Automatic on-rail feeding mixer system for sows
At EuroTier, Danish livestock equipment company JH Agro will present an addition to its on-farm robotic rail system JHminiStrø – a vertical mixer.
The new addition allows mix feeding to be automatically added to the robot, which can bring the feed to animals inside the stables. The mixer, having a powerful, vertical screw, is especially useful for the preparation of roughage such as corn silage. The system can be applied when using floor feeding, e.g. with gestating sows or organically held chickens.
The company’s JHminiStrø system has already been in existence for ten years, but so far could only be used for the distribution of bedding material, like e.g. straw, sawdust, sand, dried manure solids etc.
JHminisStrø is mounted on a rail system in the stable which makes it easy for it to access the stable without getting in touch with animals or other equipment in the stable. The robot automatically returns to the dosing equipment, when it’s empty, to be refilled. After the refill, the robot returns to the spot, where it ran dry, and continues to distribute material.
The device is computer-managed and the amount and times of distribution can be adjusted. The machine is mounted on a track that can be installed in all types of stalls without having to reinforce beams or change inventory.
The fully automatic system, developed in cooperation with Danish farmers, prevents considerable amounts of hard work. Animals will be calmer as the robot does not disturb the daily routine in the stable and it is possible to save up to 30% of material bringing it out several times a day instead bringing large amounts in for example once a week.
The robots are available in several different sizes from 0.280 m3 up to 3 m3 depending to the amount that must be brought into the stable every day. The mixer comes in three different sizes: 6, 8 and 14 m3.
The development of the system is the result of a range of legal requirements dictating pig housing choices in countries of the European Union up to 2015. There are specifications on floor area per pig, on the minimum flooring percentage that must be solid or drained, on showers for bigger pigs and on the use of partly-closed pen walls. Another feature of these legal requirements is their reference to the pigs’ access to saturation food and employment material.
JH Agro can be found at EuroTier 2014, in Hanover, Germany, in Hall 25, stand E01.
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