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Blog posts tagged with 'farrowing'

Update feed delivery in farrowing to reduce sow farm labor
Update feed delivery in farrowing to reduce sow farm labor

The Grow-Disk chain disk system is a cost-effective solution for automating feed delivery.

Any equipment that reduces labor or enables workers to be more productive deserves serious consideration. Updating a farm's feed delivery in farrowing is a great way to reduce the physical effort and time needed to distribute rations and give employees more time to care for the animals.

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Larger sow farms drive move to larger buildings.

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

Building cross-section comparison

Designing the central production facility into two o...

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Welfare friendly farrowing, AdLib feeding...1960 style?

Here’s another selection from the 1960 edition of The Yearbook of Agriculture on the latest trends in farrowing.

Welfare friendly farrowing pens circa 1960

Welfare-friendly farrowing pens

 

Caption in yearbook:
In this minimum-stress pen, the shape of the guardrail encourages the sow to lie with the teats toward the pigs. The pigs stay...

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Center Drop Sow Drop

Hog Slat’s newest feed drop hangs straight under the feed pipe to reduce twist. Available in two models; HSSD60C for mounting on Grow-Disk metal pipe or HSS55DC for model 55 PVC pipe.

itm-hssd60c-img_blog

 

The Center Drop is molded from UV stable polypropylene to prevent damage from sunlight and cold temperatures. ...

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Feed Chain Torture Chamber

One of the benefits we list for the Grow-Disk system is a “superior chain.”  The feed chain with molded plastic disks is the main component of the system, physically moving feed to a feeder or sow drop.

I dropped in on Hog Slat’s engineering group to see what I could find out.  I found Tim Hawkins,...

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SowMAX info from NC State

Sow and Piglet Performance during Lactation for SowMAX Self Feeders and Hand Feeding

A synopsis of research study conducted at North Carolina State University.

The main objective of this study was to collect lactation and rebreeding data from sows fed with SowMAX self feeders opposed to sows that ...

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Swine Air Filtration Basics

While speaking with Perry Hartman, a sales rep for Hog Slat in Minnesota, I was brought up to speed on a topic that is quietly gaining some momentum in the industry…air filtration.   Southern Minnesota is an area that has seen rapid growth in pig numbers in the past several decades.  This high hog d...

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Repair Metal Ceilings in Place


I have been in literally hundreds of hog buildings over the course of my travels. It really doesn’t matter who built them, the quality of the metal or the insulation value…..if they have a metal ceiling you will eventually have some rust occurring. The most typical spots to see this are around the a...

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2012 World Pork Expo…260 lb. burgers, $2,000 bin whackers and ESF.

The 2012 Pork Expo is in the books.  Great weather this year and great food.  Especially the 260 lb pork burger Vinny and crew from Hog Slat cooked up.  This wasn’t just an inedible gimmick either…..the slice I had was very good.

Walking around the trade show, I noticed there were a few companies w...

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"SowMAX is just like having a bunch of mini feed bins!"

I recently caught up with Mark Daughtry of Prestage Farms in North Carolina to discuss his experience with SowMax farrowing ad lib feeders.  Mark is the Sow Production Manager in North Carolina and oversees about 55,000 sows.  He quickly corrected my terminology regarding the SowMAX.

“First of al...

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