A group suckling system with lactation noise and TMR (total mixed ration) feeding – these terms are not usually associated with pig farming. But a family business in the Seetal region of Lucerne (Switzerland) has done just that.

In 2003, the Ruckli family converted their dairy farm into a pig farm and now operates in accordance with IP-SUISSE guidelines (integrated agriculture). The farm has a total of 120 sows and 300 fattening places.

A slightly different farming rhythm

The rhythm at which the Ruckli farm operates differs from typical production rhythms. Antonia Ruckli reports that all pregnant sows on their farm are kept in a large group. On average, there are always 80 sows here. About a week before the farrowing date, the sows are moved to the farrowing pen (7 m^²), where they farrow freely. When the piglets are about 3 weeks old, 3 to 4 sows and their piglets are moved to the group suckling pen. There, the sows and piglets have a week to get used to their new surroundings and their pen mates before intermittent suckling is carried out for a week. After this week, the sows and piglets are kept together in the group suckling pen for another 3 weeks. After a 7 to 8-week suckling period, the piglets are then weaned from the sow.

Intermittent suckling

During intermittent suckling, the sows are separated from their piglets for 10–12 hours a day for one week. This separation causes the sows to enter a lactation frenzy. This allows the sows to be inseminated even though they are still suckling their piglets. At the Ruckli farm, intermittent suckling takes place in the fifth week of the piglets' lives. During this week, the sows are taken to a different barn every morning at six o'clock, which makes it very easy to separate them from their piglets.

To ensure that the sows really do enter a state of lactation oestrus, two things are particularly important, explains Antonia Ruckli: Firstly, the separation period of 10–12 hours must be adhered to. During this period, there should be no visual contact between the sow and her piglets. Secondly, the sows should have contact with boars during the period of separation from their piglets. This is because boars release pheromones that help to induce oestrus in the sows. The sows are inseminated either naturally or by artificial insemination.

For Ruckli, the advantages of this method are obvious. Intermittent suckling allows for longer suckling while maintaining the same reproductive performance. The longer suckling period also gives the piglets more time to learn feeding behaviour from their mother. This means that there is no loss of growth after weaning.

Group suckling

In one of the Ruckli family's group suckling pens, 3 to 4 sows are housed together with their litters. If there are too many sows in a pen, the smaller piglets hardly get any milk because they are pushed away by the larger piglets, reports Antonia Ruckli. The family tried out many different pen designs. An important factor in the planning was that mucking out and spreading litter could be done with the farm loader.

The advantages of group suckling are: less effort during weaning, as the piglets are 7–8 weeks old and already eat quite a bit of feed. In addition, they are already alone for several hours during intermittent suckling and are already grouped with piglets from other litters due to group housing. This reduces stress after weaning. At Ruckli, 24 piglets are weaned per sow per year, which is in line with the average for Swiss farms. Losses after weaning are around 1%.

However, the system also has disadvantages. The sows have to be moved more frequently, so an additional pen is needed for group suckling.

Antonia Ruckli advises anyone interested in group suckling to ensure that the piglets are of similar size when grouping them. The large group of pregnant sows is certainly an advantage on the farm, as all the sows know each other and there is hardly any fighting between them. In addition, in the case of large litters, the largest piglets should be weaned before the others to avoid crowding out the smaller piglets.

Sow feeding with TMR

Ruckli's goal was to feed the sows ad libitum, with a considerable proportion of the ration consisting of roughage. A look at the neighbours gave him the idea: why not feed pigs TMR, as with cows? From the Ruckli family's point of view, there are two particular reasons for TMR: firstly, the natural feeding behaviour of pigs. In nature, pigs spend a total of 3/4 of their daily activity foraging, grazing and rooting. The TMR provided means that the sows can find food throughout the day. Secondly, TMR allows the farm's own protein source to be used, namely a clover-grass mixture (optimal composition 30–50% grass, 50–70% clover). This means that a considerable proportion of the soybean meal in the ration can be replaced, which is not only more cost-effective but also more environmentally friendly. Another advantage is that crop rotation on the farm could be optimised through the cultivation and use of perennial artificial grassland. The decision to use TMR was therefore made. Ruckli's TMR consists mainly of 70% roughage (grass, silage, hay) and 30% concentrated feed.

In summer, the grass is freshly mowed in the morning at Ruckli. The components are mixed using a stationary feed mixer and then distributed with the farm loader into the feed racks in the outdoor enclosure for the pregnant sows. The sows are then let into the outdoor enclosure, where they can eat the TMR.

However, feeding with TMR also has disadvantages, reports Antonia Ruckli. These include the fact that feeding is no longer fully automatic and there is no individual feeding for each animal. Accordingly, there must be enough feeding places for all sows.

All in all, after some trial and error, the Ruckli family is very satisfied with their current system. Further information about the farm can also be found on the farm's website.

Author: Regine Revermann, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture