Piglet Saver Prevents Crushing

Piglet Saver Prevents Crushing HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Hog Equipment & Ideas (351) 14-1-27 "Our new Piglet Saver reduces deaths caused by crushing to a minimum and can be easily moved from crate to crate," says Klaas Salomons, president of Middlesex Farm Systems, Kerwood, Ontario. The "Piglet Saver" is a vertical 6-in. dia. tube equipped with a fan on top and an electronic eye mounted on a horizontal arm. You connect the tube to the farrowing crate just before the sow is due to farrow. The electronic eye surveys the sow, switching the fan on when she stands, and off when she lies down again. Air from the fan passes down through the tube and out an opening at the bottom where it's directed across the crate under the standing sow. Piglets dislike the airstream and move away from the sow to the safety of the creep area (behind the fan tube or at the front of the crate). When the sow lies down again there are no piglets under her to be crushed. One Piglet Saver serves 15 to 20 sows. "It's an inexpensive way to reduce piglet mortality," says Klaas Salomons, president. "Tests show it runs an average of about three hours per day which is the time the sow is standing. Total energy use is about 95 watts per day, so operating cost per hour is about one third that of a heat lamp. You use it until the piglets are 4 to 5 days old. The electronic eye can be adjusted to different heights depending on sow size. A pipe in-side the horizontal arm lets you move the fan tube closer to or farther away from the farrowing crate to control air flow velocity." Sells for $325 (Canadian). U.S. dealer inquiries welcome. For more information, contact: FARM S HOW Followup, Middlesex Farm Systems, RR 3, Kerwood, Ontario, Canada (ph 519 247-3862).

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