Farrowing crates are commonly used in order to properly manage the pregnant pig’s behavior. They are used in large-scale production farms, mostly raising pigs for slaughter. The roomy cage is put in a separate building or sectioned off part of a well-lit building, allowing the use of artificial light if necessary.
Quickly after the birth of her piglets, the mother pig is moved to a farrowing crate that has been timed with her due date. The size of the crate varies depending on how many piglets are being farmed, but most can comfortably fit up to 10 sows. During the time she is occupied with her piglets, she is not often permitted to leave her pen, many times for several weeks after farrowing.
The size of the crate is crucial to its usefulness. The pig enters the cage when she begins to feel restlessness in her hindquarters that is necessary for the birth process. Additional adjustments can be made when converting a sow to a farrowing crate if there are complications in the earlier stage of pregnancy. Pigs in crates are fed and watered in one spot, also known as balkal feeding. This keeps her in this sectioned off area, which allows the farmer to easily go in and check on her progress during pregnancy.
Once the piglets are born, they stay in the crate for about 1 week. For this period, the crate must be large enough to allow you to reach inside without hurting yourself or stepping on any piglets. The best option for this is a sow farrowing crate. These crates are adjustable allowing you to change the size depending on the size of your sow.
Farrowing Crate Design
When planning farrowing units or crates, think about the amount of space per pig. This depends upon the number of pigs born alive and those who die from birth to weaning. The number of pens per room depends on genetics and herd size. Thus, if prolific hybrids such as the French or Danish ones are used, 10-15% extra pens must be added per room for foster mothers. These pens will stay empty until foster. Normally, one farrowing room per sow batch is sufficient. However, in herds with more than 2000 sows it might worthwhile having two farrowing rooms per batch to allocate workload of cleaning pens and moving sows over more days.
The design of the farrowing crate is extremely important. Since two types of animals with different temperature demands are housed in the same unit, it’s not easy to achieve the right temperatures for both groups. The newborn piglet requires a temperature of 34 C at birth, which is reduced to 28-30 C at weaning. Since the piglet and the sow have completely different temperature preferences, it’s difficult to maintain a stable temperature.
The set of pig farrowing crates comprises 2 sets of different sizes for the sow and her litter. The size varies from 8′ x 8′ (16 sqft) to 10′ x 12′ (24 sqft). It also contains a feeding and watering trough and also a nests box for the litter. The set comes with complete instructions on how to build, materials needed, and how to assemble the equipment.
From a design perspective, strong emphasis should be placed on the sow’s lying area. In addition, adjustable stall width should be designed in relation to the sow’s lying position. The stall width for sows that lie down in a prone position should have a minimum width of 70 cm and an ideal width from 80 to 100 cm when sows are lying more recumbent. Similarly, the length of the lying area should match that of sows that find it easier to turn into a recumbent position (i.e., less than 180 cm long). Stall length for sows that find it difficult to assume a recumbent position (greater than 180 cm) may need to be 200-210 cm long.
In this crate, the sow stays more or less on the floor. The design of this crate provides a slightly sloping pen from the front to the back of the stall, which results in a more natural lying position for the sow. A disadvantage of a crate with a sloping floor is that some sows find it difficult to turn around if they want to change their lying posture while lying on their sides. To make sure that all sows can easily turn around if they want to do so, rotation is an important prerequisite. In addition, sows spend more time on their side when there is a slope in the pen from front to back.
Our farrowing crate design takes into account the needs of modern prolific breeds. In addition, we propose adjustable width from 35 up to 90 cm as well as a stall length of 200-210 cm. This way the sow has enough space for her piglets as they grow. Our designs allow us to control the sow slowing her down before she lies down ensuring she is comfortable and safe during labor and delivery.
Pig Farrowing Crate Dimensions
The farrowing crate is the most expensive building in the whole pig unit, but also the most important one. It should provide comfort to sows while they are expecting and after they give birth. The farrowing crate also accommodates the staff performing tasks like weighing, injections, and feed distribution while separating newborn pigs from their mother.
A farrowing unit is used to allow the piglets to be born and grow without any disturbance. It prevents piglets from falling into manure or getting eaten alive by their mother. The use of pig farrowing crates and the amount of space for each piglet is a hot topic since animal welfare groups stress that factors such as movement and competition for food may play an important role in the development of behavior and welfare.
We conduct research on the basic farrowing crate to determine if modifications, additions or other types of crates can increase sow welfare. The farrowing crate has four components: (i) the basic structure; (ii) the feeder; (iii) the floor; and (iv) the butt bar. We examined these characteristics based on research involving sows in commercial, large-scale systems in artificial insemination breeding facilities. Cement slats were the most common flooring material used under the sow’s feeder. Some facilities have tried plastic, coated wire, metal grates, or slats plus slats with rubber mats over them.
But the design of the basic farrowing crate has not changed in the last 25 years. Sure, different types of flooring have been tried under sows – from wire, plastic, cast iron, coated-wire, tri-bar, fiberglass-coated, aluminum, etc. Usually, a butt bar at the rear of the crate helps prevent sows from lying on pigs during the birth process and lactation. The pig farrowing crate dimensions are generally geared towards large-scale dairy operations. The largest dimension should be 300 cm to allow the sows to lie down without touching the front wall. The height should be between 130 and 200 cm in order to allow the sows to enter and stand erect in the farrowing crate. The total area should be between 15 to 20 m2, considering that each sow enters into an empty farrowing crate to give birth.
Features of Pig Farrowing Crate
Pig Farrowing Crate helps you provide a comfortable and safe environment for your baby pigs so that they can grow up happy and healthy. Pig Farrowing Crate provides a convenient and safe way to transport and handle piglets and other livestock as well as providing a safe and secure housing system keeping them warm, dry, sanitary, and protected from predators.
- Solid construction
- Easy to assemble
- Adjustable width and length
- Girder and beams included
- Strong and sturdy construction
- 4 footer crate offers great stability
- Tilt trough for cleaning and thorough cleaning of the pen
- Do not forget to use keep off rods for preventing crushing of piglets by the sow and provide a comfortable resting area.
Prices of Pig Farrowing Crate
Pig Farrowing Crate is nothing but the platform on which the piglets are born. It keeps them safe and reduces the chances of casualty. A supplier can fabricate Pig Farrowing Crate using wood or metal. The price of Pig Farrowing Crate depends upon its design, size, and material used. Pig Farrowing Crate prices vary with different designs and dimensions. You may need to budget about $340.00-$914.00/ Set depending on the features coming along with the equipment.