Farrowing House Design

(313) The control of piglet diseases is dependent upon the design of the house and the way it is
managed. Key features of a good farrowing house:
The design should enable an all-in all-out management system to be operated with complete cleaning,
disinfection and drying of pens between groups. This prevents the build up of infection and reduces the
exposure to viruses, bacteria and parasites.
To achieve an efficient all-in all-out system the farrowing houses should be of a size appropriate to the
number of the sows in the herd and the number of farrowings planned for each week. Thus, ideally, in a
family farm of 300-500 sows farrowing houses should contain about 10 crates and in smaller herds about 6.
In large herds of 1000 or more sows it is useful to have farrowing houses of two or more different sizes, say,
10 to 12 crates and 20 to 24 crates. If rooms are bigger than this the farrowing spread becomes too large to
operate an efficient all-in all-out system.
The floor and work surfaces should be made of non-porous easily cleaned materials that dry quickly.
The floors should be well constructed and drained so that no pools of liquid occur and they should be free
from cracks and fissures that harbour infections.
The rooms should be adequately insulated and the ventilation system should maintain even temperatures
with no draughts around the sows or piglets. In temperate and colder climates the system should be
mechanically operated.
There should be passages in front of the farrowing pens as well as behind them for easy access to the
piglets, without climbing from one pen to another. This is particularly important when outbreaks of piglet
diarrhoea occur.
Examples of farrowing house layouts are given in Fig.8-22.


(Fig.8-22)
Farrowing crate and pen design are important in the management of the sow and litter. Pig producers are nothing if
not resourceful and ingenious and it is not surprising that over the 25 to 30 years of the development of the modern
industry a variety of pen and crate designs have been developed, some good, some not so good, none perfect.
Numerous pens have been designed that avoid total confinement of the sow in a crate or which confine the sow for
the first few days of lactation and then allow her free movement (e.g. multi suckling systems) but they have all been
found wanting and some have
been disastrous. There is, as
yet, no system more
productive and welfare
friendly to the piglets as well
as the sow and safe for the
attendant, than full
confinement in a farrowing
crate for most or preferably all
of lactation, provided weaning
is at less than 41/2 weeks.
An example of a
satisfactory farrowing pen
layout is shown in Fig.8-23.


The pen area is a minimum of 1.8m wide by 2.4m with the crate offset to one side with a side creep to the
larger side close to the front passage. Provided the management is good there seems to be little
difference in piglet mortality whether the creep is in front of the sow (as in the Camborough crate), to one
side of the head of the sow (as in Fig.8-23) or further back, level with the udder. The position of the creep
in Fig.8-23 gives the piglet contact to the sows head, fostering a maternal bond. It encourages the piglets
to remain at the head of the sow rather than at the udder where they may be laid on. In hot climates a
heated front creep may prevent the sow cooling herself and drip cooling procedures become necessary.
Crate designs vary widely and serve several purposes.
Safety for the stockperson.
Ease of management for such procedures as clipping teeth and tailing, examining the piglets and
the sows udder.
Treating the piglets or the sow, feeding, changing creep feed and general hygiene.
Provision of a simple safe creep close to the sow for the piglets.
Reducing piglet mortality from crushing and disease.
Economy of space in the farrowing room.
One guide to the efficiency of the design is the level of mortality achieved but other factors should also be
assessed, such as the comfort and contentment of the sow, whether the crates are big enough for the
biggest sows and the availability of both rows of teats to the piglets. To facilitate this ( and to reduce
crushing against the bottom bar) "fingers" are incorporated as in Fig.8-23 instead of a low bottom bar.
Various gadgets have been developed to reduce crushing when the sow lies down:
Adjustable bottom rails for different size sows.
A hinged bottom bar that drops inwards when the sow stands up making it difficult for her just to drop down
when lying again.
Bottom bars that operate on an hydraulic ram (the proctor crate) so that the sides swing in when the sow
stands and will only swing out slowly again when the sow starts to lie down. Such crates are expensive and
elaborate but they do help to reduce mortality.
Crates with a fan that automatically turns on when the sow stands and blows cool air around her feet
(blowaways) encouraging the piglets to return to the creep.
The floors of farrowing crates are important to piglet survival and health. If solid they should be insulated,
smooth enough not to cause abrasions on the piglets legs but not too smooth and slippery to make it
difficult for the newborn piglet to get to the udder and creep area.
Floors may be fully perforated , partly perforated as in Fig.8-23 or only perforated at the back end of the sow. They
may be raised to various heights above the passage level to help in manipulation by the stockperson, to deter the
stockperson from climbing, and to raise the piglet away from draughts at floor level.
Whilst crate design is important in assisting the sow to lie down gently, nevertheless its impact on pigs laid on is low if
the management and the design of the house encourages the piglet not to lie in the danger dropping zone. The day
by day management of the pen, the bedding and good drainage of the floor are vital components for success.
Good management in the farrowing house is the key to the successful rearing of healthy pigs and low pre-
weaning mortality.
If your mortality is 9% or more then consider in detail the following outlines. If you are achieving
all of these you should reach the target of between 5 and 8%.
Preparing the Farrowing House
(314) Sows should be moved into a dry warm house about three days before the expected farrowing date.
The house should have been completely emptied, cleaned, disinfected and more importantly dried.
As farrowing approaches a second heat lamp should be placed opposite the sows udder (if it is a side creep)
to attract the piglet away from the sow.
If the farrowing crate floor is slatted and the sow is likely to farrow at night time, a lamp should be hung at
the back of the crate.
If a sow is farrowing on slats, the areas behind and to the side of her should be covered over with solid
material during the actual period of farrowing and kept dry with shavings.
Make sure there are no draughts or high air flow across the house.
Make sure all nipple drinkers are working correctly.
Check the floors for any wear or tear or any loose panels if slatted. (Failure to carry this out frequently
results in the loss of a litter in the slurry).
Preparing the Sow
(315)
Make sure that all health routines have been carried out, for example vaccinations, mange treatment and
worming.
Check the feeding of the sow.
Regularly examine the udder as farrowing approaches.
Examine the vulva of the sow twice a day for any abnormal discharges.
Make sure the faeces is removed twice a day from behind the sow until two days post-farrowing, then once
daily for eight days.
Starting a piggery is a great business that you can start in your own backyard.
For this workbook, we solicited the help of seasoned pig farmer Rolly Bautista, who
helpedEntrepreneur Philippineswith some basic know how for people who want to get into
this kind of business. Rolly, who maintains a 200-square meter pig cage in his backyard in
Apalit, Pampanga, has been in this line of business since 2000.

KEEP IT CLEAN
It is not true that pigs are filthy animals. In fact, they can easily catch diseases if their
surroundings, and even the people who take care of them or approach them, are unclean,
he said.

So for those who want to use their backyards for a small-scale piggery business, Rolly said
the first emphasis should be on the pig cage or pen. He said that a drainage system and a
septic tank are musts. Through this, every time the pigs urinate or defecates, the area can be
cleaned immediately. The pigs defecate twice a day and the cage will only become smelly if
they get mixed with the urine.

If you will immediately clean the cage, it will not smell bad and your neighbors will not
even notice that you have a piggery in your backyard because it will not emit a foul smell,
he said.
There should also be a steady source of water because the pigs need to be washed at least
once a day. They also need to drink clean water regularly. The roofing of the cage should be
high to help it have proper ventilation, because the sow will easily suffer a miscarriage if the
area gets too hot.The pen should have regular anti-bacterial sprays. Bautista said a 200-
square meter pen can accommodate up to 10 sows (inahin) and 50 fattener piglets.