Pig producers don’t typically use sow weights to determine feed requirements because an easy and efficient method has not been available — until now. Nedap Weight Monitoring is the first system to capture sow weights and provide the up-to-date data producers need to make sound management decisions.
Nedap developed the Weight Monitoring system knowing producers need a way to feed sows more accurately based on bodyweights. It tracks the sow’s weight development and makes the information available through Nedap’s convenient, easy-to-access electronic sow feeder (ESF) dashboard.
The overall goal of accurate feeding in gestation is to develop a properly conditioned sow for farrowing. Multiple studies have shown that even in well-managed units, one out of three sows doesn’t have ideal body condition when farrowing.
Under- or over-conditioned sows can cost operations £65 per sow per year in decreased productivity, increased replacement rates and excess feed use.
Nedap Weight Monitoring is integrated within Nedap Electronic Sow Feeding and Nedap Sow Separation. As sows move through the ESF and Sow Separation system, a non-obtrusive scale (pictured, although production models do not have clear sides) gathers their weights. Producers can access each sow’s weight – along with feed intake and other data – online through Nedap’s software system.
Adequate nutrition for the gestating sow is key for the sow’s everyday function, health and body development, as well as for her developing piglets’ growth. In general, about 70 per cent of the feed required by a sow is needed for maintaining her body function and activity levels. The rest supports sow development and piglet growth. Missing the mark – above or below – on a sow’s feed requirements will negatively affect her production.
A sow’s total daily feed requirement is determined by her body weight. Typically, sow facility managers use a visual evaluation to determine a body condition score or will measure backfat thickness. These methods are easy to implement and can be helpful. However, they focus on the smaller part of the sow’s total feed requirements. The sow’s weight is the most accurate, dependable measurement to determine the major part of the daily feed requirement.
Weights can vary by more than 35kg between sows that have similar backfat thickness at breeding. That difference in weight could equal nearly a 450g difference in daily feed requirement. Overall, this could add up to a 20 per cent difference in daily feed allowance and almost 45kg of feed difference during gestation.
Over- or under-feeding gestating sows can impact their performance and the herd’s total feed efficiency, but collecting sows’ weights isn’t a standard management best practice because most operations can’t weigh sows without causing stress to the animals or greatly increasing labour costs.
Unfortunately, when basing feed allotments on back fat or body condition score alone, sow operations are only adjusting for 30 per cent of the sow’s total feed requirement. With Nedap Weight Monitoring in ESF, pig producers can easily complement the information they use to determine the best feed level for a sow.
For more information visit: www.nedap.com.
