Growout
Facilities:
Feeder pigs are moved into these rooms at approximately 11 weeks of age when they weight 32 kg. They stay here for about 14 weeks until they reach market weight of 115-120 kg.
Feeder pigs or grower pigs are named for their favourite activity: eating, which leads to growing!
Annie Hogg says…
“I used to think my brother ate like a pig, but dad says, pigs only eat what they need.”
Cleanliness:
Durable and easy to wash describes the modern pig barn. The rooms are washed after each batch of pigs (every 14 weeks). Some of the research projects in this barn look at easy ways to reduce water usage. Why is that important?
Manure:
In most rooms the manure channels under the slatted floor run the full length of the room. This room has a unique gutter system designed for research that keeps the manure under each pen separate.
Parts of the Finishing Room:
- Automated Air Inlets
- Air Recirculation Ducts
- Recirculation Duct Fan
- Minimum Ventilation Fan
- Summer Ventilation Fan
- Natural Gas Heater
- Feed Delivery Auger
- Feed Drop Spout
- Single Space Feeder
Ventilation:
The ventilation system is responsible for removing heat, moisture and gases from the room and delivering fresh air to the pigs.
Air quality is important to pigs and the people who work in the barns. Manure and urine contribute to barn odours, and gases form when they mix with water and spilled feed in the gutters below the slatted floors.
Ventilation and pen design, pig behaviour, feeding programs and pen cleanliness are some of the factors that determine the air quality inside and outside these rooms.
George Hogg explains…
“Did you know that the air is exchanged in this room once every minute in the summer. That’s a lot of hot air.”
How It Works — Physics in Motion:
Ventilation relies on fans to exhaust the stale, moist air from the room. Fresh, outside air then flows into the room through inlets, which are controlled by the computerized ventilation system. This system controls fan speed, inlet opening width and thus the range of temperatures and airspeeds experienced in the room.
The air motion creates mixing and blending of the air to achieve a constant and uniform temperature throughout the room. A recirculation duct is located along the centreline. Powered by a fan, this duct recirculates air assisting the manager to achieve uniform air quality in the room.
