Welfare and environment key in innovative barn

A modular barn with many welfare aspects – that, in short, is the concept of “Het Familievarken” (The Family Pig). Built on the premises of pig farmer Ivo Bekkers, in Venhorst, the Netherlands, the barn has a special feature: pig toilets. Above the finisher pen, the feed mount starts to move, and the pigs search the ground for chunks. Ivo Bekkers says, “In the beginning, the sows followed the mount through the barn. They have figured out now that enough falls down in the 20 minutes the