|
This Minnesota operation sees fewer setbacks and less lag
time with feeder pigs who don’t have to adapt to wet-dry
finishing feeders after starting on dry nursery feeders.
Three years ago when Pork Royal
Farms, Jackson, MN, first installed dry style Farmweld Jumbo
Feeders in two new and two remodeled finishers, partners and
employees noticed that the feeder pigs responded better in
the new and updated facilities compared to pigs going into
the operation’s finishers equipped with wet-dry feeders.
The operation obtains 2,000 early-weaned pigs every nine weeks
from a sow cooperative. Pigs are started in Pork Royal’s
nursery unit, equipped with Farmweld dry nursery feeders,
then moved to one of several finishing units.
“When a pig is moved, it is a stressful
period,” says Brian Torgerson, who is an employee at
Pork Royal. The pig must adapt to a whole host of factors,
including a new thermal environment, new penmates, new sounds,
new caretakers, etc. A new style of feeder can be an added
stress. “If they can’t figure out how to use the
feeder, that’s going to contribute to growth and efficiency,”
Brian says. Pork Royal’s new and remodeled finishing
units were designed for large pen size, with 100 pigs per
pen. Each pen is equipped with one five-hole Farmweld Jumbo
Feeder and four Farmweld DRIK-O-MAT® Water Cups.
Brian’s father, Wayne, says feed mixing
records clearly indicate that during the days immediately
after finishing barns are loaded, consumption remains steady
for pigs on Farmweld feeders and dips down in buildings with
wet-dry feeders. “It takes pigs three to four days to
figure out how to use the wet-dry feeders,” says the
elder Torgerson, a partner in Pork Royal.
To counteract poor consumption and any
resulting delays in growth, Brian says extra management is
required to help pigs learn to use the wet-dry feeders. “We
sometimes have to go into the pens and jiggle feeders to let
feed out,” he says.
With dry feeders, “the pigs don’t
have to learn all over again,” says Wayne, who is a former
high school ag teacher.
His son agrees. “When you move pigs
from dry feeders to dry feeders, they know how to work the
feeders and they don’t lose a beat,” concludes Brian.
 Click
here for more information about
Farmweld Jumbo Feeders
|
