Dispensing milk or replacer for suckling pigs: currently available equipment? Celtilait’s view

Experience shows us that piglets can consume liquid food from a very early stage,
from 2 days old as a supplement to the sow’s milk, but the volumes consumed can be low
(0.2 to 0.3 L/litter/day at the beginning up to 1 litre/litter/day at 16 days). The more the product is concentrated, the greater the effects, especially on the weight on weaning; in all cases, there is an increased survival rate.

But how should you go about it practically speaking?

Currently, 2 types of equipment are available to farmers:

• “Milk Taxis”: easy to set up, they have the advantage of being able to dispense, with a dosing gun, variable quantities of food with a possible concentration of between 200 and 400 grams per litre of water. Their size and volume vary according to manufacturer. Two categories of equipment in particular currently exist on the market: those dispensing milk feed in liquid form and, separately, a dry pre-starter, (e.g. RV Biotech’s Distriliq model, Photo 1), and those dispensing milk feed and pre-starter food mixed together (such as Easy Feeder, from WEDA®, or Taxi Milk, from Holm & Laue).

• Centralised, automatic dispensing systems: Here again, two broad categories of equipment exist. On-demand dispensing systems in cups secured in the maternity box:  the concentration per litre of water is apparently lower than in milk taxis (165 grams /litre of water) and the milk is permanently available for the piglets. Preparation of the milk is required once a day and flushing of the circuits is recommended every week (acid, base, water). Installation can be carried out by the farmer or by a professional depending on the manufacturer. Dispensing systems in sequenced meals are able to dispense a mixture of milk feed and pre-starter foods centrally and automatically.  Meals are dispensed sequentially, in a small trough placed between 2 maternity pens. They can be used on very large farms.  (e.g. the Nutrix model, WEDA®, photo 2)

Most of these dispensing systems are already present in France.
For more information, please contact us or one of our distributors.