What To Know Before Choosing Hog Light

By Lela Perkins


Some people call it the hog; some call it swine while some simply refer to it as domestic pig. Whatever name you want to call it, it is one and the same animal. It traces its history way back to the subspecies of the wild boar. That said, the hog needs special care especially when inside the pen so that it can feed comfortably. Among the things you may want to put right is the hog light. The next section will share some essential tips on the same.

A swine is believed to be better off with a dim level of natural illumination, as evidence has shown that its eyes cannot tolerate bright lights well. It is important to have this in mind when planning on how to establish lighting in your pig units, whether indoor or outdoor. Natural lights enhance the production of vitamin D3 in pigs, although its deficiency is not considered harmful as pig diets contain vitamin D2.

You should not even consider the option of using torch for illumination. It gives excess illumination that is not needed by pigs. Dim lights as already mentioned is what they want. If you love your animals, you will want them to have a good rest and break and so you will ensure that where they sleep has no bright lights. It is also advised that you do not illuminate the pens with fluorescent tubes that have flickers since research has shown some bit of sensitivity from pigs to flicker.

A pig's reproduction is highly affected during the summer season where-in temperature is hot. But this can only be one of the reasons. Their lineage could be the main reason with regards to reproduction.

Apart from the above, seasons can also have other outcomes such as: 24-hour continuous lighting can increase the level of stress and hence interfere with reproduction especially in the young pigs; food intake in growers and finishers increases with increase in day length; piglet suckling is increased as day length is increased to 15-18 hours.

Do not subject the pigs to lights all through. They need a break so they are not stressed. The extreme lights will affect their eyes and weight. They will also behave depending on how they are affected by the lights. They may not withstand artificial light, so be careful especially with the young ones.

From research, there is recommendation that pigs inside structures with no natural illumination should be given extra light of 40 lux for at least 8 hours a day. This will enable them see objects and separate day from night. Some other research indicates that fluorescent and incandescent lights affect how brightly a pig view the surrounding.

Applying the same lux level, fluorescent bulb is considered to be two times brighter than incandescent lights. Of great significance would be the information regarding pigs' seasonality. More important is over or under use of the hog light and hence, energy wastage as well as the provision of an environment that is below standard.




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