The barn was built between April and December 2017 and put into operation in January 2018. It has three identical compartments that can be adapted depending on the experimental setup. Originally, the three compartments each contained six pens for 23 animals in a conventional, unstructured, fully slatted floor system. In this context, three different exhaust air purification systems were thoroughly tested over a period of two years (PigAir project, https://dafne.at/projekte/pigair ).
To address questions concerning animal husbandry, the barn was converted at the beginning of 2022: Two experimental pens with rubber mats or lightly bedded, enclosed lying areas are compared with a control pen with regard to both animal welfare and emissions (Project IBeSt https://dafne.at/projekte/IBeSt ). Prior to and also since then, feeding trials have been/are being conducted in the research barn with regard to changes in gaseous emissions as well as odor and dust (Project PigAir II, https://dafne.at/projekte/pigair-ii ).
The barn's ventilation system consists of a porous ceiling and a central exhaust system. The exhaust stack is mounted horizontally on one side of the pen and is approximately 8 meters long. This stack directs the exhaust air to the downstream air purification systems located in the northern exterior area of the barn. This unusual design and arrangement of the exhaust stack is necessary for gas analysis and olfactometric testing to ensure laminar airflow at the sampling point. Feeding is carried out using a Spotmix system (Schauer Agrotronic) with short troughs equipped with sensors. The feed can be presented in either liquid or dry form. To cool the barn and reduce heat stress, cooling pads have been installed, which can lower the temperature by a maximum of approximately 4-6 Kelvin.
Here you can see an original, unstructured, fully slatted mast pen as well as the new, converted compartment with two large IBeSt pens. Below is a view of the new lying areas with rubber mats or with a closed, lightly bedded floor (© HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein).
