Blog posts tagged with 'gestation'

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 o...

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.

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

Totally slatted concrete flooring used in group sow housing.

With the majority of U.S. pigs finished in confinement style facilities, a 12-pound weaned pig will spend at least four months on slatted concrete floors. As the industry moves from gestation stalls to group housing designs, slat quality ...

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,...

As my family and I traveled through Iowa last weekend, I couldn’t help but take notice of several finishing buildings that had been sitting empty for the last year or so. The curtains were down and pit fans running…they were filled with pigs again. Even though pigs are hard on equipment, nothing is ...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

As the food industry responds to animal welfare issues, many producers have started to consider alternative options to stall-based gestation systems. We took a few moments to speak with Hog Slat’s national sales manager, Fritz Richards, about group housing systems.
Can you describe the options availa...