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SWOH | Thanks for replying, AJ. I wasn't implying you had an attitude. I was just trying to say this all needs to be discussed by everybody without the attitude. It's counter productive.
I assumed part of the problem we had when we were using pens was not enough space. They had plenty but maybe not enough. And most converted barns I've seen (pictures anyway) seem like the sows are a little crowded. I kind of figured space was key. The hoop barn with feeding crates has crossed my mind for group sows, that looks plausible...not necessarily a one use barn and if we didn't need them for sows use them for something else. I guess the thing to do is try it on a small scale for a little while and compare the two systems side by side. Here. Kind of like a test plot. Here. I have no interest in pasture farrowing, and without seeing some serious facts, I believe farrowing crates are the best way to go for pig well being.
What did you do to eliminate stress during breeding and the first 30 days of gestation in group pens? Did you have them in stalls during breeding and the first 30 days? If you keep them in the same group/pen for life what do you do when one doesn't get bred or you cull most of a group and keep a few, or separate for farrowing and reintroduce?
What age were you weaning with pasture farrowing? Did the pigs stay on pasture or did they go to barns? Did you separate sows for farrowing or keep them grouped? Just curious.
I'm not on the thousands of sows scale, I'm more on the 400-500 sow scale. I'm not going to pass judgement on the big boys though. Just out of curiosity, on what scale were you on in your experiences?
I respect your opinion, but my opinion is people can eat whatever they want and how ever much they want. Personal responsibility. If they want to eat nothing but pork or beef or chicken or whatever all day long that's their business. And if they want to pay more for it because it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy thinking that animal or bird was raised the way they think it should be, more power to them. Or if they don't want to eat meat at all, that's up to them. Cheap, safe food isn't a bad thing...what the consumer does with it is their responsibility. I got your point though.
Again, thanks for the reply...I'm not naive enough to think things aren't going to change eventually...whether I agree with it or not. Things have changed a lot in the past 20 or 30 years even and I'm sure it'll be a whole lot different 20 or 30 years from now...I do however think that the more effective way to make a change is to prove the change is better instead of saying "you can't do that anymore, you need to do it this way because it's better....trust us". I don't believe that works. Prove to me it's better and I'll do what is better, otherwise leave me alone (not you personally) and let me determine what I think is best. I haven't seen a whole lot of proof from anybody yet. I guess we should test it ourselves again a little maybe.
Edited by boa628 12/8/2012 20:05
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McDonald's New Policy
