As hogs are moved through the service alley, they tend to stay along the feeding floor fence and socialize with hogs in the feeding pens. Reluctance to cross the service alley causes some flow problems. Alley crowd gates and gradual turning angles will solve this problem. Orienting the sorting alley so hogs move back toward the vacated pen seems to improve flow during sorting. Production unit size and marketing program influence the selection of a corral system.
Some smaller producers sort and market small groups of pigs at regular intervals.
This marketing program requires a corral capable of sorting off 10 to 12 market hogs per marketing interval. Large producers may require a system with the capacity to sort off 100 to 200 head per marketing interval. Management Cleaning the service alley before sorting and loading provides safer working conditions and results in cleaner animals to market. Allowing hogs in the service alley for a period of time before sorting improves handling. They can socialize along the fence and become familiar with new surroundings.