Thanks to floor cooling, heat stress is now a thing of the past
The tropical temperatures have taken their toll on many sow farms in the Netherlands. It has occurred that temperatures have soared well above 35 degrees Celsius for days in a row. Despite these high temperatures, the farrowing sows of pig farmer Geert Houben (the Netherlands) were comfortable.
When Geert Houben designed his farrowing sheds, sow comfort was his top priority. Houben: “Farrowing sows must deliver top performances; therefore we do not want to see levels drop due to heat stress.” The pig farmer, who is from the Dutch province of Limburg, decided to install both floor cooling and a snout-level fresh air system - especially for those few hot days in the year. During the hot days that we have experienced , the system has faced the ultimate challenge and came through with flying colours on all fronts. As he also runs a sow farm that does not utilise this system, he was able to make a good comparison. “Whilst the sows on the other farm were panting heavily and a number of casualties occurred, everything was just fine on this farm. Despite the high temperatures inside the shed the sows were relaxed and comfortable.”
Comfort zone
The fresh air system provides a continuous supply of fresh air to the sow at snout level. This air is not cooled, and therefore is more or less at the same temperature as outdoor air. According to Houben, this system’s strength lies in the combination with the floor cooling system which cools the slats beneath the sow’s shoulders to approximately 25 degrees. This is more than 10 degrees below the room temperature and just enough to keep the sows within the comfort zone. Under normal conditions the floor temperature is around 21 degrees. Pumping more cooling water around the system prevents the temperature from rising more than 4-5 degrees.
Barbecue
For Houben it is clear: he will ultimately be equipping all his farrowing pens with this relatively low cost system combination. “Apart from the losses of sows, the return on investment is obviously difficult to calculate. It is however evident that thanks to the extra comfort these sows almost certainly do not suffer from a late summer dip. Moreover, I also want to be able to have a relaxed barbecue during those hot days without constantly having to worry about the situation in the sheds.”
