Swine barn environment refers to the living conditions that affect the reproduction, growth and development of pigs, which is a specific environment consisting of temperature, humidity, light, airflow, sound, microorganisms, facilities, equipment and other factors of the air in the barn.
lTemperature
Temperature plays a vital role in the growth of pigs. Pigs grow at very different rates at different temperatures. Studies have shown that the fastest growth rate is between 16℃ and 21℃ in the pig house with the same relative humidity.
Each stage of the pig has extremely strict temperature requirements, the temperature is too high or too low, will cause the pig's stress behavior, and even cause disease. When the temperature is too high, pigs will feed less, lower their activity level and hinder their performance. Moreover, pigs can easily get cold, causing diarrhea or respiratory diseases. Pigs are prone to bunching up for warmth, which affects feeding and activity, causing injury and disability, and in serious cases resulting in a large number of deaths. Therefore, appropriate temperature control is the most important management of the farm, is the key to improve economic efficiency.
lHumidity
In addition to the right temperature, a comfortable humidity index is also very important. The appropriate environmental humidity for pigs to live in is 65-75% (relative humidity). High and low humidity have adverse effects on pig health and productivity, and its effect on pigs varies mainly with other environmental factors, especially temperature.
lAir quality
The density of modern large-scale pig farming herds has increased, and a poor air environment has a significant impact on herd health and production.
(1) Harmful gases
Inside the pig house, the carbon dioxide and water vapor exhaled by the pigs, together with the ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other harmful gases produced by the decomposition of feces and urine, will make the air inside the pig house become dirty. The increase in the content of harmful gases in the pig house has adverse effects on the health and productivity of pigs. When the concentration of harmful gases in the pig house is very high, it is very corrosive to the pig's eyes and respiratory mucous membranes, and it may also cause poisoning or chronic poisoning of pigs, or even death.
(2) Air velocity
The flow of air in a pig house is caused by the difference in air temperature in different parts of the house. The air is heated and rises, and the space left behind is filled by the surrounding cold air and forms an airflow. In hot conditions, as long as the air temperature is lower than the pig's body temperature, the airflow helps the pig to dissipate heat, which is favorable to it; in cold conditions, the airflow will increase the heat dissipation of the pig, which is unfavorable to it. Different wind speed, the pig's body temperature will produce corresponding changes, with the increase of wind speed, the body temperature is getting lower and lower.
(3) Dust and microorganisms
Inside the pig house, there will be a lot of microorganisms and dust due to the operation of the feeding management personnel and the pig's activities, feeding, excretion and other factors. If dry powder is used to feed pigs in the closed barn, it is easy to form a lot of dust. Dust falls to the surface of the pig body, affecting the skin's heat dissipation and health, often itchy skin or even inflammation; dust is inhaled into the respiratory tract, stimulating the nasal mucosa, which is unfavorable to the pig; dust often carries pathogenic microorganisms, which can cause the pig to be infected with other diseases.
It can be seen that the environment of the pig house has a very important impact on the productivity of pigs, a good environment can enhance the health of pigs, improve the ability of pigs to grow, to maximize the economic benefits of the farm, so to create good environmental conditions. In addition to the traditional winter heating and ventilation, summer cooling.
