Manure pits are pushing the limits
With the bad weather some sites experienced both last fall and this spring, some areas have had challenges getting pits pumped. The SVC veterinarians have noted that this, as well as other factors, has led to many very full pits already this summer.
Over full pits are a big problem. Once the manure level gets too high in deep pitted barns, it begins to restrict ventilation from the pit through the pit fans. This becomes a health concern as air quality is reduced and can potentially be deadly if additional sources of ventilation are not locked on (as in the case of wall fans) or locked open (as in the case of curtains).
The following are some of the factors that can lead to full pits this time of year.
Solids build up on the bottom of the pit
- Solids left in the bottom of the pit can build up over time, reducing the effective capacity of the pit and leaving valuable nutrients in the pit instead of getting them out onto your fields to be used as fertilizer. Keys to getting all of the solids out of the pit include:
- Good agitation while pumping is critical to get things moving and suspend the solids so that they can be pumped out.
- Pit additives can also help to promote good bacterial growth in the pit, leading to fewer solids as well as fewer issues with crusting on the surface of the manure which can lead to more flies in the barn.
- A good time to include pit additives is when you are finishing agitation since there is less volume and the agitation will help spread out the product.
- Additional pit additive should then be added at regular intervals to help maintain a healthy pit.
Water wastage
- Some of the newer style pan waterers have helped to reduce water wastage compared to the older style cups and nipples. They can also be helpful for starting weaned pigs since there is water available even if that pig has not learned to work the nipple yet.
- Water pressure regulators help to maintain the correct pressure to reduce water wastage and also regulate water flow. Recommended pressures vary depending on what drinker is being used.
Cool cell leakage
- Using timers on cool cells reduces the amount of water that is needed to run the evaporative cooling system.
Timers also increase airflow through the cool cell pad when the water is off, leading to better ventilation rates and cooler sows.- Leakage at any point in the evaporative cooling system also contributes to additional water in the pit.
Rainwater
- Rainwater can find its way into pits, adding to pumping costs and reducing capacity. Dirt work is an important part of the process to keep extra water out of the pits.
- Once a new barn is completed and the dirt has had time to settle around the pit, additional dirt will be needed for backfill to create a slope that will drain water away from the pit.
- Bait boxes should be added every 50-100′ around the perimeter of the building to discourage rodents.
- Bait boxes should be checked and refilled monthly.
- If you maintain a log when this is done, it will also satisfy the requirements for PQA.
Pit pump-out covers
- Pit pump-out covers can allow rainwater coming off the roof steel to end up in the pit if they are not designed and sealed correctly.
- Ideally the covers should be sloped so water runs off the covers away from the barn.
- The new one-piece plastic pump-out covers eliminate leakage through the cover itself.
- Adding support under the back of the cover (next to the barn) will prevent sagging in the back that leads to rainwater running towards the barn and into the pit.
Seal the edges of the cover with caulk, foam, or blackjack to prevent water and air from getting in.
- On filtered farms this is critical to prevent unfiltered air from entering the pit.
- This also helps unfiltered barns ventilate correctly by forcing all of the air the pit fan moves to come from the pit and not from leakage around the edges of the cover.
- A 120′ wide 2400-head wean to finish barn with eight 6′ wide pump-outs could potentially add 1″ of water to the pit from a 6″ rain if the water runs off the roofline onto the pump-out covers and then into the pit. This is over 10,000 gallons of water going into the pit that you need to pay to pump out.
- Transitions must also be sealed tightly to the wall of the pit to prevent standing rainwater from running into the pit.
- Foaming pits will also reduce capacity and can be dangerous since the foam is made up of flammable gasses that can cause fires if ignited, especially when barns are empty and foam levels increase.
- Be especially careful when welding or doing other repairs when barns are empty.
- If foaming is an issue, there are some potential pit additives that can help.
- There is also speculation that Skycis® (an ionophore) fed to pigs can help reduce foaming of pits.
- Be especially careful when welding or doing other repairs when barns are empty.
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