Articles - Facilities and equipment

Prefabricated rooms or renovated shipping containers can be the first line of defense for external biosecurity, increasing the protection of our farms from the entry of diseases.

Why is achieving efficient transport biosecurity so complicated? In this first article of a series, we will review the different challenges we need to overcome in order to achieve more efficient biosecurity in pig transport vehicles.

Technology has been a part of many pig farms for years, but it is an area that is exploding globally

Interview with the owner of Yangxiang to understand a bit better the development of the project and what they have learned.

A comprehensive management plan for slurry transforms a perceived problem into an opportunity and a valued resource.

333, together with Javier Lorente, visits the spectacular Chinese farm in which 28,000 sows are housed in 9-storey buildings.

La Bonita farm is situated between tropical mountains at an altitude of 2000 m, giving it a high health status. During our visit they shared with us the management routines of the farm and they showed us the facilities, which included an interesting weaning feeder.

How to achieve the 6 kg average daily intake that today's high-producing lactating sows need?

We highlight different options for segregation of clean/dirty zones at the personnel entrance into the farm. This is where biosecurity starts. Keeping it simple and easy to follow increases the likelihood of an effective protocol.

Biofilm, “the dirt in water pipes”, the causative agent of problems in the conditions and the quality of the water supply, is the subject of this article.

Using a custom-made cart designed for drying and storage of heating lamps from farrowing units between uses to extent its working life.

Choosing a smooth tile type with seamless gap material will not allow rodents to achieve a foothold that would facilitate their climbing ability

The second part of this article tells us what we can learn from sow's nesting instinct, creep-feed intake, relationship with the operator and groups formation in camping systems for use in our closed farms.

How to increase water consumption in piglets during the 2 to 3 days period after weaning using the piglet’s natural curiosity.

After the onset of problems, it brings back to our mind that perhaps water could be the source of our poor production results.

We explain a simple and easy method for cleaning creep feeders.

The goal is to be able to make that some individual dispensers do not deliver feed when they are all full

The views of experienced experts on what the ideal mating /early gestation barn should look like.

This trick tries to reduce the number of deaths by providing the piglets more resting space by using the corridor.

Joan Wennberg discusses with different experts how do they think that the ideal mating area design should be.

30 years ago, the idea of setting up a conveyor belt like the ones that are (or were) used in poultry farming appeared.

The most difficult thing for sows is learning to open doors. Here we show an easy and practical way to achieve it.

One of the main tools to encourage the installation of extra lighting in the mating area is the data analysis, and more specifically the weaning-to-service interval.

Floor cooling is based on the conduction of heat from the sow to a sink while lying down.