The Rural Voice, 1986-02, Page 35FARM NEWS
ple can really afford to buy it?" he
asks.
Ray Stock, who has a 70 -sow
hog operation and is chairman of
the Perth Pork Producers'
Association, notes that the robotic
sow is the modern version of
something researchers have been
looking at for a number of years.
A few years ago, Stock himself, on
the recommendation of former
Perth OMAF swine specialist
Richard Smelski, tested an early
version of the artificial surrogate
sow. The design was quite dif-
ferent from the robotic sow but the
principle is the same. That product
worked fairly well but he thought
the price of between $1,000 and
$1,200 was too high. It required
too much time in maintenance and
operation, he recalls.
Stock believes that weaner pigs
would have to be in the $1.30 range
to justify the cost of a robotic sow
for an operation like his own.
The sow is designed to nurse
piglets from birth. Orphan piglets
rejected by the mother sow, or
those piglets which could not be
nursed because the sow has insuffi-
cient teats or lactation problems,
would be prime candidates for the
robotic sow. The surrogate sow
really shines through though, when
it comes to nursing runts from dif-
ferent litters. It can improve their
health by using an enriched for-
mula containing colostrum,
vitamins, and if necessary, medica-
tion.
Research shows that piglets
evidently aren't afraid of the
robotic sow. Not only do 40 per
cent of them prefer her to their
own mother, but her robotic call
attracts nearby piglets to their
natural mothers.
Several working prototypes were
tested at the University of Guelph
and on a hog farm operated by a
graduate veterinarian. In his
reports about the sow, Hurnik says
that, in trial runs to date, 196
piglets have been raised in the
nurser's artificial environment.
Mortality rates averaged 5.6 per
cent while the average body weight
at 21 days ranged between 10 and
15 pounds.
Although the robotic sow isn't
going to be for all farmers, it cer-
tainly is receiving interest from
pork producers world-wide. A
waiting list has already
developed. ❑ PC
QUtLITY YOU Cfhl DEPEND Orli`
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FEBRUARY 1986 33
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