Healthier Litters with the Right Farrowing Floor
When you purchase gilts for your hog operation, a rule of thumb is to make certain they have a minimum of 12 functional teats. The loss of even two teats by an improper farrowing floor that does not provide adequate traction or sow comfort reduces production potential by over 16 percent and drastically cuts into your profit margin. By protecting your valuable sows from this danger, you increase their longevity and overall pig production, while eliminating costly replacements. The teat damage and abrasions done to sows while crated are caused by the sow slipping while getting up and down and by the design of the floor.
The Ideal Farrowing Floor
Ideally, a farrowing floor should provide the sow with excellent traction, be durable yet comfortable, provide the least possible teat and foot damage, prevent abrasions, and clean well. It should also treat the sow and her piglets differently because their needs are different. A cooler surface is preferred by sows but is not in the best interest of the piglets. A warmer surface for the piglets deters the piglets from spending potentially fatal periods of time under the sow.
The Ideal Sow Floor
To select the best possible sow floor, you have to consider the following criteria:
- tread and slip-reliability
- danger of injuries and injury potential due to surface quality
- durability and serviceability
- self-cleaning and disinfecting ability
- warmth qualities
- price adequacy
Putting your sows on a farrowing floor that doesn't perform well in these areas limits their potential while minimizing your profits.
Is
your farrowing floor limiting your herds potential?
The
Ideal Piglet Floor
The ideal piglet floor will not rob the piglet of precious body heat during the critical post-weaning stage, promoting faster growth. This will allow the producer to save on energy cost by operating at lower temperature settings. The flooring must also provide excellent traction without abrasions. A non-porous, disease-resistant surface must allow excellent manure filtration and will not harbor bacteria.