Growing pigs on farms is technologically quite complicated. In order for such animals to gain weight well and not get sick, they need to create good conditions. To ensure cleanliness, special slotted floors are often mounted in pig rooms. Such designs, if desired, can be purchased ready-made. It will not be difficult to make such a coating on your own.
What are slotted floors: description
When using such a coating, the farmer has the opportunity to establish an automatic manure removal system in the pigsty. The feces of piglets fall through the floor with cracks into special bathtubs. During cleaning, in such receivers, the cork is simply removed and the manure is washed off into the discharge line (like in a toilet bowl). From the pipe, feces fall into a special receiver, from which they are then pumped into the cisterns of sewage machines.
Main varieties
By design, slotted floors are one hundred percent and partial. The most convenient variety of such coatings is, of course, the first. When using fully slotted structures, manure is guaranteed to fall into the bathtub in full.
By the type of material used for the manufacture of such coatings are divided into:
wooden;
concrete;
plastic;
metal.
Wood and plastic floors
Coatings of this type are usually installed only in very small pigsties. At the same time, the owners of such farms make wooden slotted floors on their own. Plastic coatings of this variety are sold ready-made. Such floors are made on special industrial equipment. On farms, coatings of this type are collected from individual slotted sections of a small area.
Metal constructions
In some cases, slotted floors for pigs can be made of galvanized iron or even cast iron. This is not the most common and popular type of coating. However, sometimes such structures are still mounted in pigsties. Their main advantage is, of course, considered strength and durability. The metal floors on the farm can last as long as the pigsty building itself will exist.
Concrete structures
This type of slotted floors is very often mounted in large pig-breeding complexes. Concrete coatings of this type, in turn, are classified according to the degree of maximum permissible load. In very large farms with a huge herd, the most durable expensive floors of this variety are installed, respectively. In smaller complexes, most often, clad slotted structures are still mounted. Such floors are cheaper and easier to install. They are made of not too high concrete grades.
There is also a combined variety of slotted floors. In this case, the floor itself is a strong and durable concrete slab. Their crevice part is made of metal, plastic or even wood.
Is it possible to do it yourself
For large and medium-sized enterprises, slotted floors, of course, are better to buy ready-made. In any case, such expenses on large farms in the future will quickly pay off. In private small farms (up to 50 goals), such floors are certainly better to equip yourself. Of course, the automatic manure removal system itself in this case will also be easy to do with your own hands.
Main stages
The technology for arranging automatic manure removal in a pigsty includes the following basic steps:
Digging a trench under a discharge line.
Installation of receiving drain pipes.
Pouring bathtubs.
Installation of the slotted floor itself.
Materials and Tools
It is recommended to use pipes with a diameter of 300 mm for the discharge line in the manure removal system. In any case, their cross section should not be less than 250 mm. The trunk of a smaller diameter in the future, most likely, will periodically clog.
In addition to pipes, to equip such a system in a pigsty you will need:
cement grade M400;
river sand;
reinforcing bars;
insulation.
Also, the owner of the pigsty will need to purchase plugs for necks like pull / lower. Of the tools you will need:
shovels;
garden car;
concrete mixer;
hammer drill, etc.
Digging a trench and laying a trunk
Of course, it is best to equip the manure removal system even at the construction stage of the pigsty itself - before the erection of walls and even the foundation. A trench for the discharge line of such a network is laid with a slope towards the manure inlet of 5 mm per 1 cm. That is, for a 20 m pipe this figure should be 10 cm. An air valve is located at the end of the pipe opposite the manure inlet. The presence of such an element in the future will greatly facilitate the discharge and removal of manure.
Pipes before laying in a trench dug up with a slope are pre-insulated. For this purpose, for example, you can use mineral wool. Also, slag is suitable for warming the discharge line of the manure removal system. In any case, it is necessary to isolate the pipe from the cold. Otherwise, ice plugs may form in it in the winter season, which will cause the entire system to become inoperative.
Neck fixing
The installation of slotted floors in the pigsty is necessary primarily in order to facilitate the cleaning of machines. Manure after installation of such a coating will fall down and go into the pipe when the cork is opened. To ensure such a tap, in the line you need to make the receiving neck for each bath.
That is, before proceeding with the insulation of the pipe and filling it with earth, it is necessary to make holes in it first for drainage. The placement of the latter should be calculated in the most thorough manner. Otherwise, subsequently, when assembling the manure removal network, problems may arise with the installation of bathtubs.
The easiest way to drill holes in the plastic line is with a jigsaw. The necks themselves are inserted into them by level. Pre-degrease the plastic. You can fix the drain neck in the holes on silicone or, for example, PVC glue.
Installation of bathtubs
Such designs, if desired, can be purchased ready-made plastic. Factory containers of this type are relatively inexpensive. But you can, of course, and pour such bathtubs with your own hands from concrete. Of course, such constructions should be made in such a way that manure subsequently easily merges into the necks by gravity. For example, bathtubs can be given a pyramidal shape (top down). When pouring such structures, of course, you need to use, among other things, reinforcement.
Of course, under the floor you can equip and just a common large receiver for manure. However, experienced farmers are advised to nevertheless fill a separate bathtub under each machine for collecting feces. In the future, this will prevent the spread of various infections between individual pens on the farm. That is, pouring individual bathtubs will become additional protection against outbreaks in the pigsty of epidemics.
Flooring
As soon as the bathtubs are ready, continue the standard process of building a pigsty. That is, pour a concrete screed with a slope towards the bathtubs. In this case, gratings are placed above the receiving tanks themselves. Such items can also be purchased ready-made. Also, the lattice will be easy to do with your own hands from metal or wood. For example, quite often, such elements are welded from a steel corner when installing a manure removal system.
Wooden bars on farms are made up of thick planks. The option is the cheapest, but also the most short-lived. Pigs, as you know, love to gnaw all sorts of designs in the room in which they are kept. And wooden lattices can become very attractive option for them in this regard.
Storage
Once the installation of the slotted floors with your own hands is completed, you can begin to equip the receiver. A good solution would be to adapt for this purpose, for example, some very large metal container. You can also bring the outlet line into a well lined with concrete rings. Quite often, simple pit receivers with concreted walls and floors are also equipped on farms. In any case, a manure collection well next to the pigsty must be waterproofed. This will prevent the subsequent penetration of feces into groundwater. Of course, the receiver needs to be equipped in a place where the sewage machine can easily reach it.