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The Rural Voice, 1999-06, Page 36HYDRA -SPREAD HYDRAULIC PUSH -OFF MANURE SPREADERS 285 BU. — 368 BU. — 421 BU. — 465 BU. — 550 BU. Ehminate some W Ide's problems pike chains. wan gears. shafts 8 bearings) vnth HYDRA -SPREAD The Canadian atlernallve m spreaders. N. E. HAGEDORN & SONS LIMITED — Paisley, Ont. website www.manurespreader.com 1-800-707-7271 DOERR BROS. CONSTRUCTION INC. Walkerton, Ontario • Concrete Foundations • Circular Manure Tanks • Bunker Silos • Insulated Walls • Excavating • Stone Slinger FREE ESTIMATES Toll Free 1-877-823-9501 519-881-3424 Fax (519) 881-3171 BERG EQUIPMENT F..ID,y Canenuous Flow Dryer .nth Ault, Dy Cmeoller Mae* Cut Bin Noor. T*,c, as Wrong •• one. Roofs • GSI Feed Tanks • Butler Bins • Flex Auger conveyors Cen.11uyr Fon i M. 11 n srRwn SUPERIOR QUALITY - SUPERIOR WORKMANSHIP AND ON-THE-JOB SERVICE LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT CONSTRUCTION LTD. John Baak, President RR 1 Hanover 519-369-5478 32 THE RURAL VOICE bought a couple of Econo-Shelters and experimented with finishing some pigs outdoors. The system worked well enough that he decided to expand his outdoor finishing operation. Instead of buying more shelters, however, he and his brother, a builder, designed their own open -sided barn, complete with what he feels are some imp- rovements over the shelters. The barn features a typical sloping roof with the lowest ceiling height on the west side, at the back of the pens. This area is heavily bedded in cold weather and is protected from winds by a low doorway. In really cold weather the pigs spend much of their time in this area, coming out to eat, drink and manure. Fceders and waterers are in the central part of the pen, under the ridge of the roof. This area is protected from rain and snow more than was the design with the shelters, Ron says. At the same time, the extended roof provides shade in the summer. The front of the pen is used by the pigs for their manure. In the Kassies's design, this has open rafters covered with a tough, woven plastic which keeps out the rain but allows plenty of light. Gates dividing the pens in this part of the building, swing to close the pigs into the back of the pen and allow easy cleaning of the resulting alley, using a tractor and scraper. Over all, Ron says, the system has worked out very well. It is more labour intensive than a liquid manure barn but it was about a third of the cost -per -pig -place of a traditional finishing barn. And the pig like it and seem happy, he says. The pigs change their habits by the season, he says. "Pigs are amazingly smart." In winter they protect themselves The Cassies keep two freezers full of product. d