Performance and Budget Analysis of Finishing Pigs in Hoop Structures and Confinement During the Winter: First Group Results

Introduction During the summer and fall of 1997, the Hoop Research Complex was developed at the Iowa State University (ISU) Rhodes Research Farm for comparing hoop structures to confinement for swine finishing. The site consists of three hoop structures and one modular confinement building. The hoops, each 30 ft × 60 ft, are oriented north/south. The south end of each hoop has a concrete floor (30 ft × 15 ft). Two round feeders with 12 feeding spaces and two waterers with two drinking spaces are in each of the hoops. The confinement building (16.5 ft × 88 ft) is mechanically ventilated and consists of six pens with totally slatted floors. Each pen (13.5 ft × 13 ft) has a round feeder with 8 feeding spaces and four nipple waterers. The confinement building liquid manure is removed by a pull-plug/manure scraper combination to storage in an outside concrete manure tank. At 12 sq ft per pig, each hoop is designed to hold 150 pigs. At 8 sq ft per pig each confinement pen is designed to hold 22 pigs. These pen densities and group sizes are representative of current industry standards. The hoops were completed during November 1997. However, the confinement building was not ready for pigs until mid-January 1998.