ft ' -.JiaSsLs^'^. r\LJ * j .% .? &.] ^ . ^-ali,; / " <% University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign ^rl/~ UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN The person charging this material is responsible for its renewal or return to the library on or before the due date. The minimum fee for a lost item is $125.00, $300.00 for bound journals. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons y for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. Please note: self-stick notes may result in torn pages and lift some inks. Renew via the Telephone Center at 217-333-8400, 846-262-1510 (toll-free) orcirclib@uiuc.edu. Renew online by choosing the My Account option at: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/catalog/ UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Agricultural Experiment Station BULLETIN No. 109 THE LOCATION, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF HOG HOUSES BY WILLIAM DIETRICH URBANA, JUNE, 1906 SUMMARY OF BULLETIN No. 109 1. A hog house should be located so that it is well drained, well lighted, and gives access to pasture, good shade, pure running water and clean mud wallows. Page 287 2. The two principal kinds of hog houses are the individual houses and the large houses with individual pens. Each has its points of advantage. Page 288 3. For sanitation the building should be constructed so that it is dry, venti- lated, free from dust and drafts and so that the direct rays of the sun fall upon the floor of the pens at the time the winter crop of pigs is farrowed. These rays should also be excluded during the summer. Page 291 4. The building should be made serviceable by being built so that it can be used every day in the year and be arranged so that the largest amount of work may be performed with the smallest amount of labor. Page 293 5. For large houses gates and partitions made of wire are best because they do not obstruct the light and heat rays frpm the sun, do not hide the pigs from view of the attendant, nor from each other, and do not furnish lodgment for dis- ease germs. Page 296 6. The large hog house is operated so that two litters per year are farrowed and grown for market and so that the pigs are put on the market at the most favorable season. Page 301 THE LOCATION, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF HOG HOUSES By WILLIAM DIETRICH, Assistant in Swine Husbandry INTRODUCTION In order to grow swine most successfully in a country with a cold or varied climate, it is necessary to have some kind of a hog house. The. question that first presents itself is what kind shall it be ? In studying the swine industry from the market standpoint and from the breeder's standpoint, it appears that for greatest success in the swine business, it is desirable to produce two litters a year from ma- ture sows and to have these farrowed so that they can be put on the market at the most favorable time. In the following pages is given a general discussion of the loca- tion and construction of hog houses and a detailed description and method of operation of a hog house that has recently been planned and built at the Illinois Experiment Station to meet the requirements as outlined above. LOCATION The proper location of a hog house or shelter of any kind for swine is one of the first essentials to success in swine husbandry. In providing shelter for swine, as well as for other classes of live stock, surroundings should be furnished that conform as near to na- ture as the improved condition of the animals and circumstances of the owner will permit. Swine in the wild state inhabit the forest where shade, water, protection from cold winds and natural soil are abundant, and where they may select dry or damp localities as they please. The best surroundings, then, for swine are those that will satisfy their natural desires, but so modified and improved as to pro- mote the largest financial results. The best location for a hog house, therefore, is one that is well drained and well lighted, and one that will permit access to pasture, to good shade and to a stream of running water that is free from dis- ease germs, where also there are opportunities for making wallows in clean mud. If the building can be placed on a sandy or gravelly soil it will afford better drainage than a clay, silt, or peaty soil would furnish 287 288 BULLETIN No. 109. [June, Light and shade are desirable for reasons that are apparent to every- one. Pasture should be accessible as considerable food is obtained from the soil in the form of roots, worms and insects, as well as many materials that are not foods, but are necessary to the health of the pigs. A limestone soil is preferable because the water from such a soil as well as the soil and stone themselves, furnish the lime that is so essential in building up bone. A rolling pasture is preferable because it furnishes better drainage and a form of exercise that is conducive to the production of a large percentage of lean meat. It also tends to produce strong legs with upright pasterns, which, from the breeder's standpoint, are among the first essentials of a good hog. A stream of pure running water is desirable, for then drinking water in the best form will be available at all times and will be more wholesome than it would be were it supplied in a trough where it is bound to become more or less warm, stagnant and foul. If there is no natural stream at hand water pumped from a well by a windmill or other motive power will supply the need. A clean mud wallow is enjoyed more by swine in the summer time than any one other condition that may be furnished them. It keeps them cool, destroys lice and keeps the skin in a good healthy condition. TYPES OF HOG HOUSES The two general classes of hog houses most in use are individual houses and large houses with individual pens. A hog house that is best for one man under his conditions and manner of handling swine, may not be best for another where the conditions and manner of handling differ. This difference is due to the originality of dif- ferent breeders who have solved the problem in regard to hog houses to suit their individual tastes and conveniences. INDIVIDUAL HOUSES Individual hog houses, or cots, as they are sometimes called, are built in many different ways. Some are built with four upright walls and a shed roof, each of which (the walls and roof) being a separate piece can easily be taken down and replaced, making the moving of these small houses or cots an easy matter. This is shown by Figs, i and la, page 289. Others are built with two sides sloping in toward the top so as to form the roof as in Fig. 2, page 290. These are built on skids and when necessary can be moved as a whole by being drawn by a horse. They are built in several different styles; some have a window in the front end above the door while all may have a small door in the rear end near the apex for ventilat- 1906. HOG HOUSES. 289 FIG. 1. INDIVIDUAL HOG HOUSE. (SET UP.) FIG. la INDIVIDUAL HOG HOUSE. (TAKEN DOWN.) 290 BULLETIN No. 109. [June, FIG. 2. INDIVIDUAL HOG HOUSE. ing purposes. They are also built in different sizes. Indeed, there are about as many forms of cots as there are individuals using them. The form in which these houses or cots are built is of little signifi- cance as long as the general principles pertaining to the health of the animals and the convenience of the breeder are observed. The arguments in favor of this type of houses for swine are that each sow at farrowing time may be kept alone and away from all disturbance ; that each litter of pigs may be kept and fed by itself, consequently there will not be too large a number of pigs in a com- mon lot ; that these houses may be placed at the farther end of the feed lot, thus compelling the sow and pigs to take exercise, especially in winter, when they come to the feed trough at the front end of the lot; that the danger of spreading disease among the herd is at a minimum ; and in case the place occupied by the cot becomes unsan- itary, it may be moved to a clean location. HOG HOUSES. 291 LARGE HOUSES Although individual houses have certain characteristics or ad- vantages in their favor, large houses, if properly built, also have some points of advantage and these are good sanitation, service- ability, safety in farrowing, ease in handling hogs, and large pas- tures, involving little expense for fences. Sanitation : In order to be sanitary a hog house should admit the direct rays of the sun to the floor of all the pens and exclude cold drafts in winter, be dry, free from dust, well ventilated and exclude the hot sun during the summer. Fig. 3, page 292, shows a hog house built with this purpose in view. The building as a whole is 30 feet wide with an 8-foot alley running lengthwise through the middle, between two rows of pens. It stands lengthwise east and west with the windows on the south side. The important factor to consider in this connection is the height of the windows represented at E and D in connection with the width and manner of construction of the building. The window E is so placed that at noon of the shortest day of the year, the ray of light which passes through the upper part will fall upon the floor of the south side pen on the opposite side from the window. This allows the total amount of light coming through the window at this season of the year and this time of the day to fall upon the floor within the pen. In the morning and in the afternoon when the sun is not at its highest point, a part or all of this beam of light will pass beyond the pen. Consequently, during the latter winter months, there will be a maximum amount of sunlight on the floor of the pen. The lower part of the window D in the upper part of the building performs the same function for the pen on the north side of the alley as does the window E for the pen on the south side. By this arrangement of windows there is possible a maximum amount of sunlight on the floor of the pens in winter which will serve to warm the interior of the house and especially the beds dur- ing the latter months of winter, thus making it possible to have pigs farrowed very early in the season. Sunlight not only warms and dries the building, but destroys disease germs, thus making the build- ing both warm and sanitary. Sanitation is further augmented by the upper part of the window D which, when open, acts as a ven- tilator. It is supplied with weights so that it can be opened and closed at will by the attendant while standing on the floor of the alley. To have this arrangement of windows in the latitude above cited, it is necessary to have the top of the window E, which throws light 292 BULLETIN No. 109. 1906. ] HOG HOUSES. 293 into the pen on the south side, 5 feet 6 inches from the floor. The upper window, which throws light into the pen on the north side, is longer, but a point in this window the same distance above the lower end as the height of the window E should be 9 feet 8 inches from the floor. This necessitates a flat roof for the part of the building south of the alley, which must necessarily be made of some material that will shed water at a slight pitch. The wall on the north side of the building is made as high as that on the south side, but the roof on the north side and alley is made steeper so as to have more air space and good ventilation. This part of the roof, then may be made of shingles. Dryness should be furnished by thorough drainage; freedom from dust by sprinkling with water and the rays of direct sunlight should be prevented from entering the pens during the hot part of the summer days, which in the above mentioned hog house is done by the manner of construction of the building ; the lower window be- ing shaded by the eaves and the rays passing through the upper window fall upon the floor of the alley. Serviceability : In order to be most serviceable, a hog house should be constructed so that it can be used every day in the year. If this can be done, it is permissible to spend more money in the construction than would be warranted were the building to be used only a few months during the year. In order to be an economizer of labor, the house should be planned so that the largest amount of work may be performed with the smallest amount of labor, which with the present scarcity of labor is a very important factor. Farrowing and Handling : Farrowing pens should be supplied with the fenders which prevent the sows crushing the pigs and should be built so that the attendant may lend assistance if necessary both with convenience and safety. By having all the hogs under one roof handling becomes simpler and in case of bad weather much more convenient. An argument that has been advanced against the large hog house is that by having a large number of brood sows in such close prox- imity to each other, if one is disturbed or molested in any way all the others will become fretful and when feeding is commenced at one end all the rest will become uneasy and injure their litters. This argument may hold where the partitions are solid board fences, but by the arrangement described in the following pages, the sows can see each other and see what is going on about them, and not being strange to each other nor the attendant, will not be disturbed to so great an extent. If the feeding is done regularly and in the same order each day, the sows or pigs soon become accustomed to the sys- 294 BULLETIN No. 109. [June, tern and wait patiently for their turn. Furthermore, by this arrange- ment of wire partitions the little pigs are more easily tamed and will do better because they will not become frightened every time a per- son passes the pen. Pastures : By having a large hog house the hogs can be kept together and allowed to go in a drove from the hog house to the pasture or to any other available field on the farm and with very little training each sow with her litter, will return to her own pen at night thus necessitating few pastures. PLAN AND CONSTRUCTION In Fig. 4, page 295, is submitted the ground plan of the hog house which is shown in Fig. 3. It is 120 feet long by 30 feet wide and is represented in the Figure by O, S, T, U. X, Y is the alley which runs lengthwise through the middle of the building and is 8 feet wide. This permits of driving through the building with a wagon, which allows the feed and bedding to be hauled in where it is needed and the manure to be loaded on the wagon directly from the pens and hauled to the fields. The doors at either end of the building and one across the alley shutting off the pigs from the rest of the building are shown by R. The pens A are 10 feet wide and n feet deep. Each pen has a doorway M leading to the outside which is opened by a door sliding upwards. There is also a door N opening to the alley on the inside. This door is hung so that when it is open it will turn the pigs toward the front end of the house where they are to be weighed. It also permits of changing pigs from any one pen to any other pen and of easy access for the attendant. L represents the trough which is placed on the side of the pen next to the alley and which with the arrangement of a swinging panel above this trough as is shown in Fig. 5, page 297, makes feeding a very easy and convenient opera- tion. The fender in the pen is shown by K in Fig. 4. This consists of a 2-inch tubular iron bar placed on iron posts of the same dimen- sion and set in concrete in the floor. This bar is placed 8 or 9 inches above the floor and about 6 inches from the wall and is to prevent the sows crushing the pigs at farrowing time. The sow will neces- sarily make her bed in this corner as the other three corners are occupied, two of which have doors and the other the feed trough. D, in Fig. 4, shows the platform scale on which the pigs are to be weighed as desired. This scale is fitted with a frame and the door on the side next to the alley shown at Q, opens so that when the pigs come down the alley, it will facilitate turning them upon the 1906.] HOG HOUSES. 295 WEST A' 1 1 1 1 H J 1 . 1 A' 1 1 1 1 1 M A' 1 1 H 1 1 A' i 1 "1 J 1 A' 1 H >! A' if H J A' 1 1 M A' 1 J i I A' i 1 P" A' A' A' A' A' EAST FIG. 4. LARGE HOG HOUSE. GROUND PLAN. _J 296 BULLETIN No. 109. [June, scales. At the other end of the scale platform is a smaller door in the frame which opens through a door P, of the building, thus al- lowing the pigs to pass from the scale room directly to the outside where there may be a loading chute leading to a wagon. F is the feed-mixing-room in which are feed bins for feeds of various kinds represented by I. There is also a door, J, leading to the outside from this room. H shows the hydrant from which water is obtained for mixing slops, watering hogs, and for attaching the hose to sprinkle the floors. E shows the stove that is used for heat- ing water in winter for mixing slops. G shows the office, and C the feed bins in which the feed is stored as it is hauled to the hog house. The opening to these feed bins is from the main alley of the hog house from which they are filled directly from the wagon as the feed is brought in. The feed is then taken out in smaller quantities as needed and put into the small bins in the feed-mixing-room from which it is weighed out to the pigs at feeding time. B shows an alley which leads through the door, T, to the yard V on the outside. Opposite this is the yard Z. These two yards are not connected with pens on the inside of the building but are used as boar pens and are supplied with separate cots and feed troughs on the outside. The rest of the pens on the outside shown in the cut as A' are of the same width as the pens inside and are 28 feet long. They are connected with the pens on the inside by means of the doors above mentioned, the outer end opening to the lane which leads to the pastures. The partitions between these pens on the outside are made of two lengths of common fencing, one 16 feet and the other 12 feet long. The 1 2-foot length is next to the building and may be made into a gate so that it will swing. By opening all these gates and swinging them one way, and away from the building, an alley is made along the outside of the building in case it is not desirable to use the alley in the building for taking out the manure. But this is not so convenient as driving through the alley on the inside. There is a 4-inch drain tile laid from each pen in the building to the ma'n lines on either side, which are placed on the outside of the pens, leading off down the ravine. The tile opens up through the floor of the pen by means of a perforated iron disk which is laid in the bell end of a length of sewer pipe. The floor is made to slope toward the drain so that it can be flushed with water. Fig. 5, page 297, shows the interior section of the hog house con- taining the pens. All the gates and partitions on the interior, as will be seen from the cut, are made of wire netting pinels. \Yire woe. \ HOG HOUSES. 297 298 BULLETIN No. 109. [June, is considered better for this purpose than lumber for several reasons as follows. 1 i ) There are no obstructions to light. The rays of light com- ing through the windows are not prevented from reaching the floor where they are most needed ; they keep the floor or bed in which the pigs sleep dry, warm and disinfected. (2) By this means there is no opportunity for disease germs to lodge in cracks and crevices or to be harbored in the shadow of solid fences. In case the hog house should ever become infected with disease germs of any kind it can be disinfected much more easily and thoroughly. (3) Wire partitions allow the hogs always to be within sight of each other and of the attendant. By this means the sows, when they are shut up to farrow will not become estranged from one an- other, and will not be so likely to fight after returning to a common pasture. Part of the floor of the hog house is made of hard brick, laid on side in the pens and laid on edge in the alley; the remainder is of cement. Lumber is not used, because, being necessarily laid on the ground to prevent cold air or cold drafts getting beneath the floor, it would rot out too quickly, making it very expensive. Brick is thought to be a little warmer in winter than cement and not so slip- pery but both are being tried. Brick, of course, is colder in winter than is lumber, but this can be obviated by using bedding or by mak- ing an overlay (portable floor) of I inch lumber for the corner of the pen where the bed is made. COST OF HOG HOUSE The hog house is divided into unit lengths of ten feet each ; this being the dimension of the pens parallel to the long dimension of the building. Where there is proper drainage, an earth floor is probably the best kind of a floor in a hog house although it is a little harder to keep in repair. Therefore, by omitting the floor, tile drain and eave troughs, the building still contains all the essential features and costs approximately $122.00 per unit length of ten feet which con- tains two pens. If tht carpenter work and painting can be done with the regular farm help at odd times when there is no other em- ployment at hand, the building can be constructed for approximately $100 per unit length of ten feet. This includes the labor as well as the material on the tar-and-gravel roof, which is the flat roof on the part of the building south of the alley, a two foot brick wall under- neath the structure and the iron posts, gates, panels and fenders which cost at the rate of $13.60 per pen. 1906. ] HOG HOUSES. 299 The cost of the hog house with all the accessories as outlined above is as follows : Foundation, tile drain, floor and chimney $ 649.25 Lumber and windows 639.70 Iron posts, gates, panels and fenders 244.80 Hardware 53.65 Paint and painting (two coats) 54.00 Labor (carpenter) 290.00 Tar-and-gravel roof 79-15 Scales . 100.00 $2110.55 The cost of the foundation, tile drain, floor and chimney seems rather high but due to the slope of the land in this particular in- stance, the foundation at the west end of the building is three feet higher than would be necessary had the building been placed on a level spot. The foundation wall at the east end of the building is two feet high. The cost of the brick floor with cement filler when the brick is laid flat, as in the pens, is 8oc per square yard and when laid on edge, as in the alley, $1.12 per square yard. The 4-inch cement floor in the pens cost $1.00 and the 6-inch cement floor in the alley cost $1.35 per square yard. This is exclusive of the cinders used for the foundation in both the brick and the cement floors. The lumber and windows form a considerable item of expense but this includes the lumber in the fence of the outside pens. A good grade of lumber was used throughout and the shingles used were the best on the maiket. The walls of the building are made of one thickness of lumber, viz., the drop siding on the outside of the stud- ding. It was found, however, that for the coldest weather of this locality, the building is not quite warm enough. The cost of the scales includes the work of installing the same by an expert. The total cost of $2110.55 does not take account of grading, hauling cinders, nor of the fence posts. LOCATION AS TO PASTURE As said above a hog house should be located so that it will give access to pasture. Fig. 6, page 300, shows an arrangement by which this can be accomplished. In the above mentioned cut, B represents the hog house, A', the small pens on the outside adjacent to the pens on the inside, and V and Z the boar pens mentioned above. L represents a small pasture that may be used for a boar or any other hog or pigs. D is the lane 300 BULLETIN No. 109. [June. r WE :ST 1 J J H H 1 3 2 o I . -i , r- j ' r j t i i 1 1 1 i i i | ! j i. j I -" i H I L i i _j i i i i -i i i 1 i j I i -i i H 1 i ? i p i *- I 1 i H 1 i i i i j r I i '_ H LA:: "lA^I i |_ B 1 ~i i r ~ i i _ , 1 i [_ 1 j i [ 1 H r I T Z V i I 1 1 i i L L D c -, ?-r D FIG. 6. LARGE HOG HOUSE AND PASTURES. 1906.] HOG HOUSES. 301 by which the hcg house is approached. E and F are lanes leading from each side of the hog house to the pastures. H represents the pastures for the hogs that have access to the north side of the building and J the pastures for those on the south side. This arrangement is not absolute, but may be made to suit the location or the fancy of the builder. This hog house is planned to supply the needs of the man who grows hogs for the general market as well as of the man who pro- duces high class breeding stock. It will permit of producing two lit- ters a year from the same sows. This, it is very often said, cannot be done successfully. But the cow, the mare, and many other ani- mals will support one young at the udder and at the same time, an- other within the uterus. The sow can produce two litters a year and never be supporting more than one at the same time. Then, why not have her do this and return more profit to her owner and at the same time keep good mature sows in the herd rather than sell them to avoid keeping them all the year for a single litter, which necessitates breeding from young, immature and untried gilts ? The sows are bred to farrow in February. In order to insure exercise during the winter months, they are allowed to run on a pasture or in a barnyard during the day and to come to the hog house at night where they sleep and are fed both night and morning. Each sow is trained to come to her own pen, which can be done with very little trouble. About a week before farrowing time, each sow is confined to her pen, having access, of course, to the small yard on the outside. She is kept here till the pigs are from one to two weeks old and by this time they have learned to know their own dam so that all can go out together. The sows and their litters are then fed in their respective pens each morning and evening until weaning time. At this time the sows are taken away and bred for the second litter, which is to be farrowed in August. After weaning, the pigs are fed, each litter in its respective pen, in the hog house, they also having access to pasture during the day. This is the growing period for the pigs and in order to get the best results, it is necessary to feed them under such conditions that their feed can be controlled. When it is time for the sows to farrow again they are returned to the hog house and the pigs taken out to a separate lot and finished for market. At this time the pigs may be put on full feed and be fed in larger droves. 302 BULLETIN No. 109. [June, 1906. This process is repeated twice each year, but in winter when the weather is cold a few pens at one end of the hog house, or a separate shed on the outside, must be reserved for the brood sows and later for the fattening hogs. A hog house built and operated according to the above outlined plan makes it possible to perform a maximum amount of work with a minimum amount of labor and to put the pigs on the market at seasons of the year that are out of the ordinary, and it can be expected that pigs thus marketed will sell for higher prices than those that are marketed along with the general supply. eP^ /.-^Wa^'ti^ ?/ *W^=^ C^. J aipwyEP