Farmers who are going to raise piglets must prepare special premises for this in advance. Slotted floors are important for pigsties. These are convenient floor coverings that greatly simplify cleaning barns from manure and other debris. Before you start organizing floors, you need to familiarize yourself with their varieties and features.
Flooring requirements for pigs
Before choosing a floor that is suitable in terms of quality and cost, you need to familiarize yourself with the technical requirements for floor coverings. The floors inside the premises for breeding piglets 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 are not destroyed by the waste products of piglets.
- Safe. When choosing a floor covering, you need to make sure that it is completely safe. The pigs' feet should not fall through the cracks. Therefore, the maximum width of the holes should not exceed fifteen millimeters.
- Eco-friendly and hygroscopic. These types of flooring allow you to keep your shed clean. They practically do not absorb moisture, so unpleasant odors do not accumulate indoors.
- Practical and convenient during 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 from contamination.
Advantages and disadvantages of slot coating
Slotted floors have a number of disadvantages and advantages that you should be familiar with before using them. Among the advantages are the following:
- Reducing the risk of disease in piglets. Slit coverings do not absorb moisture, and therefore animals in such pigsties are less likely to suffer from intestinal diseases and colds.
- Increased weight gain. When using such coatings, the daily weight gain reaches 80 grams.
- Reducing the amount of liquid you may need to clean your shed. To care for crevice surfaces, you need five times less water.
- Easy to manufacture.If desired, each farmer can independently make such a floor covering for the barn in which piglets are kept.
However, such coatings also have disadvantages, including:
- if they are made of low-quality metal, traces of rust appear on the surface;
- Galvanized metal floors have increased thermal conductivity and are therefore often cold.
Varieties
There are three types of slot coverings, which are most often installed in pigsties.
Plastic
The most modern floors are those made of high-strength plastic. It is impossible to make them yourself, since special equipment is used in their production. Plastic floors are installed in small pigsties. If the room has a large area, plastic should not be used. This material can crack under the stress of many animals.
The main difference between plastic products is their low thermal conductivity. Thanks to this, a high temperature will be maintained inside the barn even in winter.
Metal
Such gap coverings 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 can 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
Large farms often use concrete flooring. They are able to cope with large weight loads. Such floors are not suitable for small farms.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 preparations. The width of the metal strips should not be more than ten centimeters. The gap between them is 1-2 centimeters.
- Weld the prepared iron strips. The parts should be welded overlapping 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. It will be more comfortable for animals to sleep on such a surface.
Conclusion
Slotted flooring is considered the most suitable floor covering for a pigsty. Before making it, you need to familiarize yourself with the design features, as well as its varieties and installation nuances.
