How to design the most rational sow pen? Detailed explanation of gestation stall dimensions with pictures

AbstractBased on a feeding area of 2.5 sq m per sow, for a herd of fewer than 200 head, 1 pen house can be set up; 200 sows as 1 pen house unit means a 500 sq m sow pen house. The sow activity area is 3 sq m, with length and width of 2 m and 1.5 m respectively; the outdoor activity area is about 2 sq m, with length and width of 1.5 m and 1.3 m respectively; the height of the pig house fence is about 1.1-1.2 m.

I. How to design the most rational sow pen

1. Design scale

(1) According to individual economic conditions and management capacity, based on a feeding area of 2.5 sq m per sow, for a herd of fewer than 200 head, 1 pen house can be set up; 200 sows as 1 pen house unit means a 500 sq m sow pen house.

(2) A 500 sq m pen house can house 200 sows in a mixed group, or can be divided into single pens of 125 sq m each; if feeding 50 sows, then 500 sq m can be divided into 4 units, each pen house using 1 feeder, and the farrowing house can be built separately.

2. Rearing method

(1) Generally a large pen is used for feeding; the large pen houses 200 sows, and empty and pregnant sows can be kept together, with 4 single units as 1 group, then a separation system is set up; the large pen is provided with a rest area, feeding area, activity area and separation area, and also an estrus detection area, in which 1 boar is placed, and an estrus detection system can be installed in the middle.

(2) If small pens are used for feeding, empty and pregnant sows need to be separated, with every 50 pigs as 1 pen house, without using a separation system; to routinely identify the sows' status, a manual observation system with a spray-color device can generally be used: if the pregnancy days reach 105 days, spray red on the sow's back; spray yellow for estrus; spray blue if the sow does not eat feed for 1 day; the estrus detection system is set up next to the empty sow house, and 1 automatic drinker of 15-40 cm is installed in each pen.

3. Manure cleaning method

(1) After sows are moved to another house, they need to be trained to defecate at fixed points; every day the manure should be regularly cleaned from the manure removal opening onto a manure cart and pushed away; it must not be piled under the manure removal opening in front of the house, polluting the wall and ground; pig urine and wastewater flow through floor drains into the covered sewage ditch in front of the house.

(2) The sewage ditch has a sedimentation tank at 1 end of each house; the supernatant flows into the pig farm's main drainage pipe and converges to the sewage pool, and generally after anaerobic, aerobic and sand filtration or constructed wetland treatment, it is discharged up to standard.

4. Pen wall design

Generally the south pen wall is a 24 brick-built, cement-rendered lattice flower wall; the long wall along the rear corridor is an iron railing; the north wall needs upper windows and ground windows, which is good for summer ventilation; the partition wall between two adjacent pens is a 12 brick-built, cement-rendered solid wall, to prevent the spread of contact infectious diseases between pigs in adjacent pens.

5. Environmental control measures

(1) Generally in summer, the open south part of the pig house needs to be sealed with plastic mesh or shade net, which not only allows ventilation but also blocks mosquitoes and flies; in winter, plastic film is covered on top for insulation, including the north and south lattice flower walls; the stale air inside the house is discharged through roof vents; by using the pavilion effect in summer and the greenhouse effect in winter, the environmental temperature requirements of fattening pigs can basically be met.

(2) When the temperature is too high at noon in summer, plastic pipes need to be laid above the pens, with 1 plastic nozzle installed in each pen for spray cooling, but spray cooling must not be used during farrowing and piglet nursery periods, to avoid dampness in the pig house and piglet diarrhea; generally the upper windows and ground windows of the north wall of the pig house need to be sealed with plastic mesh in summer, and sealed with plastic film for insulation in winter.

II. Gestation stall dimensions

1. The piglet warming area is about 1.5 sq m, with length and width of about 1.2 m, and a lighting lamp needs to be added; the sow activity area is 3 sq m, with length and width of 2 m and 1.5 m respectively, and feeding and drinking devices need to be installed.

2. The outdoor activity area is about 2 sq m, with length and width of 1.5 m and 1.3 m respectively; the height of the pig house fence is about 1.1-1.2 m.