External climatic influences in the pigsty

Situation

To meet consumer demands for improved animal welfare, the Stork family from the Sauerland region decided to build a new pigsty with an external climate zone and straw bedding. The designed piglet rearing unit accommodates 1,300 piglets weighing between 6 and 30 kg.
To cater for the animals’ varying climate needs, the farmer has implemented three climate zones: outdoor climate, indoor large-scale climate and indoor small-scale climate zones. The animals can choose between the different climate zones and move about freely. Air exchange within the barn takes place naturally through openings across the entire width of the building. This ensures that the animals have sufficient fresh air and daylight. 
The straw-bedded outdoor run faces south-west and offers the animals a lovely view of the natural surroundings. Thanks to the combination of climate zones, each animal has a pen area of approx. 0.7 m² at its disposal. To compensate for significant temperature fluctuations, the farmer opted to install underfloor heating.

Solution

To make targeted use of outdoor climate stimuli and ensure a high level of animal welfare, the farmer opted to use various Lubratec systems. Lubratec lift windows provide natural barn ventilation with fresh air and daylight. In the outdoor climate zone, the Lubratec wrap-around ventilation and the side-mounted roller doors, each fitted with Lubratec windbreak nets, protect the animals from draughts and other weather conditions. All systems are easy to operate thanks to electric drives. 
Under difficult weather conditions, the systems were put through their first tough test immediately upon the animals’ arrival. Despite very cold temperatures, the temperature in the barn never fell below 0 degrees. In the microclimate zones, depending on the age of the animals, the temperature remained around 30 degrees despite the harsh winter.

Advantages

The Lubratec lift windows, with an opening length of 52 m, ensure both natural ventilation of the barn and a high level of daylight penetration through the UV-stable yet translucent double-webbed panels. In this case, the statutory minimum requirement for translucent surface area increased from 3% to 27%. The electric drive allows for a quick and flexible response to the weather. 
The Lubratec roll-up ventilation system, which opens from the bottom, with a length of 52 m and a height of just under 4 m, offers the possibility of protecting the animals in the outdoor climate zone from harmful weather conditions. In summer, they are protected primarily from the sun and associated sunburn. In the cooler months, the system protects against draughts whilst ensuring a supply of fresh air. This promotes maximum animal health and minimises the incidence of disease in the herd. 
The natural stimuli of the environment, such as fresh air and daylight in the barn, has a positive influence on the animals’ behaviour and enhances their well-being. Thanks to this improved animal welfare, the farmer is also able to rear piglets with intact curly tails.