Requirements for farrowing pens and crates
Farrowing pens provide a place for your sows to have their litters, and are designed to restrict their movement to prevent them from crushing piglets. Pens allow for hygienic animal management, thermal comfort for both sow and piglets, and for stockpersons and vets to attend to them.
Farrowing pens vary from a simple set of rails or gates restraining your sow's movement to more complex pens that may have movable floors and different styles of gates.
Indoor pens with farrowing crates, heated creeps, and fully or partly slatted floors increase the chances of your piglets surviving and growing well by providing safer, more comfortable and hygienic surroundings for litters and sows.
Pens
When arranging pens, consider:
- stall dimensions
- use of space
- materials for flooring
- feeding and watering facilities
- position of partitions and creep areas.
A farrowing pen without a crate must be a minimum of 5.6m2 under the pig welfare code.
Flooring
Flooring should be smooth but not slippery. The fall in the concrete floor should be no less than 1:40 to allow drainage to work.
You can make a durable floor from 30MPa concrete and F62 reinforcing mesh.
Dividers
Between pens, removable dividers made of compressed fibre cement sheeting, plywood, sawn timber, polypropylene or recycled plastic boards can be dropped into vertical guides or pinned at both ends.
Crates
Farrowing crates are designed to minimise the risk of sows trampling and overlying their litters.
Any design must allow your lactating sows to:
- stand and lie down without obstruction
- suckle piglets so both sides of the udder are accessible
- access feed and water without obstruction.
The pig welfare code provides a guide to minimum space allocations, crate dimensions, and other standards and recommendations.
Crate bars and fittings must not obstruct the sow from:
- standing
- stretching
- lying down.
It also requires that the sow:
- can stand in the crate without touching, at the same time, the opposite sides of the stall
- can lie down without its snout and hindquarters touching the end of the crate
- can stand up or lower her head without her back touching the bars at the top
- can lie in an area clear of urine and faeces
- is not be confined in a crate for more than 6 weeks per litter, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The farrowing crate and creep area must be at least 3.2m2 with a minimum length of 2m, which includes feed and water facilities and any rear anti-crush rail. The minimum width is 0.5m. Crates are often adjustable and some can be opened wide once the piglets are used to their pen area.
Common pen sizes are:
- 2.1m x 1.65m
- 2.1m x 1.8m
Flooring
Floors of farrowing pens should be cleanable, provide warmth and grip without being abrasive.
Perforated floors in farrowing pens need a high void ratio and maximum gap width of 10mm. You can use material such as high-tensile steel mesh and plastic tiles as flooring materials. Timber flooring is becoming more expensive and deteriorates with use. Concrete floors become harder to clean with age and need re-surfacing; solid floors are more suited to small herds due to the high amount of labour required for cleaning.
Creep areas
Piglet creep areas should be nearly fully enclosed to reduce draughts, and cut down energy use and heater capacity. You can supply heat by infra-red, gas, electric or water-heated pads, or by electric radiant bars or bulbs.
Creep boxes are usually constructed from waterproof ply, with a hinged lid for easy observation that can be opened in hot weather and dismantled for easy cleaning.
Read more about heating creep areas in our guide to piggery cooling and heating systems.
Partitions and gates
Construct pen partitions and gates from solid sheet material to reduce draughts. Partitions should be 60cm high. Panels are often fixed in channel section slides, which lets you remove the partitions for cleaning or litter mixing.
Feeders and drinkers
Sows and piglets require separate drinkers. Your sows need either a bite-type nipple or bowl waterer, while piglets use a small bite-type nipple that operates at reduced pressure. Bowl drinkers can become fouled and need regular cleaning.
Position your sow's feeders to limit spillage and they should be easily removable and cleanable. A separate feeder is required for introducing piglets to creep feed. You may want to consider a long-life material, such as 304-grade stainless steel, for your sow's feeder construction.