MSU Extension Pork

Ventilation, including air temperature, humidity, and wind flow is essential for an animal’s well-being. Whether a pig is housed indoors year-round or has access to the outdoors, understanding how your ventilation set up is affecting your pig’s comfort and their growth rate is essential. The key to ventilation is to provide clean air, specifically oxygen to the animals, control the temperature per the animal’s body weight to create a comfortable environment for them to grow; but also, to remove: Moisture Excess heat Gases Dust Bacteria Viruses Fungal spores and Chemicals Additionally, this will also keep the caretakers healthy and extend the life of the building housing the swine. The major components of mechanically ventilated buildings include fans, inlets, heaters, and a mechanism to control the system. Each of these can be centrally controlled or have their own set of controls that work together to change the environment within the barn. The ventilation rate is normally adjusted in relation to temperature, which in turn is related to the age of pigs within the building. Ventilation rates increase as pigs get larger on account of their higher respiratory and heat output. The first phase of ventilation is considered the minimum stage. The most-utilized fans are pit fans, which provide a base level of air exchange throughout the barn that provide proper air quality and moisture control. The next stages act to continuously increase the rate of air flow out of the barn as more fans are engaged and higher air flow rates are employed that are typically controlled by a thermostat regulator or ventilation controller that will automatically activate at set temperatures. It is vital to adjust the ventilation system so that relative humidity within the barn is between 60% and 70%, which is the range that is best for fighting respiratory infections. The recommended air inlet speed in a swine barn should be 600-900 ft. per minute. If the air entering the room from the ceiling inlets is moving too slow, then the air will not circulate properly and will fall directly down on the pigs creating excessive drafts and disrupt the manure patterns of pigs within the pens, which could increase the spread of disease.