Poor air flow will increase illness and reduces pig progress fee
18 June 2025
3 minute learn
Editor’s notice: The next is from a presentation by Sam Holst, Swine Vet Middle, Minnesota, USA, in the course of the 2024 Leman Swine Convention.
Air high quality and barn temperature are two of essentially the most essential environmental elements that have an effect on pig well being and efficiency. Poor air flow will increase illness and reduces progress fee by making a barn setting excessive in humidity and extra gases. An understanding of some elementary air flow ideas will assist arrange a barn setting that optimizes pig well being and efficiency.
Minimal air flow
Minimal air flow is the quantity of recent air wanted to be introduced into the barn to regulate humidity and gasoline contaminants. In most barns, the followers assigned to minimal air flow are variable velocity followers which have two vital settings – minimal velocity and bandwidth.
Minimal velocity is a controller setting that signifies the velocity at which the minimal air flow followers will function at any time room temperature is under set level. When the room temperature rises above set level, minimal air flow followers steadily improve velocity till the utmost velocity is achieved.
The variety of levels for variable velocity followers to go from the minimal velocity setting to 100% is known as bandwidth. Bandwidths might be widened or narrowed primarily based on ambient temperatures, variety of followers, pig measurement, motor curves, or different elements that impression pig consolation.
Minimal air flow wants are calculated primarily based on the quantity and measurement of pigs in a barn. Controller settings to realize the minimal air flow wanted are depending on the quantity and measurement of followers on stage 1.
Take the time to calculate the minimal air flow fee wanted somewhat than set minimal air flow followers at an arbitrary minimal velocity. Air flow controllers rely completely on temperature information obtained from a number of probes positioned all through the pig area. If probes are positioned incorrectly, the controller will obtain inaccurate readings leading to incorrect controller operation and the barn setting. Advisable peak and placement of temperature probes varies by barn kind and stage of manufacturing. Probes ought to be positioned away from ceiling inlets and heaters to keep away from synthetic fluctuations in temperature from chilly or sizzling air. Improperly set heaters are a surefire technique to waste propane and skyrocket vitality bills.
Temperatures
Setting the warmers on and off temperatures appropriately are keys to attaining constant room temperatures and limiting propane waste. The commonest drawback present in barns are furnaces that shut off too near the setpoint temperature. In these circumstances, room temperature rises even after the furnace shuts off because it takes a while for the heated air to flow into and the probes to detect the rise in room temperature. An efficient technique to fine-tune furnace settings is to make notice of the present settings and observe the room temperature because it cycles via a heater on and off run. Ideally, after the heater shuts off the room temperature ought to rise to simply under the set level with out going over.
Barn setting has a considerable impression on pig well being and efficiency. Incorrect air flow tools settings might be detrimental to each pig well being and efficiency.
