Housing of gestating sows is one of the more controversial aspects of pig production as they are one of the most restrictive practices in livestock production. Group housing systems may solve this problem for gestating sows with the electronic sow feeder system being investigated. From gilts to first parity to older sows, productivity increased in both electronic sow feeder and stall systems. Younger pigs performed better in stalls while older sows did better in the electronic sow feeder system. Overall the electronic feeder system underperformed compared to the stall system though not all management programs found this. More piglets were produced from the Add-In (grouping animals after implantation) animals for electronic sow feeders. More research and data on observations will be included in future studies.
Electronic Sow Feeder – A Preliminary Report (full article)
