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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
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Reducing Temperature Requirements for Group Housed Sows to Save Cost
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Production by student on June 19, 2018
Author: Alvin Alvardo, M.Sc. and Bernardo Predicala, Ph.D.
Publication: Centred on Swine, Winter 2016 Volume 22 Number 2
Summary:
The revised Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs has the expectation that by 2024 producers will convert their gestation housing from stalls to group housing. In order to aid in making this a successful transformation industry is determining what benefits producers can gain from this transformation.
Sows that are housed in group housing systems have been determined to prefer a temperature between 9 to 12°. This is significantly lower than the current standard gestation room temperature of 16.5°C. Generally, dropping below 15°C (the lower critical temperature) would require the provision of more food in order to maintain sow body condition.
Increasing the sow’s fibre intake aids in the production of heat from digestion, but it is also a mechanism to increase the feeling of satiety in the sow which decreases aggression.
This experiment was completed in two phases. Phase one utilized experimental chambers and resulted in sows activating the operant mechanism at 12.5°C. The second phase of the experiment was completed in rooms for group housing that accommodated 28 sows. Sows in this phase of the experiment maintained temperature 5°C lower than the normal set temperature. This resulted in a 78% reduction in energy utilization, which could translate into a savings of $5/pig during the heating season.
Reducing Temperature Requirements for Group Housed Sows to Save Cost