“Our staff like using them”, “stable and robust” or “great freedom of movement for the sow”: there has been much praise from sow managers for Big Dutchman’s new variable-restraint pen ActiWel. “Feedback from use in the field shows that we have met our high requirements regarding ease of use and animal welfare,” says product manager Dr. Birgit Hinrichs, who developed ActiWel together with her team.
The clever concept saves working time and ensures that the sows have a large area to move about without restrictions. The integrated farrowing frame can be fixed during farrowing and in the first days of the piglets’ life. Since sows do not look around before lying down, this protection has proven very useful. Dr. Hinrichs is satisfied: “Piglet losses are quite low, according to the farmers.”
Big Dutchman engineers know that good sow management is very labour-intensive. They therefore spent much time and thought on developing the ActiWel concept. “Our goal, in addition to implementing animal welfare aspects, was making the farmer’s work as easy as possible,” underlines the product manager.
The result is impressive, as illustrated, for example, by the easy handling of the farrowing frame. Closing and opening it requires only four steps – and there is no need to enter the sow area.
Additional advantages of the new variable-restraint pen:
- low partitions for a good overview of the room and easy access to the pens;
- arrangements either parallel to the aisle or straight, with the sow’s head against the wall;
- easy assistance during farrowing thanks to the specially designed door of the farrowing frame;
- the farrowing frame’s side part also functions as an anti-resting bar and thus saves piglet lives.
Heated lying areas for the piglets or piglet nests, a non-slip flooring system and robust, durable partitions are standard components of ActiWel.
The variable-restraint pen ActiWel is part of PureLine, a sustainable, animal-friendly and environmentally sound product line for modern pig production. ActiWel can be viewed at the EuroTier 2018 show in Hanover.
Hall 17, stand B 21
