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Friday, August 29, 2008

New Construction of a House for 400 Sows

CROATIA - A new farm for 400 sows and for piglet rearing has recently been inaugurated in Legrad (Croatia). Shortly before, more than 500 interested visitors from Croatia and abroad had seized the opportunity of an “Open Farmhouse Day” to inform themselves about this extraordinary house building project.

The house itself was constructed by a local Croatian building contractor. Big Dutchman delivered the entire house equipment – from liquid manure piping to climate control.

Service centre with boar pen

Crate stands for individual keeping; feeding by means of volume dispensers

During the building phase, a local experienced project manager was entrusted with the supervision of construction works. Hence, there was always a responsible contact person available whenever questions concerning the planning of the house and ceiling construction or the final acceptance of work arose. Result: an absolutely smooth flow of construction works.

As far as the housing equipment is concerned, the right arrangement and design of the individual house areas has been of vital importance:

1. Service centre

The service centre is equipped with boar pens and crate stands. Crate stands allow the farmer to survey and control each animal in the best possible way. Artificial insemination can be carried out easily thanks to the door halves which can be opened individually to the inside and outside. Feeding is effected by means of volume dispensers.

2. Pregnancy area

The pregnancy area has been equipped with an animal-friendly group management system, which houses 7 sows per group. The sows are fed by the SIMULTAN feeding system. Each sow has its own feeding place. Approx. 60-cm-long plastic partitions between the individual trough places not only ensure that the sows can eat quietly, but also prevent aggression during feeding.

3. Farrowing area

The farrowing area is equipped with FLOOPI anti-slip, animal-friendly plastic flooring. Furthermore, each farrowing pen is equipped with cast iron slats and a

closed concrete resting area (straight housing). Heating plates for piglets have been integrated into the pen floor. The sows are fed by volume dispensers.

4. Piglet rearing

The pens for piglet rearing are also equipped with the animal-friendly FLOOPI plastic flooring; feeding is effected by the automatic feeders Lean Machine. The MC 32 climate computer controls the entire house climate. Ceilings for spray cooling and the CL 600 exhaust air chimneys guarantee highly-satisfactory exhaust and fresh air regulation.

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