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Last year the Midwest received an abnormal amount of snowfall and rain along with strong winds. The wind piled ice and snow in large drifts on the barns roofs that exceeded the rafters designed load.

Number 1 rule to protect your buildings during the upcoming winter season? PROMPTLY REMOVE THE SNOW AND ICE FROM YOUR BUILDINGS!

A rafter that has a 25 lb snow load is overloaded with only 15 inches of wet/heavy snow or 5 ½” of ice.   Even a snowfall of only a couple inches can cause problems because of drifting snow.  It cannot be stressed enough, remove all snow from roofs immediately to prevent an accumulation that may cause roofs to fail.

In addition to removing the snow and ice promptly you can also protect your building’s roofs by following the guidelines below before the winter season.

Check List and Winter Inspection for Swine Facilities

(A)   Check to see that all trusses are in plane (sitting vertical and not leaning or out of square to the connected walls and lateral braces) and that there are no bowed or broken trusses.

(B)   Check to see that all metal plates are intact and that they do not show any signs of stress (cracks, twisting, or pulling away from the lumber).

(C)   Check to see that all web members are not bowed or broken.

(D)   Make sure that all lateral braces are intact and are not loose and that nails have not pulled away.

(E)    Select areas in the building and rake the insulation back and check the bottom cord lateral braces and make sure that they are intact.

(F)    Look for areas in the barn and attic that may show moisture (inspect ceiling insulation for evidence of roof leaks).

(G)  Check ridge caps and eave inlets for missing closure strips (it is crucial that buildings do not accumulate any snow in the attic).  Close any summer air inlet doors.

(H)  Keep snow from drifting up against the sidewalls of the buildings.

(I)     Remove snow promptly from roofs.

(J)     Do not pile snow under or by eave.

(K)   Check gable end where fans are hung for pulled or broken boards.

As the swine industry searches for alternatives to stall gestation, another option has emerged and is in the process of being refined.  Stanchion Housing refers to short stall-like dividers that are added to open pen gestation to separate and protect the animals as they are fed.  It is a refinement over traditional open pens where sow are fed on the floor and group size must be limited to reduce fighting.

To date all the systems have been designed with standard gestation stalls in which the sows are weaned and remain until they are bred and preg checked.  Typically this would be about a 45 day inventory of the total sow numbers.

Looking at the total number of animals in a breeding group, a decision can be made on total numbers of sows per pen.  Current stanchion systems range from 10 head per pen all the way up to over a hundred.  Many producers choose to break a farrowing group into two or three different pens as this allows for grading and sorting weaned animals by body score.  Placing sows in similar groups reduces fighting and allows for uniform feeding.

After total number of sows per pen is determined, the next design consideration is the amount of square footage per animal.  Current EU welfare regulations require 24 sq ft. and some producers have chosen to follow that guideline, but systems exist that range from this level all the way down to 17 sq ft./sow.

Two critical design elements have proved themselves in the existing layouts.  First, long narrow pens are preferred as this prevents a boss sow from blocking feed stanchions.  The second design feature is placing the stanchions head to head in the center of the pen rather than placing them along the alleys.  Because the stanchions are not in the alleys, the sows can be viewed from the rear during feeding for problems.  It also allows for easier animal movement in and out of the pens as the gates are not part of the stanchions.  In addition, the number of feed lines needed is reduced.

The first stanchion systems featured trickle feed equipment where the feed slowly dribbled in front of the sows at meal time, the idea being a slow placement of feed in front of the sows would hold them in the stalls and prevent boss sows from “wolfing down” their feed and moving up and down the line stealing feed.    In practice, the additional cost and upkeep of a trickle system did not justify its use and has been omitted on new installations.   Current systems use standard feed drops that dump the entire ration into stainless steel troughs or on a solid concrete floor.

Equipment used in a head-to-head layout consists of stanchions that are 40” tall and 19” long.  These dimensions protect the face and ears of the individual sow from aggressive pen mates.  Ideal width has been determined to be 20” as this prevents other sows from crowding in to steal feed.   Early systems used solid dividers; as we gained more experience with head-to-head systems,  the use of open dividers was adopted.   The Hog Slat equipment used to configure this layout is an adaption of our standard gestation stall which has been used throughout the industry for over 30 years.  The stanchions are constructed of solid horizontal rods with angle top and bottom rails, the entire unit bolts together with galvanized floor spacers and double top spacers for added stability. This style of stanchion fits completely with the standard 40” gestation penning used in the rest of the pen layout.   The result is a well-designed system that goes together without a great deal of “field fabrication”. AquaChief cup waterers are added at the rate of one per 11 animals to provide fresh water.

Many of the stanchion systems are remodels, the layout of which has to be adapted to existing slat /solid configurations. If building new projects most producers opt for using total slats as this allows for more flexibility in the event of changes in the welfare regulations.

Stanchion systems require a high degree of stockmanship to operate successfully.  Boss sows must be culled ruthlessly and individual care of animals is more difficult than standard stall systems.  However, for many production systems, stanchions are a better alternative than Electronic Sow Feeding. Stanchions allow group housings of animals without the costs and high maintenance associated with ESF stations.

For more information please contact your local Hog Slat rep or contact us by email at frichards@hogslat.com.

Every now and then we stumble across a product or idea from another industry that we can adapt for use in the swine and poultry business.  Chorelite boots are one such product.

Designed for use as a deck boot in the off-shore fishing industry, it’s a unique product with features that will benefit swine producers and poultry growers as a chore boot for use inside of confinement buildings.

The first thing you will notice about the Chorelite is how extremely lightweight it is.  The Chorelite boot is constructed of EVA expanded rubber (similar to the material used in Crocs™ sandals) to create a lightweight but durable boot.

To give you an idea of how lightweight the Chorelite boot is; a typical rubber chore -type boot weights about 2 ½ lbs.  Contrast that to the Chorelite that weighs in at only 10 ozs.!! Less weight equals less fatigue at the end of the day.

The Chorelite boot’s one-piece, molded construction means there are no seams to separate and leak.   The bottom tread is designed to be non-slip (remember the off-shore deck boot?) without being too deep preventing large amounts of muck from accumulating.

You will also notice the Chorelite boot is unlined making them easy to clean and disinfect.  You can wash them up, dunk them in a bucket of disinfectant and hang them upside down to dry.  They will be ready next time you walk back in the barn

When we first received the boots we were skeptical about their durability because they were so lightweight.   We put 10 pairs on the personnel of a local sow farm last July.   In six months of daily use they reported no tears or punctures in the boots…no leaks…..and the tread wear was excellent.

Now don’t get us wrong, even though we introduced this product during the winter, this boot wasn’t designed to keep anybody’s feet warm.  This is un-insulated boot for use inside of a confinement hog barn or chicken house. It is water-proof, lightweight and easy to keep clean.

To order click on http://hogslat.com/chorelite-boot or stop in at your local Hog Slat or Georgia Poultry store and try a pair on for yourself.

Tunnel Ventilation systems along with evaporative pad systems are effective at reducing summer temperatures in swine and poultry buildings. Here are some tips to keep your houses running at peak efficiency.

1) Bleed off water to control mineral content

As water is circulated and evaporated in a pad system the concentration of minerals is increased.  This is especially true in areas that have hard water with its higher levels of dissolved minerals. It is suggested that 5% to 10% of the circulated water should be continuously bled out of the system. Alternatively you can also dump and replace the sump tank water weekly. Products such as Scale-Stop or Cool-N-Kleen Cool Cell Descaler can be effective in controlling scale buildup for farms with very hard water when coupled with bleed off.

2) Check pH

Desired pH level of the water should be between 6 and 9.  The pH levels outside of the this range shorten pad life by leaching out the stiffening agents in the pad. You can alter the pH of the water by adding one of the descaler agents listed above or Grower Select’s Kool-Cell Kleen.

3) Eliminate dry spots on the pad

Dry areas on the pads allow uncooled air to enter the building.  Simply put,  if the pad’s not wet it’s not cooling. Dry streaked areas on the pad are a clear sign that you have clogged holes in the distribution system.  Remove the cover and unstop the clogged holes in the header system.  It is a good practice to clean the distribution system by opening the ball valves and flushing water through at least once a month.

4) It’s a pain…but you have to clean the filters

Install a spin down water filter with a clear housing and 60 mesh screen on the system and keep it clean. It will prevent clogged distribution pipes and dirty pads. The poorer the water quality the more often the filters need to be cleaned. Installing a filter with a ball valve will simplify the chore.

5) Prevent algae growth

Although H2PADs are treated with an fungicide and come with ProTech edging to prevent algae from adhering to the pad surface, this does not completely eliminate the problem.  Treat the system  water with a good preventive product like Bio-Stop or Grower Select’s Kool-Cell Kleen to keep algae under control. In addition,  the pads should be allowed to dry out once every 24 hours to improve the longevity of the pad.  Program your ventilation system to allow the fans to continue to run awhile after the pad system is turned off at night.  This will pull air through the system, drying the pads out and killing any algae spores.

I have sold or been involved with swine concrete slats for over 30 years.  For the last 18 of those years I have represented Hog Slat products.  I believe that our slats are the best in the industry and have the most consistent quality. But new slats all look good when they are getting unloaded off the delivery truck. What about when they are 5 years or 10 years or even older?

Last week I was at  Hog Slat’s production plant in Humboldt, Iowa taking pictures of slats.  The plant manager, Dave Shiflett said “You want to see some old slats that we pulled out of a barn recently?”

“Sure”

So we go out behind the plant and he explained that we were called in to replace some slats from local production site.  This particular site was built in 1994. One barn has slats produced by Hog Slat and the other barn has slats from a competitor.

Comparing slats

He said “The slat on the left is a Hog Slat slat and the one on the right is from the competitor.  Notice the difference in surface wear on each slat.  The competitor’s slat has rock showing because the top surface has been eaten or worn away.  I grabbed our slat out of the other building that they were not replacing for comparison.”

“Interesting, but they’re not from the same building”

“No but same site which means same water, same feed and same management.  Pretty good comparison of 17 years old slats I would say”

So we started talking about the reasons for the better wear on the Hog Slat product.

Dave said “It’s the denser concrete we use in our mix.  Everybody that has ever poured any concrete knows the less water you use in mixing concrete, the harder, stronger concrete you get.  The standard mix is a 4” slump, which you have to use to be able to place and screed the concrete in the form.  We use a ZERO SLUMP mix in our slats. Let me show you what I mean inside.”

So we go inside and Dave has slump cone in which he places some of our concrete mix and pulls the cone. He adds water to an additional batch to represent a standard 4” concrete mix.

concrete slump

“Note how the concrete mix on the right has sagged down 4” vs. the zero slump concrete on the right? All the rest of the slat manufacturers have to use a wetter mixture because they don’t have equipment that allows them to work a drier mix. Like I said earlier less water means a stronger, denser concrete that wears better and holds up longer in the barns.”

As the industry’s production buildings get older this comparison bears keeping in mind.  Most new slats look the same when they are placed in the barn and you really can’t tell the difference from the outside. Buying slats for a new building or replacements in an existing structure is an important decision that producers should take under careful consideration.  Looking at 17 year old slats is a chance to get some valuable insight that may help with that decision.

With feed costs reaching an all time high, having the right feeder in your swine facility has never been more important.  Historically American growers have enjoyed low feed costs compared to the rest of the world’s producers.  Because of the supply demand created by ethanol and production shortages, we may no longer enjoy this advantage in the world market. Our industry has seen a number of trends (fads?) in feeder design in the past years. Many of these feeders became popular because of their low cost. Large numbers were installed before they were adequately tested. As production data from these feeders was complied, many didn’t meet industry standards for ADG and Feed Conversion.

The charts below show Agri-Stats Top 25’s average for Feed Conversion for both Feeder to Finish and Wean to Finish operations.  We can use them as a baseline to compare to potential savings that can be achieved with good, well designed feeders.

Using these numbers let’s compare potential savings on a typical 1,200 head finishing building with 20 feeders.  For our example let’s assume that the barn is showing an average feed conversion of 2.9 , achieves 2.4  annual turns and replacing the feeders moves the FC to 2.6.

1,200 head x $24.64 saved per pig space =$29,568

To replace those 20 Feeders with Hog Slat 60” feeders would cost $5,940.

To think of it another way, having efficient, easy-to-adjust feeders in a 1,200 finishing building saves $81 in feed wastage per day in our example.  That means you would have to own the feeders for only 73 days to recoup your investment of $5,940!

Of the numerous brands available for replacement feeders why should Hog Slat feeders be your choice? Many of the top 25 production systems in the Agristats records are using Hog Slat feeders. The reasons are simple. For over 25 years, Hog Slat has produced a quality feeder without gimmicks or following fads.

The bolt together construction adds durability that you can’t get with a welded feeder.  Heavy weight hogs bang and push against feeders.  Welded feeders don’t have the ability to flex with the blows and stress cracks can develop.

Hog Slat feeders have a deeper trough than most competitive brands and a feed saver lip preventing pigs from rooting feed out.

Hog Slat’s box feeders provide higher storage capacity than most tube style feeders.  The large storage volume contributes a safety factor for feed availability issues such as bin bridging, broken augers or motors and power failures.

Precise management of the feeder adjustments is absolutely critical to achieving good feed conversions.  Every Hog Slat feeder features our unique Select-A-Flow adjustment which gives producers the ability to make fine graduated changes in feed flow.  Each numbered setting presents 1/16” in feeder gate adjustment.  And because each increment is numbered it is easy to set all the feeders in the barn to the same setting and repeat the settings from group to group.   You can’t get this kind of repeatability using feeders designed with crank type adjustments.

Hog Slat feeders have been the industry standard for the last 25 years.  Replace your existing feeders and stop pouring money down the pit.

Every once in while you run across a product that is such a simple answer to a problem that you just have to say “Wow, why didn’t somebody think of that a long time ago?”

The severe winter of 2010 had us looking for an answer to monitor feed levels in bulk bins. Remember that winter?  Record snow, cold, windy…feed outages were a real problem. Nobody can or should climb an icy ladder in that kind of weather. There are some existing  solutions like load cells and sonar systems, but we were looking for a simpler, less expensive way to check feed levels and protect against feed outages.

So we started looking into a ways to accomplish feed level monitoring…electronic sensors mounted in the bin walls, electric sensor cables hung in the bins, sonar bouncing devices from a fish finder…

One of the biggest problems that we kept coming back to was that all these methods required power be run to the bins to operate them.  Extra expense……harder to install…more of a chance for break downs and failure to occur.

Then along comes the Bin Flag….

A simple, mechanical device that uses a paddle inside the bin to rotate a sight cylinder to indicate when material is present.  Primarily used in industry applications to monitor levels in hopper for materials like sand, gravel, plastic beads…… it is the perfect device to measure feed levels for swine and poultry bulk bins.

It meets all the criteria we had established

1)      No electricity to operate

2)      Installs from the outside of the bin and you don’t need to lift the bin to install

3)      Low cost

4)      Flexible: basic method would be install a unit just above the cone to know when it is critical to order feed.  Producers also have the option of adding additional Bin Flags for more advanced monitoring.

5)      Very visible: big added bonus.  You can visually see the Bin Flag from up to 200 feet away.  You know in a glance from across the yard how much feed is in the bins….drive by a site and check feed levels from your truck seat. It doesn’t have to be cold for that to be a bonus.

There are more details online….go to http://www.hogslat.com/bin-flag-feed-level-indicator to order today.

There’s even a way to hook up Bin Flag to your existing alarm to call you when feed levels drop to a critical level.  We’ll talk about that in the next blog or so.

Okay I admit it…it has been awhile since we’ve posted a blog. But I have an excuse…We’ve been working on some new ad campaigns and new swine and poultry catalogs (which you can request a copy of here.) But now we are back…ourlast blog was about the Bin Flag and at the end we mentioned a way to connect it to a phone alarm dialer.

When you pair the Bin Flag with a alarm phone dialer you will receive a phone alarm whenever feed levels drop below the critical level.  Setting the Bin Flag up with most alarm systems is a pretty simple process.   Purchase the magnetic sensor for less than $20 (item #HDL59065-952) and screw it into the Bin Flag.  You then run common phone wire from the sensor to a contact on the phone dialer.   The alarm system will allow you to program a unique message that identifies each particular bin.

Really I’m not so sure this isn’t a more important feature than the visual part of the Bin Flag…normally you have to be at the building site and look at the Bin Flag. But with the Bin Flag connected to an alarm it calls you. So whether you are in the field, on the road, and wherever you have cell service you will be notified when a feed outage occurs and have to time to react and get feed ordered.

You can learn more about setting up the Bin Flag with the Sensaphone and Agri-Alert alarm systems by going to our website and reading the manual we have located under our Resources section.

The Lein family’s start in the egg business began with 12 hens back in 1999. Those hens provided eggs for the family as well a few neighbors and friends.  Visitors to farm thought the hens had it so good they referred to them as “yuppie chickens”.  When Lynn started direct marketing eggs she adopted the brand name, Yuppie Hill Poultry. As the business grew, Lynn acquired the present farm on Potter Road and converted an existing dairy barn into a laying house for 3,000 hens.

“That first house was a lot of work.  We gathered the eggs, washed them and did the feeding all by hand. The air quality was poor and production never got above 70%” remarked Lynn.

In 2008, the family decided to increase production by constructing a new 50’ x 250’ flat deck house for 9,000 hens. Although the new system saved labor with automated feeding and egg gathering, the family researched other options before their next stage of expansion.

As Jay explained, “We were not totally satisfied with our conventional deck system.  We felt the environment could be better for the chickens.  In addition, we were spending a lot of time cleaning out the building between groups.  The extended down time between groups made it hard for us to supply our customers and reduced our income.”

Their research led them to Potter’s Poultry, one of the leading manufacturers of cage-free production systems.  After contacting Hog Slat rep Jason Billings, the group traveled to England to see firsthand the Potter’s System in use.

“We visited six commercial farms in four days and came away very impressed.” said Lyn “We were particularly interested in an aviary type system because the zoning restrictions on our farm forced us into putting as many chickens as possible in a limited floor plan.  The other aviary systems we had looked at were really just big cages. Potter’s has been building aviary systems for 20 years and has designed a true cage-free system that is the most open one on the market.”

Jay added “We liked what we saw and came home determined to copy the style of barns we had seen in England. The ventilation was excellent and it equipment was built extremely heavy with a lot of small features that make a big difference.”

After returning,  plans were finalized on 55’ x 245’ building with a center wall running the length of the building creating two individual rooms each capable of holding 8,900 hens. By combining this capacity with the first building the Leins will have three separate flocks.  Because no more than one room is ever out of production for cleaning, eggs are always available to supply customers.  Construction began in mid July and the first hens were placed October 3rd.

Colony nests are stacked two high along the center wall with the aviary facing it.  The AVINEST colony nests allow hens to gather in groups behind privacy curtain to lay their eggs. The system uses the original AstroTurf pads that are perforated to allow dirt to fall away ensuring cleaner eggs.    Cleaner eggs are also promoted by the automatic expulsion feature where the nest floors are lifted with a rack and pinion system gently moving the hens out of the nests at night time.

The aviary features perches where feed and water are available on multiple levels.  Two manure belts also run the length of the system.   On the other side of the aviary, opposite the nests, is a scratch area with doors that can be opened to an outside run.  The computer controlled ventilation system features chimney style fans linked with automated sidewall vents.

When I asked about the different lights installed in the building Jay explained “First the red lights above the boxes come on at 4:00 until 6:00 am with the nests’ floors dropping down to provide access to the nests.  At 5:30 the whole house fluorescents come on dim and gradually increase every 15 minutes until they are on full power.    Next the perch lights come on, then the lights on the second layer of the aviary come on and finally the floor lights are activated.  The floor lights are key to preventing floor eggs from being laid.  At night the order is reversed with boxes closing around 4:00 pm with the house lights going down at 7:00.  At 8:10 the bottom lights are turned off, the middle lights at 8:20 and the house lights are shut off at 8:30.  This entire sequence is automatically controlled by a master light control.”

Egg collection system on the two-tier nest system is accomplished by the use of curved mini steel rod conveyers that bring the eggs to a single level.  From there another conveyer system moves the eggs to collection area where the eggs are inspected, packaged and cooled until delivery to customers.

Jay also called out the manure handling belts. “We feel that one of the biggest benefits of this system over our older building is the ability to remove the manure frequently.  Because a majority of the manure is deposited under the aviary perches, we are able to run the belts located under the aviary and dump them on to a cross belt where it is piled outside.”

“We like our niche in the market” Lynn said when we discussing Yuppie Hill’s customers.  “We supply upper-end restaurants and grocery stores in Madison, Chicago and Sheboygan.  We provide a quality product produced by a family farm.  Demand keeps growing and this new facility will enable us do a better job supplying our customers.”

One final  point of interest at Yuppie Hill farm is the original dairy barn used for the first laying house has been converted again…into a restaurant that serves brunch every Sunday morning except the second weekend the month.  The second weekend is devoted to special Saturday night theme dinner of four to five courses with neighborhood chefs invited in to host the event.  The chefs prepare local foods paired with regional wines and beers.   The event is becoming quite popular with the last couple of dinners being completely sold out.

Kip and Michelle Cullers took a hard look at their existing broiler operation and decided changes needed to be made. First put into operation in 1989, the six 22-year old buildings were in need of major renovation to qualify for premium payments.

After exploring their options with MoArk, a leading producer of specialty eggs, the Cullers next contacted Mike Lucariello who heads up Georgia Poultry’s operations in the area.

Working with the existing 40’ x 400’ dimensions, Mike put together a layout designed to house 12,500 hens per building. The layout features two rows of Wadeken center belt nests set up on a flat deck of plastic slats with a lowered center scratch area. New chain feeders and the old drinker systems, outfitted with cups, were installed on the deck area between the nests and the exterior walls.

The ventilation system was upgraded with the addition of seven 52” Windstorm fans and a 5’ x 55’ cool cell system on each side of the building. The system also unitizes the existing curtain system that can be manually activated during mild weather.

To complete the project, a 20’ x 40’ egg room was added to each building. The bulk of the egg collection is done in the morning with center belts moving the eggs to the end of the building where they are placed into flats, stacked on wheeled racks and moved to the egg cooler until pick up every Tuesday and Friday.

Kip commented, “We had complete confidence in turning the project over to Mike. He’s been in the chicken industry for a long time and has broiler and laying houses of his own. We are especially pleased with the way the ventilation system performed last summer. The tunnel system combined with the cool cell system kept the hens comfortable; in fact, we experienced no loss of production despite the record heat we had.”

Kip continued, “Michelle is responsible for the day-to-day operations on the farm. She does an outstanding job keeping up with the paperwork necessary for organic egg production. Plus she manages two full time employees and four part timers who gather eggs. I help out with repair and maintenance as the farming operation and travel allows.” (In case you are wondering whether you have heard Kip’s name before, you may have. He holds the record for soybean production at 160.6 bushels per acre and travels worldwide speaking about his production methods).

To find out more contact us at 800-949-4647. We’ll sit down with you, explain your options and help you put together a plan and cost estimates for remodel or new projects.