A barn formula to keep hogs fit and active

An innovative Austrian design offers different floor levels and pens 24 metres long running from fully enclosed straw bedded area through bare slats to fresh air exercise yard

by NORMAN DUNN

Natural ventilation for swine barns is not so well-known on the European continent, so there’s a lot of interest in a design pioneered by a farming family in Austria’s Steiermark province. It combines straw bedding for lying areas, fully slatted flooring for feeding and exercise, and plenty of fresh air.