Articles - Management

Use a rake to pick placentas more easily.

Meeting the needs of the newly weaned pigs often proves to be difficult in many production settings.

Various strategies are discussed: offering up to 3 different types of feed, budget feeding, density of piglets per feeder space, ...

A system for cleaning the bowls in a practical, effective, and quick way without splashing all the farrowing pen or soaking the piglets.

Neonatal mortality does not only depend on the design of the farrowing crate, but also on genetic and management factors, as well as litter size, especially with the increased use of hyper-prolific dam lines.

Make a hole in one of the ends and place a soda vacuum plug so the feed troughs can be cleaned more easily.

The idea is to modify the doors of the pen where sows are housed in groups to increase the contact with the boar.

The month of the sow's birth affects the number of piglets born alive in the first farrowing.

Although dispersion in the farrowing quarters is decisive in the final dispersion, we can take steps to correct some of this dispersion in the nursery.

Finding alternatives to reduce the number of nurse sows by maximising the number of suckling piglets per sow.

To prevent tail biting, animals must be able to express their exploratory behaviour in an appropriate manner. This article presents the points to consider when choosing the most appropriate material.

Usual standard on many farms to identify a sow with different genetics quickly.

Improving piglets' comfort in the farrowing pens by offering them more surface for resting.

This method works especially well in farms where pens are wide or have unusual dimensions.

We can predict a sow's production based on the number of piglets born alive at first farrowing. In addition, the best sows' performance will outdo the others' continuously.

Save time, work and water when cleaning the buildings.

The use of milk replacers is helpful, both to increase the number of weaned piglets and to simplify the management of nurse sows.

This trick consists in creating a nest using the crates back corridor.

The week of birth is tattooed on the animals`ears to know their age at all times.

By moving beads stringed in a wire we will record the amount of feed consumed.

We present the first results obtained by cross-matching data from different sources: production / reproduction data with data from feeding machines.

Bearing welfare in mind, which should be the size of the group of animals housed in a pen?

Having a correct lighting is basic for the productivity of the sow and the farm workers, and it can be increased considerably with solutions apart from artificial lighting.

This trick helps to restrain the sows quickly in their cages to draw blood from them.