Thank you very much in advance!!
Farrowing Setup
Farrowing Setup
Hello! My children show pigs in 4H and have asked if we can think about breeding pigs so we are looking for information and help in choosing how to have our setup rearranged. At most we would only breed 2 at a time, so a large setup is unnecessary at this time. I am hoping that you'll be able to post pictures of your setups along with dimensions so we can visualize what we may do for our new setup.
Thank you very much in advance!!
Thank you very much in advance!!
Re: Farrowing Setup
If you plan on using straw bedding for your sows in your farrowing you're going to want to stay away from the glass heater lamps to keep the piglets warm. Just too great a risk of barn fires with them. But you don't have to have an expensive setup to be safe and still keep your newborns warm. You'll want to pick up a couple 250 watt Ceramic Infrared Radiant Farrowing Heaters and set one in the corner of your farrowing area away from the sow. Use a black farrowing mat and it will absorb the infrared heat too so you won't have to buy one of those expensive heat mats. Ceramic heaters don't emit light to keep piglets and the sow from sleeping at night, and because there's no light they don't attract flying insects. They screw right into an aluminum or plastic reflector, so they're a direct replacement for heater bulbs. Plus, they're made of tough ceramic for an even heat that keeps your piglets nice and warm without overheating them in hot spots like the glass quartz or tungsten bulbs do. (Glass bulbs can produce hot spots reaching 127 F or more in their centers, which is why you see babies sleeping in a circle around the heater light.)
When you're raising show pigs, every baby is precious. Some may disagree with me here, but I've found that hypothermia is one of the most avoidable causes of piglet mortality. These little guys need to be kept at a comfortable temperature between about 95-103 degrees Fahrenheit until they're old enough to thermal regulate. Even in the summer, the early morning can get too chilly for them. And this is when you find babies being crushed trying to snuggle up to the sow to keep warm. Another thing you need to do is to keep the sow cool so she's not restless. Glass heaters spill heat all over the place because they heat the air. And if your sow is too warm, she's going to be restless, which means she won't eat well or may step on her babies. The ceramic heaters heat physical objects like the sun, but without the light so you're not disrupting their natural night/day environement. The ceramic heaters deliver a penetrating heat that really warms the babies beneath their skin so they can use their energy to grow, not stay warm. These are the same types of heaters used in human infant incubators, so you know they're safe. Here's the link where you can get more information. But you'll have healthier piglets and a happier sow if you make these heaters a part of your farrowing setup: http://www.nexthermal.com/product/elste ... aters.aspx
When you're raising show pigs, every baby is precious. Some may disagree with me here, but I've found that hypothermia is one of the most avoidable causes of piglet mortality. These little guys need to be kept at a comfortable temperature between about 95-103 degrees Fahrenheit until they're old enough to thermal regulate. Even in the summer, the early morning can get too chilly for them. And this is when you find babies being crushed trying to snuggle up to the sow to keep warm. Another thing you need to do is to keep the sow cool so she's not restless. Glass heaters spill heat all over the place because they heat the air. And if your sow is too warm, she's going to be restless, which means she won't eat well or may step on her babies. The ceramic heaters heat physical objects like the sun, but without the light so you're not disrupting their natural night/day environement. The ceramic heaters deliver a penetrating heat that really warms the babies beneath their skin so they can use their energy to grow, not stay warm. These are the same types of heaters used in human infant incubators, so you know they're safe. Here's the link where you can get more information. But you'll have healthier piglets and a happier sow if you make these heaters a part of your farrowing setup: http://www.nexthermal.com/product/elste ... aters.aspx
Re: Farrowing Setup
I'd like to make an amendment to this post. You need to use a metal reflector with a ceramic socket to use the bulb-style IOT Ceramic Infrared Radiant Heaters. Yes they are a direct replacement for the glass heater bulbs, but the way IR heat works, it needs a metal reflector to direct all the energy down on the piglets. A plastic one absorbs the IR rays and you will not get the proper heat.
For those looking to create a micro environment, Nexthermal's engineered Farrowing Heater System is an excellent solution to keeping all the heat in the creep, and none of it on the sow. Ceramic Infrared Radiant Farrowing Heaters are steadily becoming the preferred choice for farrowing. Early adopters of this technology have been the show pig farmers because it’s so adept at keeping their sows cool and decreases piglet mortality from crushing. And when a single piglet can bring in many thousands of dollars, saving even one from crushing is a huge advantage. But this new system is also being adopted by commercial farms. Studies have shown that mortality rates due to improper heating and crushing decrease by 2%, and these heaters last 4 times longer than glass heater lamps. Here's a link to more information and one for a video so you can see they system:
http://www.nexthermal.com/resources/nex ... ors-54.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxPtdc-_Mrs
For those looking to create a micro environment, Nexthermal's engineered Farrowing Heater System is an excellent solution to keeping all the heat in the creep, and none of it on the sow. Ceramic Infrared Radiant Farrowing Heaters are steadily becoming the preferred choice for farrowing. Early adopters of this technology have been the show pig farmers because it’s so adept at keeping their sows cool and decreases piglet mortality from crushing. And when a single piglet can bring in many thousands of dollars, saving even one from crushing is a huge advantage. But this new system is also being adopted by commercial farms. Studies have shown that mortality rates due to improper heating and crushing decrease by 2%, and these heaters last 4 times longer than glass heater lamps. Here's a link to more information and one for a video so you can see they system:
http://www.nexthermal.com/resources/nex ... ors-54.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxPtdc-_Mrs