Farmer Focus: Big changes as five-week weaning begins
© Tim Scrivener This month has seen the most significant change in how I run our farms for nearly 20 years.
We weaned our last batch of four-week-old piglets and said goodbye to the three-week batch system that we have operated successfully for so long.
For many staff, it is the only system of production they have ever known, so the change to our new two-week batch system – under which we will be weaning an older, larger piglet at five weeks of age – is little short of revolutionary. As a result, it is a bit daunting.
See also: 3 ways to maximise piglet growth at farrowing
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So, what does this mean on paper? Taking our 1,000-sow unit as an example, the herd was split into seven batches of about 145 sows each.
Production cycle
A batch represented three weeks of the farm’s production cycle and so we would serve, farrow and wean them as a batch every 150 days (2.4 times a year) – in theory, at least.
With our current performance levels, the net result was the sale of about 1,600 four-week-old piglets every 21 days.
Now, looking at the new system, the herd has been split into 11 batches, so a 1,000-sow unit is now working with batches two weeks apart of about 90 sows each.
The slightly longer lactation period means a full production cycle is, at very best, 157 days.
If we maintain our present number of piglets weaned a litter, we will be selling about 1,000 piglets at five weeks old every 14 days.
New environment
The reason for the change is primarily to grow more mature piglets that are better equipped to deal with the stresses of the weaning process and the challenges they face when going into a new environment for the next stage of rearing.
For us, the routine becomes much more concentrated and the total number of litters in our farrowing paddocks is higher. Some of the litters will require creep feeding.
On the plus side, fewer sows in each batch will make farrowing weekends and weaning days a lot more manageable for the hard-working teams looking after the animals, so for now the mood is buoyant.