PAES 401:2001 Swine Housing Standard

PAES 401:2001 Agricultural Structures – Housing for Swine Production

• This is the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standard for agricultural structures for swine housing.
• The Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC) initiated this national standard.
• The "Enhancing the Implementation of the AFMA Through Improved Agricultural Engineering Standards" project funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) supported this.
• The standard followed PNS 01-4:1998 (ISO/IEC Directives Part 3:1997) and specifies general requirements for swine housing.
• "Shall" indicates strictly followed requirements.
• "Should" indicates a recommended action.

Scope of Swine Housing Standard

• Specifies minimum requirements for swine housing
• Includes space, feeding, and watering needs

Key Definitions

• Boar: Male breeding swine, at least 8 months old
• Creep Area: Piglet area inside the farrowing pen
• Culling Rate: Rate of removing undesirable animals
• Dry Sows: Unbred, weaned, non-pregnant sows
• Farrowing: Act of giving birth in swine
• Farrowing Pen: Area for a sow during farrowing/lactation where she can turn around
• Farrowing Stall: Device to confine a sow, preventing her from turning
• Fattener: Swine typically starting at 15 kg, raised for meat production
• Finisher: Swine weighing 66 kg and up
• Gilt: Female swine that has not farrowed
• Grower: Swine weighing 40 to 65 kg
• Litter: Piglets born in one farrowing
• Litter Index: Average number of farrowings per sow per year (farrowing index)
• Occupancy: Number of days an animal stays in a pen
• Sow: Any breeding female pig that has farrowed
• Weaner: Piglet recently separated from its mother (weanling)

Location Requirements

• Site complies with land use plans
• Site accessible to service roads, water, and electricity
• Site well-drained with free air circulation
• Building in east-west orientation, marketable animal structures near service road
• Site location must ensure that prevailing winds do not carry odors toward the farmhouse.

Swine Housing Systems

• One-Unit: Sows removed after weaning; pigs stay in the same building until slaughter.
• Two-Unit: Sows and piglets stay in the farrowing house until weaning; weanlings move to a growing-finishing house.
• Three-Unit: Sows and piglets in farrowing house until weaning; weanlings move to a nursery, then a growing-finishing unit.
• Four-Unit: Sows and piglets in farrowing house until weaning; piglets move to a nursery, growing house, and finishing house.

Space Requirements for Swine

• Up to 10 kg: 0.11 m²/animal
• 11-20 kg: 0.20 m²/animal
• 21-40 kg: 0.35 m²/animal
• 41-60 kg: 0.50 m²/animal
• 61-80 kg: 0.70 m²/animal
• 81-100 kg: 0.85 m²/animal
• Gilts up to mating: 1.00 m²/animal
• Adult pigs in groups: 2.50 m²/animal
• Gestating sows: 1.20 m²/animal
• Boar pens: 7.50 m²/animal
• Lactating sows and litters (individual pens): 7.40 m²/animal
• Lactating sows and litters (multi-suckling groups): 5.60 m²/animal
• Dry sows: 1.80 m²/animal

Structural Requirements: Roof

• Made of corrugated G.I. sheets or other durable materials.
• Minimum 1-meter overhang for shade and rain protection.
• Equipped with gutters for separate rainwater drainage.
• Roof types include semi-monitor, semi-shed, monitor, double span, and shed.

Structural Requirements: Ceiling and Walls

• Ceiling (optional) should be at least 2.4 m high.
• Sidewalls' minimum height is 1 meter, made of durable materials.

Structural Requirements: Floors

• Solid concrete floors must be paved on compacted gravel fills.
• Floors should be skid-resistant with a 2-4% slope towards a gutter/drainage canal, away from the feeding trough.
• Slotted floors constructed of concrete, plastic, metals, or a combination to allow manure/urine passage.
• Wood is not recommended for flooring

Structural Requirements: Slatted Floors

• Slatted floors must allow manure and urine to pass through
• Farrowing sows and piglets (up to 30 kg): Slat width 18-25 mm, slat spacing 8-9 mm
• Weaners: Slat width 18-25 mm, slat spacing 10-14 mm
• Finishers: Slat width 60-100 mm, slat spacing 10-20 mm
• Sows, finishers, and boars (over 100 kg): Slat width 80-125 mm, slat spacing 10-25 mm
• Partially slotted floors: Slats placed perpendicular to the long dimension of pens
• Totally slotted floors: Slats placed parallel to the sow
• Concrete slats are preferred for swine over 30 kg
• Concrete slats should have a smooth wood float finish and rounded top edges

Concrete Slat Dimensions

• Span 1.20 m: Top width 102 mm, depth 102 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 3 (10 mm)
• Span 1.20 m: Top width 152 mm, depth 102 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 3
• Span 1.20 m: Top width 204 mm, depth 102 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 3
• Span 1.80 m: Top width 102 mm, depth 102 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 4 (12 mm)
• Span 1.80 m: Top width 152 mm, depth 102 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 4
• Span 1.80 m: Top width 204 mm, depth 102 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 4
• Span 2.40 m: Top width 102 mm, depth 127 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 4
• Span 2.40 m: Top width 152 mm, depth 127 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 4
• Span 2.40 m: Top width 204 mm, depth 127 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 4
• Span 3.0 m: Top width 102 mm, depth 152 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 5 (14 mm)
• Span 3.0 m: Top width 152 mm, depth 152 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 5
• Span 3.0 m: Top width 204 mm, depth 152 mm, Reinforcing bar No. 5
• For swine under 20 kg, use flattened expanded metal (20 mm, 9-11 gauge) with joists spaced at 300 mm and treated to prevent corrosion.
• Welded wire flooring must be supported every 300 mm.
• Plastic flooring should be coated with a rough surface
• Use Fiberglass reinforced T-slats for creep areas,38 mm wide with 9 mm slots, supported every 600 mm.

Functional Requirements: Pens

• Farrowing pens require farrowing crates to prevent crushing.
• Optional rearing pens need guardrails 250 mm from the wall and 250 mm above the floor
• The recommended dimensions for a farrowing crate are outlined.
• Weaners should be penned in ground pens or elevated nursery cages with slatted floors (10-14 mm spacing).
• Weaners of the same size should be housed together
• Growing pens should hold no more than 25 growers
• Finishing pens should hold no more than 25 finishers
• Gestating sows can be housed individually (0.66 m x 1.8 m) or in groups.
• Boar pens must be near dry sow accommodation and have a service crate.
• Pen partition slots should range from 160 mm to 210 mm.

Minimum Height of Pen Partition

• Under 25 kg: 0.70 m
• 25 kg - 100 kg: 0.90 m
• Sow: 1.00 m
• Boar: 1.20 m
• Fittings must not have sharp edges.
• Surfaces must not be treated with toxic paints.
• Pen gates must be made from at least 10 mm iron bars or 30 mm pipes fastened to a G.I. pipe frame
• Pen gates should be 600 mm wide
• Pen gates should be 0.9 m-1 m high; 750 mm for weanlings
• Primary walkways should be 1.5 m
• Secondary walkways should be 1 m.

Equipment and Facilities

• Heaters in creep areas maintain 27-35°C for newborns until 3 days old.
• Heat lamps placed 762 mm above the floor or 152 mm above the sow.
• Feeding troughs: Use a properly designed feeding trough according to recommended lengths.
• The feeding trough width should be at least 300 mm.
• The feeding trough depth should be 250 mm.

Minimum Recommended Length of Feeding Trough per Swine

• 15-25 kg: 150 mm/animal
• 25-50 kg: 200 mm/animal
• 50-75 kg: 250 mm/animal
• 75-100 kg: 300 mm/animal
• 100-130 kg: 350 mm/animal
• Water troughs must be separate from feeding troughs.
• Linear space for watering should match space for feeding
• Automatic watering cups: 1 cup/20 weaners, 1 cup/12 gilts, and 1 cup/10 sows (optional).
• Bottom rim of the bowl height: 120 mm (weaners) and 300 mm (finishers),
• Nozzle waterers should be installed at 450-650 mm (sows and growing-finishing pigs) and 305 mm(weanlings) from the floor.
• Waterer spacing: 300 mm (nursery), 450 mm (growing), 600-900 mm (finishing and group housed gestating sows).
• For nurseries, install 1 nipple/10 pigs.
• Install 1 nipple/12-15 growing-finishing pigs
• All plumbing must conform to the National Plumbing Code of the Philippines
• Artificial lighting must be available for use at all times.

Swine Housing Lighting Intensity

• Breeding, gestation, and farrowing: 150 lux
• Nurseries: 100 lux
• Growing and finishing: 50 lux
• Inspection areas: 200 lux
• All electrical design and installation must conform to the Philippine Electrical Code
• Outlets must be on the downwind side of the building, preferably at the highest point
• Inlets should vent doors, curtains, or openings along the long sides of the building
• If necessary, use automatic controls to adjust to maintain indoor temperature
• Natural ventilation systems require controllers to regulate air exchange.
• Fans should be installed opposite prevailing winds
• Water spray nozzles are optional for cooling.
• Position nozzles approximately 1.8 m above the floor.

Minimum Ventilation Rates Under Normal Conditions

• Farrowing unit: 0.28 m³/min
• Nursery pens: 0.08 m³/min
• Growing-finishing pens: 0.12 m³/min
• Breeding and gestating pens: 0.28 m³/min

Maximum Temperature for Housed Swine in Still Air

• Sows and boars: 30°C
• Piglets (newborn): 35°C
• Piglets (3 weeks): 30°C
• Weaners: 30°C
• Growers and Finishers: 30°C

Storage and Waste

• Well-ventilated area for feed storage with mesh wire
• Space should accommodate two weeks' worth of feed.
• Waste management must follow PAES 414:2002 Agricultural Structures – Waste Management Structures.