Tagging well before mixing may reduce tag loss during bouts of aggression. Gate closing speed can be adjusted so that the gates can close slowly for training sows and gilts and more quickly for trained animals. A timer dictates the release of the sow from the feed station after she has received her last drop of feed. She can leave the station at any time by pushing the exit gate open. The system needs careful adjustment to ensure that all sows have sufficient time to consume their ration before the rear gate opens.
Gilts take longer to feed than sows.
Training sows and gilts need to be allocated a longer feeding time. A typical time allocation for feeding for a 2.25kg feed allocation would be 12-15 minutes, with a delay of 2 minutes before the gate opens following last feed delivery. As a guide a computer operated feed station will feed 70 sows. This means that sows in the dunging passage do not have direct access to the feed station exit and they cannot interfere with sows leaving the station. Drop size should be checked for accuracy with new batches of feed and at least every fortnight.