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A gestation pen with nests and an outdoor access door.
 
Man seeks to change the foods available in nature to suit his tastes, thereby putting an end to the very essence of life contained in them. -Sai Baba  

Habitat Layout

In the wild, pigs are non-territorial but well-organized, establishing specific areas for foraging, cooling, grooming, and defecating.

Truebridge barns adopt pig logic, instead of fighting it. The living spaces are divided similarly, with architectural cues (walls, floor level, flooring material, temperature) that help pigs reach the same conclusions about what an area is good for.

Just as humans immediately recognize the purpose of various rooms in an apartment, pigs agree with the logic of Truebridge pens. This helps them maintain a healthy, clean living space.

 
Sows lying in the sunlight within the security of an elevated nest.   A series of low-walled "mini-nests" in a gestation pen.
Floor level helps define a nest zone and keep it clean.   Low walls help pigs feel more secure while resting.
 
A corridor running between sets of nests.   A sow lifting the lid protecting a waterer, so she can get a drink.
Pigs naturally defecate on paths away from food & bed.   Waterers are designed to stay clean.
     
A sow getting ready to enter an Electronic Sow Feeding station.   Growing pigs playing with some hanging chains.
Feeders ensure pigs always get the diet right for them.   Toys placed in communal areas of pens.

Here is each zoned explained:

Bedroom:

Pigs instinctively build shallow body-shaped nests, hidden in thickets, shrubbery or tall grass strands. In areas of open country, with limited cover, they dig underground burrows, or adopt those established by other excavators. Because pigs seek to feel hidden in order to rest well, low walls are used to define protective enclosures, with solid floors and bedding.

Bathroom:

Pigs defecate and urinate in designated areas, usually in natural corridors between bushes and trees, well away from their food and rest areas. In a barn, pigs use the same logic. Raising or dropping the floor level of the nests, and using different flooring for different areas, helps the pigs define boundaries and agree which areas to keep clean.

Kitchen:

Wild pigs roam over an area of 1 to 10 square miles, depending on food availability, always staying within a day's walk of water. Truebridge barns have state of the art feeding systems to ensure no pig has to search or compete for its food.

Waterers are placed well away from nests and bedded areas. Because the floor surrounding them tends to get wet, they are frequently placed in the bathroom areas, which have slatted floors. Therefore, they are cleverly designed to avoid contamination, while still being comfortable to use.

Recreation:

Because pigs have a bright, curious, intellect and are adapted to foraging around all day for food instead of finding it waiting for them in a bowl, they need somewhere to channel their energy. When pigs have outdoor access, this negates the need for toys, as pigs get the most satisfaction out of rooting around in the dirt.

But many Truebridge farmers still provide a variety of indoor toys like bowling ball or hanging chains, which the pigs manipulate like a kid puttering around with a ball. At some Truebridge farms it's common to introduce a log from a tree for the pigs to work on and demolish. Since pigs have an industrious food-questing nature, finding a good toy for a pig simply means bringing them objects they can root at and move around, exercising the same behaviors that help them sniff out edibles in the wild.

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