide the hens with a secure, dark laying area with AstroTurf® covered floors sloping to the center collection belt.

Raised flooring with either pan feeders or chain feeding

12’ of raised plastic slatted flooring extends on each side of the nest boxes with the feed and water lines located there. A 9-1/2' lowered scratch area runs along each sidewall.

Windstorm 36" panel  fans and 54" exhaust  fans

The ventilation system is a combination power/ natural design with a 36” fan and ceiling inlets providing minimum air requirements. Two 52” fans stage on as the weather warms with the sidewall curtains dropping to supply the increased airflow. Hot weather triggers high-pressure misters on with 36” box fans increasing air circulation. Some of the larger facilities also add evaporative cooling systems with tunnel ventilation fans for extremely hot weather and eliminate the sidewall curtains, misters, and 36" stir fans.

Automated access doors to outside runs with portable shades outside.

Hens are locked out of the nests overnight until 5:30 am. Egg collect begins at 9 am with the sliding side doors opened at 10 am to allow the hens access to the outside runs. Chickens can move freely in and out of the buildings during the day choosing their environment. In the outside lots, the hens have access to portable shades along with supplemental feed and water.

Manual egg packer and automatic version

A second egg collection occurs mid-afternoon. Smaller facilities hand pack the eggs from the center collection belt while larger operations utilize an automated packing machine. Walk-in egg coolers capable of maintaining 45-degree temperatures hold the eggs until the farm’s weekly pickup. The building’s side doors remain open until after dark with the interior lights left on to draw the hens in before closing up for the night. Approximately ½ hour before shutting down the building lights, the nest floors lift up gently pushing the hens out of the colony nest and blocking access until the next morning.

Andy Altenburg is an expert when it comes to bad slats.  Sitting at a massive, 1200-pound conference table made with a full-size concrete slat, the owner of Altenburg Construction in Lewisville, MN explained how he got started in the business.

Altenburg Construction Conference Table

“I was working for a local producer at a nursery site. We were building new buildings like crazy during that time and got behind grouting slats. Grandpa had an old portable mixer out back, and I figured I could mix cement and sand together, and I needed the money. Later I started repairing slats, and when some of the slats were too bad to fix I figured out a way get the old ones out and new ones in.”

“Our goal from the very beginning was to develop tools to make slat replacement faster with less labor. We developed and manufactured the machines we needed learning as we went. Our volume continues to grow each year because we are getting more efficient. We are on track to replace 20,000 slats by the end of 2016.”

Project Manager, Tyler Sauck explained some guidelines to use when examining the condition of slats in a facility.

Look for damage on the side when cracks are visible on top

“The first thing to judge when you see a crack in slat is how deep it is. Surface cracks aren’t a big deal, but if that crack is deep or starting to separate, it becomes a concern. We look for damage on the sides. One of biggest problems comes from improper rebar placement. If the manufacturer placed the rebar too close to the sides or bottom, you’ll see it swell and pop out the concrete.”

Support beams are the cause of many slats failures.

“Really the support beams are a bigger problem than the slats. Everyone can easily see if slats are bad, but checking the beams takes more work. We shine a flashlight down through the slat openings and look closely at the beams. Many times slats on top appear to be fine, but the beams will be shot. You also have to look at both sides of the beam; one side can look perfect and the other side will have rebar hanging out of it.”

Crumbling slat pocket caused this beam to fall

“Another overlooked area is the amount of bearing surface the beam has on a column or end wall pocket. We like to see at least 3” of bearing surface. Over time a building can shift, especially on the end walls. We recommend producers add a pre-cast column at the end wall when building new barns.”

Dry cast slats, machined finished slats in the yard.

Andy joined in, “This year we set slats produced by 13 different manufacturers. The building owner buys the slats; we only set them. Let me tell you, every company can build good slats some of the time, but only a few can build good slats consistently.   The key is quality control. The best manufacturers use machine finished, dry cast concrete and steam cure the slats.”

Setting top quality slats on new construction project.

“Biggest mistake I see in new construction is trying to save money on slats. A guy builds his first barn and thinks all slats are the same. Well, they aren’t, concrete slats are not a commodity product, and there is a difference. Spend the money up front, and you won’t be calling us to replace them near as soon.

Not everything at Altenburg Construction is work. Andy likes to build and race stock cars. We found this in the back shop.

Stan Shrock fills a unique niche in the poultry industry as an independent pullet producer supplying independent layer customers.

Stan explained, “I have an arrangement to raise pullets for two local independent producers. I bring them in as one-day-old chicks and raise them until 16 weeks of age. I own the chickens and supply the feed with this arrangement. I also raise one flock a year for a producer from outside the state where he supplies the chicks and feed under contract.”

Stan’s construction background enabled him to act as his general contractor and build the 50’ x 320’ structure with local labor. The house will hold up to 25,000 pullets.

Stan Shrock with Rotem house controller

The Rotem house controller acts to integrate all of the building systems into a central station to monitor daily production inputs. Along with controlling and tracking the ventilation, heating, and water data the controller also automatically records bird weights and daily feed consumption.

BinTrac Load Cell Bracket feeds information to record and monitor feed levels.

Each bin leg has a load cell bracket attached and relays information to the digital summing box which feeds a display unit mounted inside the office. This display unit, in turn, is linked to the house controller which records and stores feed intake. Stan can easily monitor the flock’s daily feed consumption and note any problems that can affect production.

Rotem hanging scale records chick weight in only 3 seconds.

A hanging scale automatically weighs the birds as they mount the platform. Only 2 to 3 seconds are required for an accurate weight to register to the controller. Stan’s contract includes a bonus on weight uniformity based on the average recorded from the scale system.

Plastic flooring and water line are raised to 24″ to train pullets

The building contains an innovative approach to training pullets for their transition to the layer house. A section of slatted flooring is positioned under each water line. Gradually the water lines and flooring are raised to a height of 24” before the pullets go out. Stan’s layer customers report fewer floor eggs from pullets conditioned with this technique.

Anti-roosting fixtures above pan feeders

Unique anti-roost fixtures above the feeders prevent chicks from soiling the pan feeders but still allow the feed line to be used as a roost.

Wall inlets with light trap hoods outside.

The building features a cross ventilation system with automatically adjusted wall inlets along one wall with light traps on the outside. The fan banks are located on the opposite wall. Stan explained the system; “We felt cross ventilation fit our production model better than tunnel ventilation. We saw excellent circulation patterns when we smoked the building. When the outside temperatures were 95° we stayed at 90° inside.”

Cross ventilation fans with light trap hoods

The building is set up for half-house brooding with five 80,000 BTU, U-tube heaters supplying 400,000 BTU of heating capacity. Stan commented, “ The brooders do a great job of throwing heat to the outside walls, and we get even temperature across the brood area. Additional heat is supplied on the far end with three 40’ long, 100,000 tube heaters.”

Big Foot U-Tube in brooder area with GroTube Infrared heaters in the remainder of the house.

Stan finished up by saying, “ The chicken business has been a nice addition to our farming operation. It fits in with our purebred cattle as we utilize the litter to fertilize the pastures. I am pleased with how the building performs. As a matter of fact, the only thing I would change is the office…I didn’t build it big enough!”

Your reaction on seeing the PRICE of Hog Slat’s Vent Actuator will probably be to dismiss it as a low quality item.  You get what you pay for.

Don’t let the price fool you.

The Vent Actuator is a great example of Hog Slat’s engineering expertise, combined with global sourcing and lean distribution chain.  

Engineering added features to increase the useful life of the unit.

24″ stroke length with a maximum speed of 1/4″ per second and adjustable limit switches.

Built-in potentiometer sends feedback to room controller to position air inlets.

800 lb. payload

Increased protection of interior electrical components with clamped extension boots and motor seals.  Overall, the Actuator’s Internal Protection Rating is 65 vs. competitive brands with ratings of only 53.  (See What is an IP rating?)

Hog Slat’s lean distribution chain model direct sources products and delivers them to the farm without an expensive and outdated dealer network.   (See eliminating margin stack)

All in all, a great product at a great price.

The Right Kind of Sticker Shock.  For ordering information go to HS667-24.

Gene and Phyllis Williams

“The chicken business works good with land and cattle,” Gene Williams commented as he looked out across the pasture next to his farm outside of Everett Springs, GA. “The land gives you a place to spread the litter; the chicken litter builds up the pastures, and the poultry checks provide a steady income when cattle prices are tough.”

Gene and Phyllis Williams have included poultry farming in building their family’s business for over 40 years. Starting with a registered Angus herd, they expanded into the poultry business by leasing two breeder houses in 1975, followed by building three new broiler houses in 1978. In 1994, the family business grew to include The Calhoun Stockyard, and again when oldest son Michael and his wife Shelby made the decision to build four new broiler houses in 2003.

Their middle son, Adam, and wife Jenny moved back to the farm in 2013. In 2014, the two older sons joined with younger brother, Jacob, and his wife Natalie, to purchase a neighboring land tract to form the Circle W Ranch entity. Central to this expansion was the construction of eight 66′ x 600′ broiler houses, each capable of holding 62,000 birds per flock.

Circle W Ranch with Eight 66′ Wide Broiler Houses near Everett Springs, GA.

The tunnel ventilated houses feature Windstorm 54″ exhaust fans, Hog Slat EVAP Systems, and TEGO tunnel doors, regulated by a Rotem control system. The GrowerSELECT feed system utilizes Classic Flood feed pansalong with supplemental feeders in the brooder section. One notable feature is a dedicated feed line with Hi-Grow feeders, used for the first ten days of a new flock and then winched up out of the way. Also, a special hanger line above each feed line permits storage of the Hi-Grow feeders inside the house.

Windstorm 54″ fans power the ventilation system. Shown with winter fan covers to reduce energy loss.

TEGO tunnel doors seal up cool cell openings and direct air up and across the ceiling to promote proper mixing.

Black arrow highlights dedicated starter line in raised position with feeders attached

The dedicated feed line for supplemental feeding in the brood area.

Still actively involved in the daily farming operations, Gene and Phyllis continue to influence the education and work ethic of the ten grandchildren joining the family workforce.

Three generations of the Williams family.

Dedicated chick  line with Hi-Grow feeders.

“Several years ago we came up with the idea of installing a dedicated feed line in the brood area to add extra feeder space and reduce hand filling, “explained Georgia producer, Jacob Williams.

Hi-Grow feeders installed on main feed lines between GrowerSELECT Classic Flood pans.

“Although we added additional feed drops and feeders between the pans on the main lines, we still didn’t meet our integrators requirement for enough extra feed spaces in the brood area. In the past, this meant we placed additional feeders or trays between the lines and had to fill them by hand.” continued Jacob.

Eight broiler houses at Circle W Ranch near Everett Springs., GA.

Jacob along with his brothers, Adam, Michael and their families own Circle W Ranch, located near Everett Springs, GA. Circle W Ranch recently constructed eight 66’x 600′ broiler houses each holding approximately 54,000 birds.

Black arrow highlighting dedicated feed line in the raised position.

The 290′ long feed line with 124 Hi-Grow feeders is located in the middle of the brood area. Constructed of plastic, the 10-pound capacity feeders reduce wastage compared to standard trays or paper. After providing the additional feeder space for ten days, the entire line is winched up out of the way along with the feeders.

“We have to gather up the Hi-Grow feeders under the main lines and store them when we are done brooding,” said Jacob, “Being able to store the pans right on the feed line when we winch it up is another great feature.”

“Having the dedicated chick line fill automatically not only saves labor but frankly, just does a better job than we can do by hand,” noted Jacob, “You know how it goes; you get busy, and feeders don’t get filled up right away, and you have empty hoppers. You just don’t see that happening with a dedicated line; that means we start with a more uniform flock and get better performance at close out.”

“Our old feeders just weren’t allowing us to compete with some of the newer barns around the area. Our very first flock with new Classic Flood feeders settled at # 1″, explained Exeter, MO grower, C.L. England.

“We felt like changing out the feeders in our 29-year old buildings was a cost effective way to lower our production costs. We proved that out with .2  improvement in feed conversion on the first flock.”

“One of the biggest factors is probably the flood feature of the new pans. With our old pans, we had to hand-fill feeders with extra feed when starting a flock. With the Classic Flood feeders, we just drop the feeders and the pans fill with feed automatically. Getting extra feed into the chicks at the start makes a big difference at settlement.”

“I’m pleased we made the change as it appears it’s an investment that will pay us back quickly,” said C.L.

Single and Double Welded Cups

Hog Slat highlighted an additional watering option for finishing pigs at the 2016 World Pork Expo. This all stainless steel welded cup is available in single and double models and designed with several features producers will appreciate.

Note formed gap in back plate to prevent manure buildup.

The back plate of welded cup is formed with a gap off the gate to allow any manure accumulating there to be easily washed out. This prevents premature rusting of gate rods common with cups mounted back to back without this gap.

Two-piece water pipe.

The unique design of the two-piece water pipe allows for easy replacement if it should ever become damaged or bent. The separate ½”x 48” long pipe installs into a female coupler on top of the cup. A specially designed bracket is included to mount the pipe to the top angle on a gate.

Mounting cups back to back is simple with four bolts or single cups can be mounted with a U-bolt around a horizontal gate bar.

To order go to www.hogslat.com, stop at a local Hog Slat store or call 800-949-4647.

The size of individual sow farms continues to increase; just a few years ago 2,400 head units were considered large, but new sow farms under construction this year range between 5,000 to 14,000 head in size.

Building cross-section comparison

Designing the central production facility into two or three larger buildings has many advantages including smaller land requirements, less underground utilities to bring to the site, shorter roadways to build and maintain, fewer walkways between buildings and less linear footage of exterior building walls.

Because of increased pig capacities and the desire to minimize the number of buildings, it was necessary to increase the buildings widths up to 190 feet.  Instead of the 4/12-pitch roof used on standard farm buildings, these jumbo-wide facilities utilize a two-piece rafter with a 1/12-pitch roof line resting on a center support wall in the middle.  Almost 6 feet high at the heel with a center height of 13 feet, the rafters are designed more like a large floor joist. The outside appearance resembles a steel frame building more than conventional wood framed structures.

Breeding/ Gestation

Galvanized gestation stalls

Totally slatted flooring is a common feature of newly constructed B&G buildings. While past layouts consisted of a solid laying area with slat sections in the rear of the pen or stall only, new construction plans incorporate slats over the entire floor with stainless feeding troughs fastened in place. This arrangement allows long-term flexibility to reconfigure the pen layout in the future if needed.

Group housing with stanchions is the predominant type of housing under construction this year. Largely through trial and error, the industry seems to have settled into pen configurations containing eight to twelve sows. This pen size permits closer grouping by size and condition and promotes easier visual inspection.

Whether the production system chooses gestation stalls, stanchions, or ESF, most equipment is specified with hot-dipped galvanized equipment instead of painted finish. The extended equipment life provided by the galvanized finish makes this an economical business decision.

One advantage reported with stanchion systems is longer equipment life resulting from moving the water away from the front of the stanchions. Locating a cup or swinging water pipe with nipples in the center of the pen reduces the deterioration of feed pipes and stall fronts by minimizing water contact with these areas.

Farrowing

Large pen farrowing crates with SowMAX feeders

Jumbo style layouts permit designing a double farrowing building with an extra wide 8-foot center alleyway to aid in animal and people movement between rooms.

Almost every new construction project increases the length and width of the farrowing crates and creep area from the standard 5′ x 7′ footprint up to 6’ wide by 8′ long, with some systems choosing 8’6″ long crates. Longer framed sows and reduced piglet crushing rates from using wider pens have driven this trend. Again, the equipment will have a galvanized finish with a combination of cast iron, TriDek, or plastic slats for flooring choices.

Most production systems will incorporate some provision for ad-lib sow feeding. Besides reducing farm labor, ad-lib sow feeding is the most efficient method for feeding individual sows to reach full milk production potential. The type of systems can range from electronic transponder metering devices to sow activated hopper type feed dispensers.

Swinging rafters on new farrowing house

Projects of this size require builders with an expanded skill set. A builder must be able to provide professional project management, understanding of regulatory issues, and increased insurance coverage. It is also critical for any construction firm undertaking projects of this size to have sufficient financial backing and the ability to manage large cash flows.

For more information about Hog Slat’s construction projects and swine production equipment offerings, contact your nearest sales representative by clicking here.

Not every labor saving idea for swine confinement lasted much past the initial development phase. From the 1960 Yearbook of Agriculture, we present the HOG-O-MATIC!

Hog-O-Matic

This automatic hog finishing facility – dubbed “Hog-O-Matic” – is equipped to feed the pigs and clean the floor under fully automatic control. Cleaning is done (below) with two jets of water under 70 pounds of pressure. The revolving boom circles the 21.5- foot exercise area every 2.5 minutes. A 4-inch center drain carries the wastes away.

High-Pressure Water Jets clean pen floor

A good idea in theory for the time, but it is likely this system would not work well with sub-zero temperatures during a typical Midwestern winter.  Here’s a more typical finishing floor from the early confinement years.

Reverse mono-slope finishing floors with rear access alley.

Hogs are housed in clean, airy, efficient buildings. The picture above shows one of the many new types of confinement housing during this time period. Raising hogs in confined quarters is a growing practice. The farmer designed this pen arrangement (below) with the plan of finishing two-thousand hogs per year. 

Labor-saving equipment included automatic watering and feeders filled with an overhead auger.

From these early designs, the industry continued to develop into the improved feeding and ventilation systems we have today. GrowerSELECT feed systems and AirStorm ventilation fans offer today’s producers great equipment backed by the best warranty in the business. To learn more call us at 800-949-4674 or go online at www.hogslat.com.

Interior view of a modern swine finisher constructed by Hog Slat.