Schothorst Feed Research decides to install a coated farrowing pen floor instead of a high-pressure laminate plastic floor

Interview with Alwin Koobs, manager of the pig department at Schothorst Feed Research.

‘In April 2020, we decided to install coated farrowing pen floors for the new free farrowing pens here at Schothorst. Stability and grip were the deciding factors in this decision. A great additional advantage of this floor is its span free of supports. A span of 2.50 metres (pen length) requires fewer structures in the building, and reduces the construction time.’

Coated floor saves labour and costs

‘The bases poured in-situ on the pit floor support the coated grids. The slats next to the feed alley are equipped with a corner profile, then coated. The concrete slabs of the feed alley are placed on this corner profile.

The coated slats offer considerable labour and cost advantages, due to the large span free of supports. Especially compared to a floor made of high-pressure laminate plastic slats, which doesn’t have these advantages. Choosing this coated floor also saved us from all the hassle of the ‘loose parts’ of a laminate plastic floor.’

Good grip for both piglets and sows in free farrowing systems

‘The sows can grip the coated slats well. The sows can walk freely and easily, and lying down and standing up is no problem. There’s a calm atmosphere in each section, partly due to the stability that the sows in the pens radiate. The piglets also have good grip on the floor and move about easily. A laminate plastic floor is much less suitable in terms of grip and movement.’

Electric underfloor heating saves gas

‘We decided, in consultation, to integrate electric underfloor heating in the floor. This has the great advantage that the floor height is the same everywhere in the pen, and there are no ‘loose parts’ on the floor which can get dirty. The underfloor heating is easy to regulate in each section, so gas is no longer needed in this barn to heat floors.’

Integrated sow-weighing system

‘Floor scales for weighing sows have been installed in 4 pens. Although weights are not yet determined fully automatically, technically it’s possible. The long-term goal is that 50% of sows in the farrowing pen are weighed automatically. Weighing sows on floor scales turned out to be technically impossible with the other supplier.’

Discover all ins and outs of the Nooyen Super Coated floors in our factsheet