Weaner section

Weaner pig solutions designed with focus on high animal welfare, modern equipment and efficient workflow

At weaning the piglet experiences multiple challenges, including the stress of being taken away from the sow, being mixed with other piglets, a new environment, a change of diet and a health challenge.

At SKIOLD we do our utmost to meet these challenges by creating the best environment to reduce stress, secure optimal water and feeding, increase animal health, and welfare, thus securing excellent working conditions for the employees. 

Units for weaners are designed with a focus on a good and healthy environment for pigs from 7-30 kg. In the weaner unit, the basic elements are formed for the pig's growth progress, and a good start in a well designed weaner unit ensures good growth for pigs and a good production economy for the farmer. 

The weaner unit is designed with pens, ensuring both good utilization of the building area and optimal conditions for the weaners' growth. By designing the unit for sectioned operation, infectious pressure is minimized between groups, ensuring uniform weaners in all sections. The good housing environment can be achieved by different types of pen design and feeding principles, providing the best possible growth conditions for the weaners.

Pen design

For optimal growth, the newly weaned piglet sets great demands on the pen design and requires a high level of hygiene and suitable climate conditions in the unit. A well-considered pen design where the needs of the weaners - together with usability and functionality - are the focal point, ensuring an efficient and profitable production

Most often, the pens are designed with a resting area, including a large proportion of solid flooring - with a covered area and an area for activity and dunging. Covered areas are an energy efficient method to achieve a high temperature, meeting the weaners needs for heating. By allocating rooting and enrichment material, the pen design also respects the natural behavior of animals.

Ventilation, heating and cooling

The climate in the weaner unit is of great importance for your animals performance, and should be optimal for both animals and employees. Therefore SKIOLD continuously work to minimize energy consumption and optimize reliability for all our climate systems. SKIOLD is a total supplier of ventilation for pig farms; negative pressure, equal pressure, diffuse pressure, combi-diffuse as well as tunnel ventilation. The SKIOLD VisioVent controls all climate solutions covering diffuse ventilation, controlled air intake, tunnel and combi-tunnel ventilation, as well as heating, soaking, high pressure cooling and sprinkling.

Feeding

In the weaner unit, it is high priority that the newly weaned piglets will get a good start, focusing on a high and healthy growth. One of the important factors is that the weaners have a good appetite - among other ensured by good growth conditions in the pen. The pens can be designed to suit different feeding principles, depending on
how feeding is operated - either as dry feeding or liquid feeding. 

Target is to secure enough and correct feed troughout the pigs lifecyclus and to ensure access to fresh water and fresh feed with high hygiejne level. Our Maximat Weaner with aqua meet these requirements. The feeder with ad lib feeding is to be placed in the partition between pens. MaxiMat® Weaner is perfect for piglet/weaner production. The built-in slip angles counteract bridge building so effectively that even feed with high contents of moisture and fat will be dispensed. The trough is made from stainless steel with an elevation for the feed, and a drinker at one side. The dispensing device, which will both rotate and be springy, is easy to serve, even for the small piglets. The feeding system can be single line, double line, phase feeding or multi phase feeding for those who really want to optimize feeding strategy.

Water

Water is vital to ensure good feed intake, growth and meet animal welfare needs. Weaners must have free access to water at all times as they drink 1-5
litres per day. Water can be supplied via SKIOLD Maximat Aqua, SKIOLD Akvamat, drinking valves or cups placed in the activity or dunging area of the pen. In the weaner unit it is important to choose an easy learning principle for the weaners to use. Valves ensure fresh water all the time, while the water level in drinking cups may seem attractive to the weaners.  

Flooring

The flooring has great impact on the health and well-being of your animals in the pen, but it can also impact the behavior of the pigs. The floor can be combined in many different ways to take the pigs, the staff and the environment into consideration and what is the right solution is not always the same from farm to farm.

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see our catalogue on weaner section here