Poor loading techniques can result in greater death loss during transport, increased carcass trim due to bruising, and poor quality meat. Stress is the underlying cause of most deaths during marketing and is a contributing factor in pork quality problems. Removing hogs from an environment they’ve grown accustomed to and shipping them to a plant will obviously be stressful. But, there are ways to reduce the level of stress.

People Can Make a Big Difference

Humans are a major cause of stress during sorting and loading. To get pigs accustomed to being around people, employees should routinely walk through finishing pens. Actions that startle pigs should be avoided, but don’t follow the same routine every day. Pigs will gradually learn that new and different things when people are around them are not necessarily bad.

A side benefit of having employees walk finishing pens almost every day is that they become more observant. Good pig watchers can spot emerging health and management problems before they have a major impact on production efficiency.

Load-out crews should be selected carefully. The attitude of those responsible for sorting and loading market hogs is extremely important. Individuals with a strong tendency to “lose their cool” can do more harm than good on a load-out crew.

Make certain there’s enough manpower available to get the job done right. The number of people needed to sort and load hogs depends on several factors, including the design of the loading facility. Subtle forms of persuasion should be used to move hogs. This does not include electric prods.

One key to easy movement of market hogs is to load them in small groups rather than attempting to move an entire pen at one time. Many operations have found that groups of six hogs work best. It may seem like it’s taking longer, but keeping the stress level of both pigs and people at a reasonable level will save time and money in the long run.

View Things from the Hog’s Perspective

Understanding how most hogs react to different stimuli is a good place to start when looking for ways to improve loading facilities and techniques. If situations that create stress can be avoided, it will make things go a lot smoother.

Swine have an angle vision in excess of 300 degrees. This wide angle of vision allows them to see behind themselves reasonably well without turning their head.

It also means they will react to changes in light virtually anywhere around them. Steps should be taken to eliminate harsh contrasts, such as dark shadows or bright lights.

Proper lighting can make loading hogs easier. Although hogs raised inside will balk if forced to move into bright daylight, hogs have a natural tendency to want to move from a darker area to a lighter one. Illuminating the end of the loading chute or the inside of the truck can be helpful, especially if loading at night. However, lights must be positioned so they shine on the floor and not into the hogs’ eyes.

Hogs can also be sensitive to rapidly moving air hitting them in the face. When loading out some buildings, it’s helpful to temporarily shut down or reverse the ventilation system.

The hog’s wide range of vision makes solid fencing in the load-out area very important, including squeeze gates. Distractions can stop hogs from moving down an alleyway or up a chute. In many finishing barns, it is helpful to cover alleyway fences near the door with plywood to prevent hogs from seeing other animals in the pens.

Temple Grandin, a specialist in livestock behavior at Colorado State University, says the best alleys for moving and loading hogs are three feet wide. This width allows two market hogs to walk side-by-side without getting stuck.

If hogs are not moved from the alleyway of the finishing building directly into the loading chute, a well-designed “crowd pen” will probably be needed. Because hogs have a strong escape response, funnel-shaped crowd pens work well. However, if the pen narrows too abruptly, two or more hogs often become wedged at the entrance of the loading chute. Grandin recommends a crowd pen that narrows gradually. There should be no corners that are too sharp for hogs to see around. If the fence on one side of the loading pen is curved, it will accommodate a pivoting crowd gate.

Traction is a very important consideration for flooring in the load-out area. Concrete should be given a rough finish, although hogs may balk if the floor is dramatically different than what they were raised on.

The ideal slope for a loading chute used for hogs is 20 degrees. If a wooden ram is used, cleats should be set about eight inches apart for market hogs. When building a loading chute with a concrete floor, stair steps that are 2½ inches high and 10 inches deep are recommended.

The width of the chute is very important. Grandin believes chutes should be just wide enough for two market weight hogs to walk side-by-side. It may be helpful to put a see-through panel down the middle of the loading chute. This allows hogs to walk side-by-side and see each other, but they don’t have enough room to turn around.

Also See Transporting of High-Muscled Hogs