System for hog production in a controlled environment

Means for hog production in a controlled environment and including a housing rising from and covering a base providing a first floor of substantial expanse, and a multi-tiered structure spaced substantially inwardly from the perimeter of the housing, and comprising:

• a plurality of vertically spaced tier floors above said first floor and all of the tier floors being equipped with hog finishing pens large enough to accommodate a social group of growing hogs to finished market size, each finishing pen having a social floor area in one end portion in which the hogs penned therein for finish growing can congregate and rest, and each finishing pen having a slatted feeding and drop-through dunging floor area in an opposite end portion where hog feeding and dunging can take place without disturbing the hogs in the social area, there being automatic hog food supplying means in each feeding and dunging area;
• the social areas of the finishing pens of each tier floor being vertically aligned with the same areas in the pens therebelow and the feeding and dunging areas of the finishing pens of each tier floor being vertically aligned with the same areas in the pens therebelow;
• means under each of the slatted feeding and dunging areas for collecting dropped hog waste and funneling the waste to drop through such a small portion of the slatted feeding and dunging area therebelow that the hogs can readily avoid said small drop portion while using the feeding and dunging area;
• a substantial width area on the first floor between said housing perimeter and said multi-tiered structure being divided into:
• an annular array of farrowing pens for farrowing crates adjacent to the housing perimeter;
• an annular array of breeding pens surrounded by said farrowing pens and having gates adjacent to the farrowing pens;
• an annular array of nursery pens surrounded by and separated from the breeding pens by an annular aisle and adapted for receiving small nursery size pigs from the farrowing pens;
• means enabling hand feeding of the nursery pigs from said aisle;
• an annular array of training pens surrounded by and having gates separating them from the nursery pens and in which training pens trainer pigs are received from the nursery pens after attaining a stage of development in which they can adjust to automatic feeding means;
• at least said training pens being under said tier floors in vertical alignment under said finishing pens and each training pen having a social area and a slatted feeding and drop-through dunging area both of which training pen areas are located in vertical alignment under the corresponding areas of the overhead finishing pens, and there being similar automatic hog food supplying means in the training pen feeding and dunging areas as in the overhead feeding and dunging areas of the finishing pens, the waste collecting means of the finishing pens funneling and dropping the hog waste through the training pen feeding and dunging areas in the same manner as in the like areas of the finishing pens, whereby to accustom the trainer pigs to the conditions in the upper tier floor finishing pens before transfer of the pigs as growing hogs to said finishing pens;
• and means centrally located relative to the array of training pens by which the pigs are transferred to the hog finishing pens on said tier floors after a limited growth and training development time interval in said training pens.