The 2015 World Pork Expo is exactly one week away and we couldn't be more excited.
In our younger years, we would love to tag along with Dad to sneak treats (everyone remember the flavored slushies in the semen bags at the ZFI booth??) and eat as much barbecued pork as our stomachs would allow. Oh, and I suppose we would learn about all the new products and technologies while Dad stopped by his favorite booths to talk to old friends. Since we morphed from attendee to exhibitor a few years ago, some of our focus has changed, but most stayed the same.
We look forward to catching up with old friends, but now it's usually moved to our own booth (#729). And I still like to eat as much barbecued pork as humanly possible, but it's now a quick stop before I get back in the Varied Industries Building to spread the word on PigEasy innovations. The one thing that will never change is the World Pork Expo is a family event. And while I do miss being able to leisurely wander through the aisles on the day we'd attend, it is a captivating experience to meet so many people in a mere three days that are as enthusiastic about pork production as we are.
This year we are featuring the redesigned MealMeter. As Dad continues to observe and innovate, he also improves our current products. The updated MealMeter nose piece design funnels the feed flow and increases durability. In addition to the MealMeter itself, we have a freshly designed farrowing crate that is made of stainless steel where you need it and mild steel in the areas where wear isn't an issue in order to keep it reasonably priced. The Chuck-It Bucket holding/disposal tank will be displayed at the QC Supply booth (#V489).
We have a lot to look forward to next week, barbecued pork included, and we can't wait to visit with pork producers from around the world! - Katie
Many pork producers have acknowledged the importance of ad
lib feeding in lactation for a number of reasons. First and foremost, lactation puts huge caloric
demand on a sow as they are feeding larger litters. If we are not giving her access to full feed,
there is a chance she will lose condition, which will raise the likelihood of
that sow being culled exponentially as she turns from a productive sow to an
under conditioned sow. When a sow loses
condition, studies have shown that it has a negative effect on her subsequent
litter.
Next, if a pork producer is still hand feeding their sows,
they will run into a timing issue. A sow
is not going to stand up and eat when her litter is nursing and a producer
isn’t available at all hours of the day to wait until she’s ready to eat. In this particular scenario, how much intake
is that producer missing out on by only feeding a few times a day? On the flip
side, a producer may overcompensate by filling her feeder, but they run the
risk of wasting a lot of feed if she doesn’t consume it. This is where hand
feeding becomes a catch-22.
Lastly, how much is hand feeding costing your operation in
labor? Instead of time spent feeding an
even better question would be what could you or your employees be able to focus
on if you didn’t have to spend time hand feeding each sow multiple times a day?
In this video, Dr. Paul Armbrecht from Lake City Veterinary
Clinic talks about the benefits of ad lib feeding in lactation:
What makes the MealMeter system stand out from other ad lib
feeders on the market?
The MealMeter system offers many unique features for feeding
today’s prolific sow. The PigEasy
lactation feeder has a one of a kind design that focuses her eating area, which
prevents feed build up and maximizes intake.
The PigEasy feeder also features an adjustable waterer. As this is her
ONLY source of water, not only will she completely clean her bowl up every time
she takes a drink, but she won’t be able to spray herself and her pigs in the
summertime. The feeder also has a weep hole near the bottom of each feeder so
excess water will not inhibit her feed intake even if a nipple should become
leaky.
The MealMeter itself has many attractive features, as it
needs NO adjustment, is easily removed and is made to last for years.
So let’s say...
... you are ready to take the plunge into an ad lib
feeder, but your current stainless steel feeders are still in great
condition.
While you won’t have the exclusive qualities of the PigEasy
Lactation Feeder, you can still have great success in ad lib feeding by
converting your existing bowl to the PigEasy set up.
This would include installing the adjustable watering
bracket and the MealMeter with Lactation boot in your current feeder. What’s
even better is we have made it (pig)Easy with templates and a short video
tutorial.
Watch Clint explain the most efficient way to convert your
bowl to the PigEasy system.
We are pork producers ourselves and understand the
difficulties a change like this entails. This is why we designed each product
to be installed many different ways on virtually any equipment.
If you have any questions, we would love to help! You can
reach us at 888-354-0112 or info@pigeasy.com.
