Many factors in the pig's immediate environment can affect the animal's growth and feed efficiency. Thermal environment, air quality, floor space allowance, and pig group management can all be manipulated to optimize feed efficiency. Hot weather strategy. The pig's thermal environment, that is, the rate of body heat exchange to the surroundings, is crucial to growth performance.
Every producer knows about summer slump, when finishing hogs go off feed because the weather is hot.
A Kansas study of sprinkler cooling on finishing pigs in an open-front building showed no significant difference in feed efficiency with or without cooling, but the average daily gain was 1.80 pounds per day for the cooled pigs compared to 1.50 pounds per day for the uncooled control group. During lactation, the sow will eat better and get the pigs off to a quicker start if she is kept cool. This translates to higher weaning weights, less variation between littermates, and better sow condition for rebreeding. Some cooling of hogs can be accomplished with air alone. There must be a temperature difference between the air and the pig's body core of about 10 degrees F or greater.