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The environment with proper heat and humidity where pigs are confined and where pigs can live under minimized temperature variations by keeping them cool on hot days and warm on cold days, makes pigs most productive. The purpose of housing for pigs is to provide a living environment that will enable the pig to grow or breed optimally. So housing is the first thing that the pig farmers need to construct before getting the pigs on their farms. And the pig farming equipments must always be properly arranged in the pig house that will provide sufficient heat and neat quarters for pigs to nest.
1. The pig unit should be located in th place where there is free air movement and good natural ventilation, which can be achieved by facing the pig house building north-south to avoid excessive sunlight, preventing problems of sun burns, scorching and heat stress. Also, the site should preferably not be too exposed to cold. To manage the drainage and disposal of effluent, the building should be on a slight slope.
2. To prevent pigs from rooting and digging up the ground, the hard concrete or similar floors are recommended, to provide insulation against both cold and damp and also to permit cleaning to minimize the build-up of diseases and parasites. The floor should neither be too slippery nor be too rough in case it causes injuries to pigs.
3. The pig house walls should be made of solid materials to restrain pigs and ensure protection, and the materials that can be used are mud, wood, bamboo sticks, stones and cement blocks, etc. At the same time, the wall should be smooth enough.
4. Pig house roofing is to offer shade and protection of the pig from rain, sun, etc. The roofing can be made of traditional materials such as grass, reeds, leaves, straws, thatch, etc, which have the advantage of keeping the house cooler. But they are not durable enough and can become breeding ground for rats and other pests. Aluminum or corrugated iron sheets can be used but they should be sufficiently high so that there is room for plenty of air movement.
5. Over-crowding is a common cause of depressed performance and low productivity in pigs. Therefore, this must be considered in pig house design. Weight, number of pigs per group, air temp, methods of pig feeding, pig house ventilation and floor design are factors that affect space requirements. About 10-30 pigs per group is desirable during weaning to market weight.
6. Although there are advantages in providing separate housing for the different categories of pigs, multi-purpose pig house may be used. They can be cheaper and more flexible. Removable structures, such as creep barriers and farrowing rails provide protection for piglets and make the pens suitable for pig farrowing. At the weaning, these are removed, leaving a fattening pen in which the weaners can be fattened through to slaughter.