3/15/99

Contacts:
Mark Honeyman, Animal Science, (515) 294-4621
Mike Larson, Animal Science, (515) 294-2724
Susan Thompson, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0705

ISU STUDY SHOWS EARLY-WEANED PIGS SUCCESSFUL IN HOOPS

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Young pigs in hoop structures and pigs in confinement performed similarly in an Iowa State University study comparing the two production systems.

Segregated early weaning has become a widely accepted technology in swine production. It involves weaning pigs at less than 21 days of age. This removal of the pigs from contact with the sow produces healthier animals that have improved feed efficiency and growth rate compared with pigs conventionally weaned.

Many producers put these early weaned pigs in confinement nurseries. But this project showed placing early weaned pigs in hoop buildings may be an acceptable strategy. A hoop structure consists of four-foot-high wooden side walls fitted with steel tubular arches covered with a tarp. Most of the floor is deep-bedded with cornstalks or other crop residues.

Mike Larson and Mark Honeyman presented the research results at the Midwest meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association March 15-17 in Des Moines. Larson is a graduate research assistant in ISU's animal science department. Honeyman is an associate professor of animal science and coordinator of ISU's research and demonstration farms.

The experiment included 711 pigs. Three groups of pigs entered three hoop structures on May 21, May 28 and June 1, 1998. There were 166 to 209 pigs in each group. A fourth group was placed in a mechanically ventilated modular confinement building with total slatted floors on June 4. These pigs were placed in six pens, with about 25 pigs per pen.

All pigs received the same pelleted diets. All were manually fed the first 14 days, with unlimited self-feeding occurring during the final 11 days of the trial. The pigs were weighed individually at the beginning of the project, and on days 14 and 26.

Pigs performed well in both housing systems throughout the 26-day trial. The pigs were in excellent health, with only two dying during the trial. Average daily feed intake (ADFI) for the first 14 days of the trial was similar between the hoop and confinement pigs, which was expected because of the limited feeding.

But the hoop pigs ate 27 percent more feed than the confinement pigs for days 15-26, Larson said. "The higher feed intake may have been due to cooler temperatures, which stimulated the pigs' appetites. That increase in feed intake resulted in an increase in overall ADFI, with the hoop pigs eating 14 percent more feed than the confinement pigs," he said.

Average daily gain was 27 percent faster for the hoop pigs than the confinement pigs. The hoop pigs were approximately four pounds heavier at the end of the trial.

Honeyman said the project showed that early weaned pigs will perform well in hoops in moderate temperature conditions. "The hoop pigs grew faster and were more efficient during the first two weeks of the trial than pigs in confinement," he said. "Overall the hoop pigs ate more feed and grew faster, but did not differ in feed efficiency with pigs in confinement."

This trial was designed to study pig performance during early summer. Larson and Honeyman said while their research showed hoop structures should work well for young pigs during the spring and fall, they may not be practical for starting early weaned pigs during colder seasons. They also cautioned careful management is important in all systems for early weaned pigs.

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