Moving pigs can be quite a nuisance if the animals don’t cooperate, pig management expert John Gadd wrote in a previous contribution. Techniques however exist to make your life easy, he says. Here he discusses the manual method – with plenty of inspiration from Dr Temple Grandin.
John Gadd在上一篇文章中提到，如果生猪不配合，转栏会是一件令人头疼的工作。不过他也表示，应用一些技巧可以让这项工作更加简单。这篇文章中，他将重点讨论人工转栏的做法，其中很多受到坦普·葛兰汀博士的启发。
In my previous article I drew together several useful ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ when having to move pigs. In this follow-up piece I suggest some layouts when needing to weigh pigs in what I suppose we have to call the existing ‘manual method’ we use now, as the new technique of weighing by tomography is now with us and will eventually take over.
上篇文章里我总结了生猪转栏时应该做和不应该做的事情。在这篇后续文章中，我提出了在需要给猪称重时采用的一些布局，我想现在必须称之为现有的“手动方法”，因为断层扫描称重的新技术已经出现，并将最终取代它。
But that will be some years away on the typical farm, so some observations on present methods are appropriate.
但对典型的猪场来说，这还需要几年的时间，所以对现有方法进行观察是合适的。
Dr Temple Grandin – an extraordinary behaviourist
坦普·葛兰汀博士——一位了不起的行为学家
20 years or so ago I was fortunate to spend some time at the feet of this extraordinary animal behaviourist. Her speciality at the time was how cattle react to humans. Subsequently her research and particular synergy and empathy has spread to other species, including pigs.
大约20年前，我有幸在这位非凡的动物行为学家门下学习了一段时间。当时她的专长是研究牛对人的反应。随后，她的研究，尤其是协同作用和同理心也应用到其它物种，包括猪。
In this farm, sows have to be moved from one floor to another. Photo: Bert Jansen
在这家猪场中，需要把母猪从一个猪舍赶到另一个
Unconventional maybe, sometimes outspoken as she is, but she has always talked a great deal of sense and, impressed by her findings and advice, I have applied some of them to my clients’ farms over the years. Let’s look at some of her opinions.
也许她不循规蹈矩，有时也会直言不讳，但她总是讲得很有道理，她的发现和建议给我留下了深刻的印象，多年来，我把其中一些应用到了客户的猪场中。我们来看看她的一些观点。
‘Jamming’ before entering a weigh crate
进入称重箱前的拥堵
Jamming before entering a weigh crate is often a nuisance, especially when too big a group of pigs, gilts or growing stock, are held ready for treatment (2 smaller groups gain entry quicker in the end than a more convenient large one).
进入称重箱之前发生拥堵通常是件麻烦的事情，尤其是当有一大群猪都准备后进行称重时（两个较小的群最终比较方便的大群进入得更快）
As Figure 1 shows, a treatment crate is best angled to the line of entry so as to discourage the to-be-weighed pigs from being concerned about what may be happening ahead and reluctant to move onwards. This is because the angled crate and what is going on ahead is away from the next pigs direct line of sight and the reluctance to move forwards is reduced.
如图一所示，称重箱最好与入口处形成一定角度，以防待称重的猪由于担心即将发生的事情，而不愿向前移动。因为称重箱有一定角度，前方发生的事情远离了下一头猪的直接视线，因此不愿意向前移动的程度减轻了。
Figure 1 – Treatment/weighscales chute with entrance to prevent jamming at the chute entrance. The angled fences at the rear gate eliminate corners in which the pigs could bunch up. The exit chute is angled to prevent incoming pigs from seeing the scales and balking.
图1——带入口的称重箱，防止入口处拥堵。后门的斜角围栏消除了可能拥堵的角落。出口滑槽是成角度的，以防后面的猪看到体重秤而由于不前。
Pairs of pigs encourage confidence
成对进入 生猪更有信心
Another Grandin observation – 2 in fact. The 1st is that pairs of pigs move more readily forwards than just one by itself. Provided that the design of the race separates the 2 physically but not visually, as in Figure 2, otherwise they can jam each other.
这是葛兰丁博士的发现，事实上有2个。第一是成对的猪比单独的猪更容易向前移动。前提是，设计上是将这两头从物理上分开，而不是从视觉上分开，如图2所示，否则也会造成拥堵。
Figure 2 – Two chutes side by side are better than one. The outer sides should be solid to prevent the pigs from seeing distractions outside the chute. The centre partition should be constructed so the pigs can see each other in the adjacent chute. This encourages following behaviour and improves the flow of hogs.
图2——两个斜槽并排比单个好。外侧应是坚固的，以防生猪看到外界的干扰。中部隔板的构造应该让生猪能在相邻的斜槽中看到彼此。这么做带动了跟随行为，并改善了生猪的流动。
This can be incorporated into any loading ramp and the design of hers is shown in Figure 3. A benefit for the stockperson from this layout is that the process of loading can be controlled from one static position from which he/she never needs to move, which saves time and effor.
这可以纳入任何装载坡道，设计如图3所示。这种布局给饲养员带来的好处是，可以在一个不需要移动的位置控制装载过程，从而节省了时间和精力。
Figure 3 – A loading ramp with two single-file chutes. The handler stands at ‘1’, when the crowding pen is full and directs the leaders into the chutes. As the pen empties, the handler steps through the gate into position ‘2’ and swings the gate around.
图3——带有2个单排斜槽的装载坡道。操作人员站在位置1，当栏中猪满了时，让领头的猪进入斜槽。当猪栏清空时，操作人员通过闸门进入位置2，并旋转闸门。
The narrowed footwell for propelling pigs
缩小脚部空间 驱使生猪走动
Her 2nd idea is the narrowing of the footwell (again, see Figure 2). This helps propel the pigs forwards up even a steep loading ramp. Prof Grandin found that if you narrow the natural standing stance (i.e. the normal distance apart of the pigs feet) by 10-15%, done by inserting ‘vee-blocks’ down each side of the race, then when the pig starts walking, it tends to tip forwards slightly off-balance, which it instinctively corrects by taking an involuntary step forward.
葛兰丁博士的另一个想法是缩小脚部空间（如图2所示）。这有助于驱使生猪向前走动，即使是在陡峭的装载坡道上。葛兰丁教授发现，如果通过在过道每一侧插入“V型板”，将自然站姿的空间（即猪两脚间距离）缩小10-15%，当猪开始行走时，会稍微前倾而失去平衡，这时它会下意识向前走一步来本能地自我纠正。
Several of my clients have to move sows quite a distance, sometimes outside, from one building to another, and of course need to set up a railed passage across the concrete. Of course being sows, some tend to stop and explore and have to be tapped onwards from holding up those behind them – always a nuisance.
我有一些客户需要远距离转移母猪，有时在室外，有时从一栋楼转移到另一栋，当然就需要架起一条有围栏的通道。当然，作为母猪，其中有些会停下来去探索，就需要轻敲来让它向前走动，以防堵住后面的猪——总是十分令人头疼。
With the narrowed footwell idea inserted into the foot of the race, it can be quite amusing to see the whole chain trotting forwards like clockwork.
当把缩小脚部空间的想法应用到其中时，可以看到一个有趣的现象，整个猪群像时钟一样小跑前进。
来源：Pig Progress
作者：John Gadd
（文/爱猪网记者刘坤颖编译，爱猪网原创，转载请注明出处）
