Loose Sow Housing. Mountain Vista Sow Unit Sunterra Farms Ltd.

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1 Loose Sow Housing Mountain Vista Sow Unit Sunterra Farms Ltd.

2 Mountain Vista Sow Unit

3 Mountain Vista Sow Unit Located 30 minutes east of Drumheller, AB Built in head Farrow to Feeder operation 3 sow gestation rooms, 1 gilt gestation room, 12 farrowing rooms 200 head off-site 28 day Isolation Unit head off-site Nursery unit

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5 Why the move to loose sow housing? Some of the reasons we considered switching, The new Code and its future requirements Aging facility or equipment in need of repair Customer requirement Programs in place to off-set the costs Financially the right-time These were our main considerations, Now it was time to come up with a plan

6 Poll for Producers Are you considering converting to loose sow housing? Type Slido.com into your smart phone s internet browser address bar, then enter event code #2837. Click the Polls tab to respond. RDSTW guests responses will display in real-time.

7 Planning Stage Research What have other producers done? Ask them lots of questions. What worked? What didn t work? What would they change? What are YOUR options? New build or renovation to your existing space? Are you going to stop production? Are you continuing with production? What system does the barn layout allow? What Sq. ft is available? Who s going to do the renovation? In-house? or Contractors? How much do you want to budget?

8 Option #1 Gestal

9 Front alley Back alley Back alley Back alley Back alley Back alley Back alley Front alley Front alley Front alley Front alley Front alley Option #2 Shoulder stalls 7 18ft2 6 21ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft2 16 ft ft2 14 ft2 12 ft2 6 18ft ft ft2 4 18ft2 3 24ft2

10 Planning Stage Calculations 6 months Pre Conversion Farrowings / week 183 B/A 13.6 PWM 11.5% % stillborn 4.8% Sow Mortality 10.9% Wean wt Kg 5.61 Wean age 19.5 Fw rate 84% Sow inventory 4350 Nursery Exit Wt Kg 16.2 ADG FCE 1.52 Mortallity 3.95% Culls 1.36% Total pigs born alive / Yr 129,132 Total pigs weaned / Yr 114,334

11 Planning Stage Calculations 6 months Pre Conversion Conversion Assumptions Farrowings / week B/A PWM 11.5% 11.5% % stillborn 4.8% 4.5% Sow Mortality 10.9% 12.0% Wean wt Kg Wean age Fw rate 84% 87% Sow inventory Nursery Exit Wt Kg ADG FCE Mortallity 3.95% 3.00% Culls 1.36% 1.00% Total pigs born alive / Yr 129, ,727 Total pigs weaned / Yr 114, ,777

12 Decision was made to go with option #2 Cost, <$200, Shoulder stalls, 15 sows/18 sow feed spaces, 10 gilts/10 gilt feed spaces The Plan 19.2 Sq. ft/sow 17.0 Sq. ft/gilt Minimal herd size reduction, continue with production In-House renovation. No Contractors Retain all current water troughs, electrical, feed systems, pit layout Use current crate material to build pens

13 Back alley Front alley Front alley Option #2 Shoulder Stalls 16 ft ft2 14 ft2 12 ft2

14 Executing the Plan Reduce herd size through culling opportunity sows Change flow of weaned animals, parked animals, due to farrow animals Flip rotation from double row (head to head) gestation to groups (tail to tail) Adjust service target to match new herd size Create 3 open pens of space to start conversion Source materials. Slats, concrete, tools, etc. Pick a date to start the project

15 Renovation

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17 Initial Road Blocks Managing the rotation Replaced broken slats Back opening in slats was too large, had to find suitable fix Re-enforcing divider wall legs Gilt pens required new slats

18 Pen Design

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20 Loose Pen Pass-through

21 Space efficiency, integrated sick pen

22 Video

23 Herd Design Sows are weaned into dedicated space within the unit Weaned sows and gilts are heat checked daily in the am Those identified in heat are moved into a single row breeding rotation We implemented PCAI to create efficiency Sows/gilts are bred, heat checked for return, and Preg. checked in that stall At 40 days gestation, pregnant animals are moved to group pens based on, Parity Size Each row of pens has 2 pens of 14 sows and 6 pens of 15 sows Sows and gilts are moved to the farrowing rooms at 112 days gestation

24 Considerations Allow time for sourcing materials, may take several weeks Start with a few pens and see what works, always easier to adjust your design before getting too far in Allow for some extra room in the budget. Something will come up. Vaccinations and Backfeed Keep accurate records of locations Have a solid Preg. checking plan, space efficiency is lost when they are found not pregnant Enrichment

25 Considerations How to minimize aggression after mixing into pens How to keep aggression low and not over conditioning Feed and feeding requirements

26 Comparison 6 months Pre Conversion Conversion Assumptions Actual last 13 wks Actual - Pre Conv Opportunity Farrowings / week B/A PWM 11.5% 11.5% 13.13% 1.6% 1.6% % stillborn 4.8% 4.5% 6.14% 1.3% 1.6% Sow Mortality 10.9% 12.0% 15.2% 4.3% 3.2% Wean wt Kg Wean age Fw rate 84% 87% 83.20% -0.8% 3.8% Sow inventory Nursery Exit Wt Kg ADG FCE Mortallity 3.95% 3.00% 3.22% -0.73% 0.22% Culls 1.36% 1.00% 1.74% 0.38% 0.74% Total pigs born alive / Yr 129, , , Total pigs weaned / Yr 114, , ,

27 Benefits of Loose Sow Housing Increased sow mobility and sow fitness Lower stillbirth rate Lower PWM Increased sow comfort Increased sow welfare Meets new code of practice requirements Ability to group like sized animals or similar parity animals Reduction in herd size with similar or improved performance Increased lactation length Increased Wean weight Decreased nursery feed costs Higher feeder pig value

28 Benefits of the Shoulder Stall System Cost, Cost, Cost No Training required for the animals Low tech, no dependency on technical support No need for relocating Feed and Water systems

29 Drawbacks of a shoulder stall system Loose the ability to individualize sow feeding Greater feed competition Labour intensive, increased sow movements & change to the feeding routine Higher level of stockmanship required Aggressive (Bully) sows at mixing, especially in the first few days Higher sow mortality Higher late term fallout Space efficiency, sows pulled for health issues or not in pig

30 Take Home Messages What are the reasons you have to consider a renovation to loose sow housing? Come up with a solid plan workable within your current unit. Have a solid budget, allow room for surprises Use comparative data, prior to and after renovation

31 Thank You