NEWARK, De. Many swine
producers are looking for ways to
reduce energy costs in con
finement operations. Natural
ventilation may be one way to do
this, says University of Delaware
extension agricultural engineer
James Scarborough.
“Why not investigate natural
ventilation to reduce fan and
heater operation costs,” he
suggests. “If your confinement
building contains hogs weighing
over 80 pounds, this can be used
without detrimental effects on the
hogs.”
Natural ventilation works two
ways in a confinement building.
First, by wind blowing across an
open ridge and drawing out warm
moist air which is replaced by
fresh air from side vents. Also,
when the wind is calm, warm
moist air inside the building rises
with an effect similar to what
occurs in a fireplace chimney.
Temperature can be controlled
by opening and closing shutters,
curtains or windows as the need
dictates. Scarborough says the
best natural ventilation systems
contain an automatic device
controlled by a thermostat to open
or shut curtains or shutters.
“As long as the temperature
remains between 50 and 80 degrees
inside the building,” he says, “the
hogs will be comfortable. Should it
drop below zero degrees outside,
you may need supplemental heat,
especially if the building is not full.
You also can allow the tem
perature to fall if you feel you can
tolerate the drop in production.”
Except in the severest weather,
he says the inside temperature
won’t drop below 40 degrees.
In the summer, temperatures
above 90 degrees will require some
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Natural ventilation for swine buildings
method of cooling the hogs, such as
hourly mistings.
During the three coolest months
of the year, the specialist
recommends using a supplemental
fan to insure adequate fresh air
when the building is completely
closed, or when high winds
preclude the use of natural ven-
NEWARK, De. Breed a good
sow at the right time to a fertile
boar or two, and the next day there
should be 16 to 18 fertilized eggs in
her reproductive tract.
But swine producers don’t often
see litters that size. In fact, there
aren’t many litters larger than 10
or 12 pigs, says University of
Delaware extension livestock
specialist Ken Kephart.
Why should this be? “On the
average,” he says, “40 percent of
the embryos die during pregnancy.
And about two-thirds of those are
lost during the first month. Since
these embryos are resorbed by the
sow, you never know just how
many died.”
Research shows that several
factors influence these losses,
including environmental stress,
nutrition, age of the sow, and
uterine space. What can producers
do to minimize embryonic death?
“Treat your sows with a lot of
respect especially during those
first 30 days of pregnancy,”
Kephart says.
Avoid overcrowded conditions,
for one thing. Researchers at the
University of Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station found that
overcrowding pregnant gilts
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because
“Adequate insulation is a must
in order to maintain a comfortable
temperature range for the hogs,"
he says. “If you’re remodeling an
existing warm confinement unit,
the insulation will be adequate.
Don't install a in the
impairs the process of embryo
attachment to the uterine wall.
“Keep your sows cool, too,” he
says. “It’s a fact that subjecting
them to heat stress will kill em
bryos.”
Group sows at weaning, not at
breeding. If they’re mixed at
weaning, but the time they crane
into heat the fighting will be over.
That’s one less problem for the sow
after she’s bred. If females need to
be regrouped, wait until the second
month of pregnancy, the specialist
advises.
Nutrition is also important in
obtaining large litters. “Provide
adequate nutrition, but don’t
overdo it,” Kephart says. “During
the first month, it’s probably
better to underfeed than overfeed.
There’s little evidence that
nutritional deficiencies during this
interval will affect embryo
vaibility. But many studies show
that full feeding gilts in early
pregnancy leads to high prenatal
losses.”
Age of the sow makes a dif
ference. Older sows generally lose
more embryos than gilts, partly
because they start with more. But
as a sow reaches the end of her
'productive life, embryonic mor-
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ridge opening.”
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He recommends an insulation
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control large temperature fluc
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after breeding sow
tality increases and there’s a sharp
drop in the number of pigs born
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Uterine space is another factor.
Even though the uterusl can be up
to 8 feet long in a large sow, it can
maintain only a limited number of
pigs. The number of eggs shed can
be increased by superovulating the
female, but these efforts don’t
seem to increase litter size at
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How many pigs can a uterus
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Illinois show that the average sow
can carry up to 14 pigs before birth
weight is significantly affected.
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“Natural ventilation can be a
money saver for your operation
during much of the year,” Scar
borough concludes, “but there’s no
one set design for a building. You
need an experienced and
knowledgeable builder to get a
properly operating unit.”
pregnancy with at least 14 em
bryos, we should be able to ap
proach an average litter size of 14
live pigs,” Kephart says.
“Currently the national average is
about 10. So we have a long way to
go.
“To close that gap, we need a
major effort from swine
managers. We also need more
research to answer some of the
many questions which remain
regarding the sow’s reproductive
physiology. If we could reduce
prenatal losses by half, we could
add at least two pigs to every lit
ter,” he says. “It’s certainly a goal
worth working toward.”
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