Running a successful pig farm is no cake-walk. There are a lot of factors that go into raising and maintaining healthy pigs. Here are six reasons why it pays to monitor your pig farm:
Feed
No matter what you feed your pigs, it’s important to make sure they get enough of it. A sufficient amount of feed is crucial to overall health and average daily gain. For your pigs to get sufficient feed they need to have free access to the feed dispenser. A feed outage can be disastrous: pigs going without food for 24 hours can develop gastric ulcers, causing poor digestion and leakage of blood that will need replaced. In other words, not supplying enough feed actually wastes feed. Smart Barn can monitor your automatic feeders so you know your pigs are staying fed even when you’re away!
Water
Your swine also need constant access to fresh water, where much of their weight comes from. Not enough water means not enough pig (or no pig at all!). To ensure enough fresh water is getting to your herd, you’ve got to keep your eye on that water pressure gauge... All the time! Rather than stand staring at it 24/7, let Smart Barn's water meter notify you as you relax on your couch!
Fresh air
While barns are ideal for a farm with lots of pigs, it is important to keep your barn well-ventilated so the air inside doesn't stagnate. Fans and vents help a lot with this, but since they operate on electricity, a power outage could lead to air poisoning - costing you thousands in vet bills or even new pigs. Don’t assume you’re good to go - be certain with Smart Barn’s keeping you in the know.
Temperature
Even though they make up for not being able to sweat by wallowing, pigs are very susceptible to heat stress. A heat-stressed pig will eat less than a comfortable one. Keeping pigs at a high level of efficiency means keeping your barn at a comfortable temperature.
Farrowing is when things get tricky - wanting to keep your sows cool and protect your piglets from thermal shock means two different temperatures. Electrically powered heaters are the most common solution, but they’re no quick fix: you still have to closely monitor the temperature, making sure it stays consistent.
Humidity
Humidity lowers the threshold of a pig’s heat tolerance, so even if your barn feels alright to you, a humidity index as low as 50% can quickly increase your pigs’ deep body temperature.
Within the confines of a barn, humidity poses more of a danger than just discomfort. Air with lots of moisture in it is more prone to carry harmful bacteria than air that’s dry, and also creates condensation in the cold winter months. Ice inside your barn isn’t safe for you, your workers, or especially your pigs. It pays to be aware of the humidity levels in your pig barn, and that’s where Smart Barn’s humidity sensor comes in!
Containment
You keep your hogs, sows and piglets inside for good reason, so a door left ajar in your pig barn presents a number of risks. Predators like wolves and coyotes would have a field day with your pigs. And a temperature-controlled barn won’t do a very good job of controlling the temperature if your pigs are exposed to the elements from outside, will it? Between you, your farmhands and whoever else is on your pig farm, your barn doors get opened and closed a lot throughout the course of a day. Forgetting or failing to fully close a door is a common and easy oversight. Smart Barn’s door sensor keeps you notified as to whether your door is open or shut so you’re not left wondering and worrying.
