Pork
(Continued from Pag* C 4)
respiratory lesions. Feed efficien
cy wasn’t measured in the Purdue
studies. However, Dan McManus,
a private veterinarian from lowa,
does have feed data on some
34,000 hogs in his practice.
While not under controlled con
ditions, his data show a 0.3 pound
of feed/pound of gain advantage
for hogs raised under group sys
tems compared to those in continu
ous systems. McManus also sees a
5 percent drop in death loss in the
all-in, all-out operations.
Dr. Kirk Clark, D.V.M. from
Purdue University, suggests that
handling growing-finishing hogs
in an all-in, all-out system will
save about $4 per hog ($l2 per
year per finishing pig space).
Based on the data from Purdue and
McManus’ practice, the savings
could easily be twice that amount
A Hypothetical Example for a
Small Operation. Let’s pretend we
have a one-room, 16-crate farrow
ing house, a one-room 150-pig
nursery, and a one-room 450-pig
grower-finisher. Everything cur
rently operates on a continuous
flow basis, weaning pigs at about 4
weeks.
We're going to consider break
ing the facilities into rooms so that
we can farrow sows by groups, and
raise their offspring in groups as
well. We’ll split the farrowing
house in half, so that we can farrow
g sows at a time.
Each room will turn over once
every five weeks, so we’ll be far
rowing 8 sows once every
2'/j weeks. We’ll also split the
nursery into two rooms, each of
which can house the pigs from 8
sows (roughly 75 pigs). And we’ll
Prose
break the finisher into six sections,
each of which will house the hogs
from 8 sows (roughly 75 hogs).
By making these changes, we’ll
assume that the sows will raise
0.25 more pigs per litter. Since
we’re farrowing eight sows at a
time, that comes to 2 pigs per
group. To be conservative, we’ll
assume each extra pig is worth
$2O, for a total of $4O per group.
We'll also assume that the savings
in disease control, death losses,
and performance in the finished
hog will amount to $4 per head.
For 75 pigs that comes to $3OO
per group. So our total estimated
savings per group is $340 (about
$4.50/head). The estimated costs
of the facility changes are itemized
below;
Farrowing House:
New ventilation
New wall, alley
Nursery:
New ventilation
New wall, alley
Finishing:
New walls
Total
(Note the gestation area will still
operate in a continuous flow
pattern.)
Now to estimate what the cost is
per farrowing group, we’ll first
assume that this $15,500 invest
ment will be depreciated over 5
years. $15,500/5 = $3,100 per year
(not including interest).
Since each room will be used
about 20 times per year, the cost
per group is only $155
($3,100/20). So we have an added
facility cost of roughly $155 per
group farrowed. We’ll also plan
for an extra 20 hours of labor per
group for cleaning the facilities. At
• Gestatlng Sows
• Boars
$7.00 per hour that's $l4O per
group, for a total cost of $295.
For our example, the $293 spent
per group is slightly offset by the
$340 saved. So the decision isn’t
easy. But keep in mind that, while
my figures may be realistic, they
won’t necessarily apply to your
situation.
What About
Your Conditions?
Some rules of thumb; 1) If the
average days from birth to market
is more than 180, and you have
more than 3 percent death loss
from weaning to market, you can
probably assume that you’ll save at
least $4 per head by changing to
all-in, all-out. 2) Multiply that $4
figure times your total production
per year. That will be your annual
savings. If your herd performance
is already high and your slaughter
checks show few respiratory
lesions, the savings will be a lot
lower. 3) Determine (with some
help from your veterinarian or
extension specialist) how to best
remodel your facilities. (Use two
weeks as the maximum age-spread
within a room.) Estimate the cost
of renovation, decide how many
years you need to depreciate it, and
calculate the annual cost. Compare
this to the estimated annual sav
ings. 4) Since the amount saved is
only an estimate, proceed with
remodeling only if annual savings
is significantly higher than the
annual cost
$1,500
$2,500
$1,500
$2,500
$7,500
$15,500
Loula, Tim. at al. 1991. All-In, All-
Out Management. "National Hog
Farmer.’ Vol. 36 (No. 5), Spring
1991.
Miller, Marlys. 1990. AII-ln/AII-
Out Can Fit Your Farm. "Pork ’9o.’
May issue, pp 18-25.
References
Miller, Marlys. 1990. Time To "Pork *9l.* May issue, pp. 40-44.
Get Out Your Hammer and Saw... Purdue Swine Day. 1988.
“Pork ’90." November issue, pp. Vinson, Ralph. 1991. All In/AII
66-73. Out Can Cause and Solve Prob-
Miller, Marlys. 1991. Get $l2 lems. “Hogs Today." March issue,
More Per Pig Space Per Year. p. 44.
Livestock Notes
Oral Larvicide For
Fly Control
Oral larvicide (trade name
Rabon) has become increasingly
more popular in the last few years
for controlling flies in and around
livestock facilities. Let’s look at
what oral larvicide can and can’t
do, when it may be effective, and
how to use it.
Oral larvicide contains stiro
phos which, when fed to animals,
passes through the digestive tract
and is concentrated in the manure
where it prevents development of
hom, face, house, and stable fly
larvae. Oral larvicide has no effect
on adult flies. Also, house and
stable flies lay eggs in decaying
organic matter other than manure,
so oral larvicide may not totally
eliminate these species. Other fly
control measures may be neces
sary when these species are a
problem.
Isolation from other livestock is
essential if oral larvicide is to be
effective, especially if neighbor
ing livestock farms don’t use oral
larvicide and/or store any amount
of manure. Hies hatched in a
neighbor’s manure pile can easily
migrate to your facility and impair
your fly control program. Sanita
uon and overall farm cleanliness
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Juna 8, 1991-C5
are also very important if you plan
to use oral larvicide. Non-manure
breeding sites must be eliminated
in order to control house and
stable fly populations.
Oral larvicide is most effective
when used together with other fly
control measures because it tends
to break down quickly in decom
posing manure. Also, insecticide
resistance develops more rapidly
when immature insects are
treated.
Oral larvidde is fed by mixing a
small amount into the animal’s
ration when the feed is ground or
mixed. Inclusion rate per ton of
complete feed depends on how
much feed the animal consumes
each day.
Oral larvicide should be prc
blended with ground shelled com
or other feedstuff before dumping
it in the mixer. Preblcndmg
ensures proper distribution
throughout the entire feed mix.
Oral larvicide is not recommended
for pelleted, predominantly pel
leted, or liquid rations.
Feeding of oral larvicide should
begin in early spring before flics
become a problem and continue
until cold weather limits fly
activity.