Slotted floors for pigsties: what is better to make and how to do it yourself

Farmers who are going to breed piglets should prepare special premises for this in advance. Slotted floors are important for pigsties. These are comfortable floor coverings that make it much easier to clean sheds from manure and other debris. Before proceeding with the organization of the floors, you need to familiarize yourself with their varieties and features.

Gender requirements for pigs

Before you choose a floor that would fit in terms of quality and cost, you need to familiarize yourself with the technical requirements for flooring. Floors inside the piglet breeding facility should be:

• Resistant to wear. It is no secret that floor coverings in livestock buildings are often damaged. Therefore, it is recommended to use reliable floors that are resistant to mechanical damage and do not collapse under the influence of waste products of piglets.
• Safe. When choosing a floor covering, you need to make sure that it is completely safe. The legs of the pigs must not fall into the cracks. Therefore, the maximum width of the holes should not exceed fifteen millimeters.
• Eco-friendly and hygroscopic. These floor coverings keep the barn clean. They practically do not absorb moisture, so that unpleasant odors do not accumulate inside the room.
• Practical and comfortable to use. Floors should be such that they can be easily cleaned of manure or food debris. They should also be easy to disinfect and clean.

Advantages and disadvantages of slotted coverage

Slatted floors have a number of disadvantages and advantages that you should be familiar with before using them. Benefits include:

• Reducing the risk of disease in piglets. Slotted covers do not absorb moisture, and therefore animals in such pigsties are less likely to suffer from intestinal diseases and colds.
• Increase in weight gain. When using such coatings, the daily weight gain reaches 80 grams.
• Reducing the amount of liquid you may need to clean your barn. To care for slit surfaces, you need five times less water.
• Easy to make. If desired, each farmer can independently make such a floor covering for a barn in which piglets are kept.

However, such coatings also have disadvantages, among which are:

• if they are made of low-quality metal, traces of rust appear on the surface;
• galvanized metal floors have high thermal conductivity and therefore are often cold.

Varieties

There are three types of slotted covers that are most often installed in pigsties.

Plastic

The most modern floors are made of high-strength plastic. It is impossible to make them yourself, since special equipment is used in their manufacture. Plastic floor equip in small pigsties. If the room has a large area, plastic should not be used. This material may crack under the load of a large number of animals.

The main difference between plastic products is their low thermal conductivity. This will keep the heat inside the barn even in winter.

Metal

Such slot covers are made of cast iron or galvanized metal. Despite the fact that they are not very common, such products are considered the most reliable. They withstand any load and cope with mechanical damage. Also, iron does not absorb moisture, and therefore the inside of the barn will not smell like manure.

The only drawback is corrosion, which appears in rooms with high humidity.

Concrete

In large farms, concrete flooring is most often used. They are able to handle heavy loads. For small farms, such floors are not suitable. The disadvantages of concrete structures are their high cost and complexity of manufacture.

Required tools and materials

Of all the listed types of coatings, a metal floor is considered the most suitable option for self-production. Before you create it, you need to prepare the materials and tools that will be needed to complete the work. These include:

• metal base in the form of galvanized sheets five millimeters thick;
• gloves;
• eye protection mask;
• work clothes;
• roulette;
• welding machine;
• grinder, with which iron sheets will be cut.

How to install a slatted floor in a pigsty with your own hands

You can make an iron slatted floor in several successive steps:

• Make blanks. The width of the metal strips should not be more than ten centimeters. The gap between them is 1-2 centimeters.
• Weld prepared iron strips. The parts should be welded overlap to make the structure stronger.
• Make supports. To prevent the floor from sagging, five metal supports are made. Four of them are placed on the sides, and one is placed in the center.
• Cover the installed metal structure with plastic or wood flooring. On such a surface, animals will sleep more comfortably.

Conclusion

Slatted flooring is considered the most suitable floor covering for a pigsty. Before you make it, you need to familiarize yourself with the design features, as well as its varieties and installation nuances.

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