Electronic sow feeding system for pig producers

Sow farming is like delivering a peak performance. Good sow management and efficient feed management throughout the cycle are indispensable to keep your animals in top condition, ensuring the best performance in the sow house. Sows benefit from an individual approach. An overweight sow is not only less productive but also likely to have eaten too much feed. That is not positive for your feed efficiency rate. An underweight sow can never perform optimally. The individual approach to feeding is what makes all the difference, even if your sows are housed in groups.

Gestating sows in group housing

Fancom’s Intellitek electronic sow feeding system has been specially developed for sows in group housing. The sows eat in turn at the feeding station in an order that roughly corresponds to the social status of the sows in the group. The sows decide how many times they return to the station for a portion of their daily ration, but most sows tend to eat their entire ration in one go. Individual animal recognition ensures the correct portion of feed is dispensed automatically to each sow.

How does Intellitek work?

The station recognises the sows by reading the transponder in the sow's ear and only grants access to the station to animals that are entitled to receive feed. The double access gate is opened pneumatically without obstructing the sow. The gate closes firmly and quickly to block access to the other sows. A handy, colour indication LED strip at the entrance to the feeding station shows the feeding status of sows from a distance.

Double check identification

Once in the station, the identification of the sow is checked again at the trough before any feed is dosed. Based on the individual feed curve, the sow is fed the right portion of feed, tailored to her body condition. Various types of feed can be dispensed using a maximum of 12 different feed curves. The status of your animals is easy to check. You can see at a glance how much has been eaten, and whether any feed is left behind. Any necessary adjustments to the feed curve can be made in the house.

Double exit sensor

A special selection gate allows sows to be selected when they exit the station so they can be directed to a different zone in the house. The computer’s double sensor reliably registers whether a sow has actually exited or re-entered the station.

The advantages of a sow feeding station

Group housing stimulates the sow's natural behaviour and offers your animals a safe and comfortable environment. You can configure the house flexibly, and less space is required. We take the sows’ natural behaviour into account when configuring the layout of the pens. Each pen comprises an area for the sow to rest, a space to dung and move around and a partitioned area for eating with extra space for the sows waiting to use the feeding station. The investment costs to house sows in groups are generally lower than housing sows in pens. Feeding your sows individually according to their specific needs keeps feed costs in check and keeps the animals in top condition.

A very nice example of Intellitek in a gestation sow farm in Italy, implemented by our Italian distributor EVOTECK s.r.l.

Special attention for maiden gilts

Well begun is half done, so pay extra attention to maiden gilts. The Intellitek's stress-free training programme teaches sows how to use the feeding station in just a few days.

Automatic heat detection

When gestating sows are housed in groups, quickly identifying and removing sows in heat from the group is vital. As well as lost production days, a sow in heat causes disruption in the group. This is especially true in static groups where the sows are all at the same stage of implantation. That is the most vulnerable stage of the pregnancy, with all the potentially negative consequences. The Fancom HeatTek automatic heat detection automatically detects and marks the sows and sends a signal to the stockperson. Automatic heat detection works faster and more accurately and is safe for the stockperson.

Automatic pre-recognition

The Intellitek feeding station can be expanded with pre-recognition. This automatically detects and separates sows without an ear tag from the group. The extra gates at the entrance of the feeding station have an infrared sensor that detects a sow arriving at the station. Even if the RIFD sensor in the entrance gate doesn’t detect an ear tag, the sow will be admitted to the station. Once inside, she’s given a small, pre-set portion of feed, and is then separated from the group so that the sow farmer can immediately replace the ear tag.

Intellitek back out station

The Intellitek walk-back station is extremely suitable for stable groups where no selection is used. This version of Intellitek is a so-called back out system where the sow leaves the station backwards. The station is always open. A gate tips and closes the station as soon as a sow enters to feed. This is a very simple system, without pneumatic control and without a selection gate. This version of Intellitek is suitable for about 20 sows per station.

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