The success of the group housing movement in swine production will depend on training sows and gilts, according to researchers at Kansas State University. Monitoring feed efficiency by individual sow is but one of the factors that complicates the changes in sow and gilt management.
In one study, gilts spent 10 weeks in pre-training, two weeks in training, then moved into post-training when the animals were bred and moved into gestation. The animals were being fed by an electronic sow feeding method that uses electronic ear tags to track sow feeding behaviors.
Source: National Hog Farmer, February 10, 2017.
To our knowledge, no one has ever looked at gestation feed efficiency by stage of gestation, and we thought it would help with determining nutrient requirements and feeding recommendations,” says K-State animal science professor Bob Goodband. “As the swine industry transitions to group housing, computerized feeding programs will offer opportunities to really fine-tune gestation feeding programs for sows.”
Also see: Study looks at group housing for sows