The Rural Voice, 2002-01, Page 28tanks, Gadd said. "Sows in stalls are
terribly bored. They play with their
water."
Wet -fed sows tend not to play
with their water as much because
they're getting liquid in their feed.
Studies showed.a 20-30 per cent
reducedvolume in manure slurry
from sows on wet feed.
An added bonus is less
pollutants to be spread on
land because the liquid
manure from wet -fed pigs has 3.45
per cent less nitrogen and
phosphorous, Gadd stated. That's
because wet feed is more digestible
so less of these nutrients are excreted.
There are two kinds of
disadvantages to wet feeding, Gadd
said: those that are perceived and
those that are real.
Real disadvantages are that
because wet,feeding uses liquid,
humidity will go up in the barn and
ventilation systems must be
.improved to deal with that damp air.
That can add 1 to 1.5 per cent more
to housing costs.
Installation costs can add 2-3 per
cent to housing costs. The payback in
Britain. however, has been in about
2.36 years. "After that you're in the
money." He predicted a 20 per cent
increase in margin once the capital
costs have been paid off.
Producers need to work with their
nutritionist to design a proper feed
formula. Most producers initially get
over -fat pigs because pigs just love
the liquid feed, Gadd said.
Those using whey must worry
about "whey bloat" which can add an
extra one per cent mortality. Those
using fermented liquid feeding for
pigs from six to 55 kg. need to
strictly observe the rules.
But other perceived problems
aren't as big as people think, Gadd
said.
Producers worry about liquid
systems freezing in cold weather but
farmers in Sweden and Finland have
designed their systems to deal with
possible problems from cold. "Don't
worry about the cold — just design
for it," Gadd said.
People worry about contamination
of the tank and pipeline, he said but
again this can be designed out of the
system.
Others worry about blockage of
the pipeline but in Europe where
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24 THE RURAL VOICE
wheat is mainly used, this seldom
happens. In Ontario where dry hard
corn is used, farmers need to watch
the meal consistency to prevent
problem. Gadd said he couldn't offer
advice on the use of high -moisture
corn because he had no experience
with it.
In advising how to avoid blockage
problems, Gadd said "Never, never
pump downhill." Initially systems
were designed with the pump at the
top of the system and the pigs at the
bottom but experience has shown
that its better to have the pump at the
bottom of the system because when
the pumping stops, the solids tend to
settle. "If you pump uphill you stir up
the sediment."
Also, he advised, never have loops
in the pipeline and have the pipeline
at head level with no sags.
He also argued against burying
pipes, especially under concrete.
"You've got to think ahead and
engineer out problems," he said.
The ratio of solid to liquid varies
with the age of the pig being fed,
Gadd said. For piglets 7-20 kg in
weight, you want a feed as thick as
you can pump it, something close to
porridge. For 20-60 kg. pigs the
ration should be about three parts
water to one part feed. For pigs 60-
100 kg. the ratio should be 3.5 to 1.
Liquid feeding systems also
allow the use of such things as
fermented feed. Under trial
conditions this has shown to increase
growth rates, Gadd said, but many
farmers who have tried it have
experience disappointing results. One
study said there should be a 50 gram
per day gain by feeding liquid feed,
he said.
Dr. Kees deLange of the
University of Guelph confirmed the
value of feeding fermented feeds,
pointing to studies that show a gain
in average daily gain of 22.3 g. for
fermented feed over dry feed, 13.4 in
fermented versus non -fermented
liquid, and 12.3 in liquid over dry
feed.
Fermentation enhances the
nutrient availability from the feed. It
causes the conversion of starch,
sugars and fibers to lactic acid,
(which is positive), and alcohol and
carbon dioxide (which are negative).
The process also converts phytate
phosphorus in grains, making it