PHOTO: MICHEL VELDERMAN
PHOTO: MICHEL VELDERMAN
FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
Insemination in group housing – it works
Pig producer Tim Kropp in Diepenau, Germany, chose to inseminate his sows without actually having them in sow stalls. For him, inseminating the sows in groups works well. The percentage of sows not-in-pig is about 5%.
BY ERIK ORDELMAN, REPORTER, BOERDERIJ C Profile
Name: Tim Kropp, age 34. Location: Diepenau, Germany Farm: The Kropp farm is a closed farrow-to-finish farm with 160 DanAvl sows, 25 beef cows, 120 ha of arable land and 10 ha of pasture. On the fields, he grows corn and grains, which are used for the pigs; some corn is sold to third parties. He inseminates his sows while they are in a group. The number of sows not-in-pig is about 5%. He weans 31.5 piglets per sow per year. Mr Kropp does not introduce new pigs on his farm to prevent the introduc- tion of new diseases. He has purebred Danish Landrace, Large White, Duroc and Piétrain pigs.
urious, the sows turn their heads towards the photographer. As soon as they have concluded that whatever is about to happen is not going to be overly spectacular, they continue with what
they were doing before: rooting in straw, play with one of the balls or just find a good place to lie down. Tim Kropp owns a closed regular farrow-to-finish business with 160 sows in Diepenau, Germany. He says, “Lactating
sows, weaned pigs as well as finishers are all in conventional pig houses. Only the breeding gilts, as well as gestating sows and those waiting for insemination are kept on straw.” Several years ago, he switched from being breeding farm to becoming a closed farm, including finishers. That said, his love for the breeding part never entirely vanished. He breeds all of his own animals, including the boars. In order to do so, he has a range of purebred animals on-farm: DanAvl Landrace, Large White, Duroc and Piétrain.
Insemination house Special attention should go to the farm’s insemination house, as there sows and gilts go loose in one big group, sharing the same feeding station. The house has no stalls to lock them up; instead, it is equipped with a lying area with a closed floor and straw, as well as a slatted activity area, where the animals can eat and drink. The zones are connect- ed by a passageway covered by plastic flaps. A special ingre- dient of the activity area is a pen for boars. A boar will only be there at insemination times. A design which satisfies its owner. Despite the fact that the sows are about to get in heat, it’s clear the animals are at ease. Mr Kropp explains, “They know the housing system and the feeding system of both the breeding area as well as the gestating area.” The breeding gilts will be added to the area for gestating gilts when they are about six months of age, and will be placed initially in a separate pen with straw. From there, they will be guided to the insemination room to get to know the feeding station and to socialise with the sows. As from eight months of age, they are inseminated in the same group as the sows.
Moment of insemination The Pig Progress visit takes place during insemination. As soon as Mr Kropp enters the ‘insemination room’, the sows turn restless, since they know what is going to happen. Mr Kropp barely lets one of the two Piétrain boars into the boar pen when the sows line up in front of it. Some even jump on others, revealing the standing reflex. The presence of a photographer and a journalist makes the animals a bit more restless, Mr Kropp admits, but after a while all sows calm down. Those sows in heat remain standing without a move in front of the boar pen. Only when the boar moves, they move
20 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 34, No. 5, 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
