BPEX using thermal imaging to assess pig housing

The British Pig Executive (BPEX) is now using thermal imaging to help assess the condition of pig housing as part of its “closing the gap” strategy.
“The consequences of poor ventilation and thermal management can have a huge effect on pig development, health and behavior,” said Thomas Burling, BPEX building and environment business support.
“For this reason, BPEX has invested in a thermal imaging camera, and the environment team has been trained how to use it out on-farm to map heat energy loss from pig buildings while monitoring housing conditions.”
He adds that the camera has already been trialed successfully in farm situations and has highlighted areas of housing with defective insulation, 'thermal bridges' and draughts.
“The camera is most efficient when there are big differentials in temperature. Therefore, we’re encouraging anyone interested in thermal imaging of their buildings to get in touch with us as soon as possible if they’d like to arrange a visit during this winter period.
“While the camera doesn’t hold the answer to the problem, it helps identify the issues which can often have complex causes. And, once identified, we can then discuss any issues with producers to help them better understand their housing.
“Ideally, we want producers to be better informed in order to make decisions or discuss improvements with potential suppliers.”
Burling adds that the key goal of the work is to improve pig production efficiencies and the health and welfare of the livestock on a unit. “If issues can be resolved it should also improve on-farm energy efficiency and ultimately reduce energy bills and carbon emissions,” said Burling.

Cutting costs on pig housing won’t help in long run

Reducing costs on pig housing may prove more costly in the long run, as doing so can prevent pigs from reaching their genetic potential. Stephen Waite, JSR Genetics head of technology, while speaking at the recent JSR Farming Conference at York University, said pig producers could gain an additional GBP224 (US$365) a sow a year by improving their environment to ensure pigs meet their genetic potential.
“When someone builds a new-build, they like building it with minimum water access, minimum feed space and minimum floor space. They do that because that’s the cheapest. But minimums don’t change with genetic progress,” said Waite
Waite said environment governed how well genetic potential is reached and genetics performed very differently in different environments, Farmers Weekly reported.
Farrowing and temperatures
Controlling the temperature of a pig’s environment is one way producers can improve profitability, Waite said. The number of piglets born a sow was higher if they were served at the optimum temperature, Waite explained. Controlling the temperature is important, he explained, citing one example of when the temperature at service rose above 14C during the summer months, the average number of piglets born dropped. In an environment with a controlled temperature, the number of piglets born averaged 13.3, as opposed to 11.5 in an uncontrolled environment.
That difference equated to GBP80 (US$130) extra profit a gilt a year for four more piglets sold, Waite said.

Quality Equipment invests in quest for quicker turnaround for panels

Quality Equipment employees work with the new plastic panel welding machine (foreground), with the new sawing equipment in the background. 
Due to the continued demand for Paneltim plastic panels for piggeries, Suffolk-based equipment supplier and manufacturer, Quality Equipment (QE), has invested more than GBP75,000 in a new saw and automatic welder, specially designed to deal with plastic. "This sophisticated equipment will enable the company to improve delivery times and offer greater flexibility with made-to-measure panels," commented QE Director Graham Baker.
The saw provides accurate cutting while the welder delivers strong joins with a high-quality finish. The machine can weld panels at many widths and lengths, so panels can be produced in a variety of dimensions to suit farmers' individual requirements.
The new machines have enabled the company to achieve a three-fold increase in output while improving quality and uniformity. In addition to the well-known hollow 'honeycomb' Paneltim panels, the welder can cope with solid plastic panels in a wide range of thicknesses.
"Paneltim panels are fast becoming the material of choice for gates and pen divisions in piggeries because of their durability and hygienic qualities," said Graham Baker.

WEDA releases self-catching pig pens

WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp have released a new self-catching pig pen SF3. The self-catching pig housing pens were designed to fulfill the requirements set down in the EU Directive 88/2001 as well as in the ordinance on animal welfare.
Based on a new lever technology, the ergonomic construction principle of this maintenance and wear-free opening and closing system ensures easy release by humans and by animals. For sows, the pen's opening and adjustment of the desired function can accommodate up to 20 sows.
The springless SF System is designed to prevent problems with corrosive part, and the barrier-free locking system is advantageous for animals that can take up their feed in a considerably more relaxed way. After a sow has entered the pen, the mechanism installed inside the trough immediately releases the locking device.
For the animals which follow, the entry into the pen is now barred. The sow inside the pen can release the locking mechanism on her own and then leave the pen. In particular lower ranking sows are considerably less exposed to stress during feed.
The pig pen does not require mechanical suspension and can be employed as a retrofit system for SF1. 

Pig house of the future main attraction at EuroTier

The Big Dutchman-designed concept details how pig farms could look and operate in the future.

A new concept detailing how pig farms could look and operate in the future is attracting more than 20,000 visitors a day at the 2012 EuroTier livestock production show in Hanover, Germany.
Designed and staged by Big Dutchman, the fully automated futuristic display includes a revolving system that checks if the sows are pregnant and separates those that are not, leading them directly to a special insemination area. There are also special waiting areas, meeting areas, farrowing pens, exercise areas and rearing-finishing areas in a system that is designed to meet future environmental and health regulations, as well as consumer demands for pig welfare.
“The main idea behind this vision for the future is that the animals are free all the time from farrowing through to finishing, and it allows people to see how the animals are treated through all the production stages,” said Project Manager Daniel Holling. The concept includes a number of revolutionary ideas, some of which are already on their way to the market, some of which are still going through trials and even some that might never actually meet market requirements. Some of those ideas include a dry feeding system, an automatic manure scraper and special systems to collect a range of different statistics and other data.
“We wanted to show people that Big Dutchman is thinking ahead and provide them with an idea of what the future might look like,” said Holling. He said that the system had already been through a series of promising practical trials on a small pig farm (with 60 sows) in north Germany, which showed that everything worked properly, although he said he expected it would be some time before it was all commercially available. “The ultimate goal is a professional and profitable pig management system, without restriction for the pigs,” he said. “We hope this pig house of the future will provide people with a practical basis for discussion and encourage producers to get more actively involved in the further development of livestock farming.”
Holling said he was sure the company would get a lot of feedback from many of the people who had been through the huge, walk-in working display at EuroTier.

Denmark developing mobile hospital for sick sows

Folding the floor creates a cart that can be moved by a pallet truck and the sow is either walked on to the cart or lifted on.

A mobile pen under development in Denmark could help solve the problem of where to put a sow that needs to be segregated for special attention. The pen acts both as an ambulance to move sick or injured sows if they cannot walk comfortably and as a temporary isolation area in which they can stay while they recover.
Denmark’s animal welfare rules require that every herd has hospital-pen accommodation equivalent to at least 2.5 percent of the total number of places on the site for sows in group gestation. A minimum of one hospital pen must always be ready for immediate use. Other stipulations state that the floor must have either a rubber mat or straw bedding so it is soft for at least two-thirds of its area. Hospital pens for sows and gilts can hold up to three animals at a time, but always with the appropriate facilities for climate and for feeding and watering.
As a member of the European Union, Denmark also has adopted the EU regulation banning the use of individual stalls to house sows in pregnancy. Any conversion of former stall housing into gestation in groups raises questions of how many places can be fitted into an existing building, even before trying to find some space for hospital pens. The Danish designers of the mobile pen see their idea as a stand-by facility to be the hospital quarters for a single sow. This allows the producer to satisfy the local welfare law on pen provision without needing the allocation of floor area inside a permanent structure.
But the design team of veterinarian Peter Høgedal with pig equipment specialists Peter Kaspersen and Jørn Kirkegaard realised there was another common difficulty if sows needed to be moved due to illness or injury: the sow could be unable to walk and would, therefore, require some form of assistance.




Peter Best

The cart is taken from the gestation house to a location where it can be transformed into a hospital pen.




Multi-purpose mobile pen 

Their proposal is a platform that folds so it can be moved by pallet truck into a position next to the sick sow. She then either walks on board or is rolled on if necessary. Once secured, she is carried out of the house to a position where the platform can begin its transformation into a temporary pen. In its unfolded form the platform changes from a cart only 60 cm wide into a floor measuring 1.9 m x 1.9 m. Raised about 8 cm above the surface on which it rests, this floor is composed of a perforated rubber pad that supplies a soft bed as well as drainage.
Surrounding both the bottom of the hospital pen and one side is a steel frame. Plastic panels are slotted in to be the walls on two sides, but the plan proposed by the designers would see the other two sides contributed by the corner of the building in which the pen was placed. Alternatively, there could be a gate across one end. A third wall of plastic panels would be a further option in non-corner positions. A feed trough and a watering nipple are fixed permanently to the frame, and the only further connection required is to the water supply.
The first prototype of the mobile pen has been under test for the past six months at the Mesing unit of producer Ole Larsen. Although very few sows are so lame that they cannot walk, the facility has already proved useful as the extra hospital pen which can be assembled in seconds when needed. The design works well in principle, say the Danish team members, so the next step will be to produce it commercially for sale to herds wanting a place for their sick sows. 

Burger King to source eggs from cage-free chickens by 2017

Burger King has announced that it will source all its eggs and pig meat from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017, a move that could open a significant new market for the egg and pig meat industries. Nine percent of the corporation's eggs and 20 percent of its pig meat are already cage-free.
Burger King has been increasing its use of cage-free eggs and pig meat as the industry has become better able to meet demand, said Jonathan Fitzpatrick, chief brand and operations officer. He said the decision is part of the company's social responsibility policy. "We believe this decision will allow us to leverage our purchasing power to ensure the appropriate and proper treatment of animals by our vendors and suppliers," he said. The company uses hundreds of millions of eggs and tens of millions of pounds of pig meat annually.
Wendy's and McDonald's have asked their pig meat suppliers to outline plans for the elimination of gestation crates without setting a timetable.

UK pig association accuses welfare organizations of harming industry

The UK’s National Pig Association has accused two of the country’s leading animal welfare bodies of threatening the welfare of pigs on British farms. According to the association, Compassion in World Farming and the Soil Association have launched new campaigns to prevent pig producers from replacing worn-out housing, even though modern pig housing is more welfare- and environment-friendly, as well as being more efficient. “If these two organizations are successful in their aims, the British pig herd will shrink as older housing becomes uneconomic, and the growing gap in production will be taken up by lower-welfare imports,” said the association. In particular, the National Pig Association has condemned Compassion in World Farming for sending quasi-official letters to pig farmers in which it threatens to oppose planning applications unless the applicants disclose confidential management information to Compassion in World Farming. In addition, the National Pig Association calls out the Soil Association for supplying planners with what they say is misinformation intended to give the impression that British pigs are produced in the same way as intensive pig production in other countries. “The peasant farming idyll promoted by these two organizations has little relevance in a world with a fast-growing population that needs affordable food,” said National Pig Association Chairman Stewart Houston. “If their continued attacks on our higher-welfare British pig industry are successful, they will succeed in shutting down pig production in Britain and supermarkets will import more lower-welfare pork from elsewhere in the world.” Most of the objections raised by Compassion in World Farming and the Soil Association were not related to planning matters and should be ignored by planners, said Houston. For instance, Compassion in World Farming had written to applicants demanding to know the precise nature of the enrichment materials to be used in proposed new housing. Houston said the National Pig Association was particularly concerned that the constant attacks on British pig production would soon reach a point where most pig producers were dissuaded from putting up new housing, because of the planning difficulties involved. “If their intention is to drive economic pig production out of Britain, then there is a real danger they will succeed, but I fail to see who will benefit,” said Houston. “Consumers won’t, producers won’t and the pigs left in old, inefficient buildings won’t, either.”

South African farmers want more time to improve pig living conditions

South African pig farmers are asking for an extension of the latest 2016 deadline to improve the living conditions of their animals, saying that 2020 is a more realistic date to work towards.
The original deadline for compliance, by which time farmers were expected to incorporate things like larger individual pens for housing sows, was 2011. Farmers have said they are concerned that their product will be less competitive internationally due to the increased cost of implementing changes, and that small and emerging farmers may be forced out of the market. "Farmers should not be disadvantaged by the changing rules because of the significant investment they are expected to make to change the conditions of their livestock," said South African Pork Producers' Organisation veterinary liaison officer Dr. Peter Evans.
The National Council of the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has said the revised target date is on par with other parts of the world. The European Union will be phasing out the practice of confined spaces next year, New Zealand by 2015 and Australia and Tasmania by 2017, "so our target is within international norms," said Celeste Houseman, manager of the NSPCA's farm animal unit.

Pig housing concept designed around animal welfare needs

Sanastal will offer a strict separation between clean and dirty pathways.

KWB Boxtel and SPRIKK Architecture based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Genugten Agri based in Sint Oedenrode, The Netherlands, are developing an animal housing concept integrating air scrubbing, air circulation and the use of passive energy and energy recovery. The housing, called Sanastal, aims to produce a house for fattening pigs that improves living conditions.
The environmental benefits (energy-neutral, minimum emissions) are realized through a multi-phase air scrubber from KWB in Boxtel, UV technology and energy-saving techniques, including a high-yield heat exchanger, solar cells, online data control and the method used to quickly remove manure from the house. Animal welfare benefits can be seen through the housing design, where the pigs are held in a multilevel system with freedom of movement, toys and opportunities for exercise. The housing also allows for optimum penetration of daylight and a strict separation between clean and dirty pathways. KWB Boxtel is aiming for at least a Dutch 1-star certification for the meat produced in the housing.

Transparency in the pig industry

More than 20 years ago pigs were out in the open but after some harsh winters and storms experts came up with the idea to put a roof over them. Once a roof was built, they decided walls would be a good idea and pigs became hidden from the public. While the intentions were pure, hiding the pigs from the public became a negative for the industry.
“People need to see that the pigs are well taken care of,” says Malcom S. De Kryger, vice president of Belstra Milling Co. at a World Pork Expo press conference.
Various animal rights groups have posted grainy videos of rough treatment to outright abuse of animals on YouTube. A few months ago, a video from Countryside made the rounds on several national news outlets giving the industry a collective black eye.
“We wanted to show that we’re not beating our animals – that’s repulsive to us,” says De Kryger.
To document to the public what really happens in a farrowing house and breeding barn in stalls, the company launched www.realpigfarm.com, a live video stream that films 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Four foot-by-four foot windows were installed in several buildings so people can look in and see the pigs.
“We don’t take biosecurity lightly, but if people want to see what we do then we’re happy to show them,” he says. Belestra also offers tours and has about 200 visitors per year.

Veterinarian makes hygiene recommendations for batch systems

Rooms in pig facilities that are managed on an all-in, all-out system often look clean during a superficial inspection—but they frequently contain hidden reservoirs of infection that can reduce the benefits of the batch system, says Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to UK pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd.
These reservoirs can result from inadequate cleaning of feeders, leaving stale food in hoppers and troughs, and insufficient cleaning around feeders, exposed pipes and pen corners. Periodic cleaning beneath slats is also necessary to achieve the full benefits from the system, Thompson says.
He adds that water systems often contain large quantities of sludge in header tanks, so these should be cleaned out whenever possible. After cleaning, all drinking points should be checked to ensure they are fully operational and deliver the correct water flow-rate.
As a final precaution, Thompson recommends fumigation of rooms where possible to control vermin, which can be a major source of infection.