Sealing Joints of Glazed Tile Pig Troughs

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 97, Issue 6, 15 December 1958, Page 533

Sealing Joints of Glazed Tile Pig Troughs

By

A. LONGWILL,

Superintendent, Pig Industry, Department of Agriculture, Wellington

& LAZED earthenware channel tiles >■7 (half pipes) of 9 or 12 in. diameter have been popular for many years for lining pig troughs in permanent piggeries where floors and walls are largely constructed of concrete. However, one drawback has been that the cement used in jointing the sections of a trough has usually been eroded by the action of milk acids after a year or two of use. A method which has been found satisfactory in prolonging the life of the plaster joints considerably is shown in the accompanying illustrations.

THE sections of trough are laid level on a bed of ordinary concrete mix in the wooden boxing placed to enable a 2 in. wall to be filled to support the glazed liners. The filling is tamped into position and allowed to stand for 24 hours, after which the boxing may be removed and the jointing and plastering carried out. As a first step in the mixing, 1 part of a proprietary compound, giving increased adhesive .properties to the mix, is added to 3 parts of the mixing water. The plaster ingredients are:

Parts by volume Silver sand .. . . .. 5 Cement . . .. .. 4 Red oxide .. . . . . 2|

The mixing water is added carefully while the ingredients are mixed until the whole forms a smooth, easily workable plaster. The joints are given a coat of a neat cement wash mixed with the prepared mix water and then

the plaster is applied. It is worked carefully into each joint so that the 2 to i in. spaces between sections are completely filled. The filling is trowelled level and may be finished with a few light strokes of a paint brush dipped in the mix water. The plastering round the whole trough and covering all edges’ of the liners is then carried .... out, giving a finished appearance like that in the heading illustration. This leaves no uneven concrete surfaces in which milk may lodge and thus start erosion. A smooth finish may thus be almost as important as the mix in ensuring, a. long life for the plaster. A point often overlooked in the construction of this type of trough is the desirability of providing “toe” room for the pigs when feeding. This can be done by cutting the front board of the boxing to slope 2 in. back under the trough at floor level. A trough in which the interior surface of thebottom is at floor level (the same level as the pigs’ front feet) gives the most

comfortable feeding position and tends to discourage. the pigs from putting their feet in the trough. However, to control the pigs effectively, a head bail device similar to

that shown above, or some other type of obstruction which prevents feet and head getting into the trough at the same time, will also be needed.

Performance of Pedigree Pigs

DURING the 9 months ended 30 September 1958, 44 pedigree litters have been recorded out of 52 nominations under the Pedigree Pig Improvement Scheme. Of these, 13 litters qualified for the Register of Merit class A, 9 of these being evalu-

ated as porkers and 4 as baconers. One litter qualified in class C of the register. All the qualified litters were Large Whites. Breeders or commercial farmers interested in securing boars or sows the litter mates of which have performed

up to the standards laid down for the register should study this table carefully to find pigs with the qualities they particularly require. Full details of the performance of these qualified litters are set out below.

. 4- Points lost because too much fat; —points lost because too little fat; *l., loin development; 8., belly thickness; M., marketing points; t 1 pig 13+, other 13—.

Owner Herd book no. Date born Litter weight at 3 weeks Dead weight Carcass test results (average) points Growth rate Length Back fat Bal. Ham Sh. L.* B.* M * Total Sire Dam Sh. Loin ■ Length Carcass test results (average) points , Back fat Bal. Ham Sh. Sire Dam Sh. Loin L.* B.* M* Total CLASS A PORKERS lb. lb. (25) (20) (10) (15) (5) (15) (10) (10) (5) (5) (10) (10) (125) (125) E. W. Harrison, Palmerston North 14,134 14,630 28/11/57 82 73 25 161 61 + 12— 5 81 7 . 71 31 91 101 S. C. Yeates, New Plymouth 13,686 14,138 8/12/57 143 96 224 161 61 + M3 44 10 61 61 44 10 1001 C. I. Wright, Kaitaia .. 13,590 14,436 29/12/57 131 71 21 131 9— 131 + 5 11 6 7 31 10 1 991 H. and N. Myers, Mauriceville .. 14,372 14,185 12/1/58 113 90 221 141 84— 14— 31 91 61 71 21 7 96 C. I. Wright, Kaitaia 13,590 13,810 10/12/57 114 73 201 12 61 + 10 + 44 12 91 7 3 10 95 E. W. Harrison, Palmerston North 14,134 14,632 10/12/57 91.6 81 19 171 71 + 9 + 3 111 74 71 21 9 94 L. Butler, Hawera .. - 14,510 14,391 8/12/57 114 65 61 17 9 + 14— 5 134 10 8 41 921 H. and N. Myers, Mauriceville .. 14,372 14,186 12/2/58 105 71 22 12 9— 13 + 5 51 5 . 51 3 9 89 E. R. and A. L. Skiiton, Wanganui 14,071 13,348 7/4/58 137 75 10 151 9— 12 + 5 9 74 71 5 7 871 BACONERS ■<? (25) (20) (10) (20) (5) (15) (10) (10) (5) (5) (5) (5) (125) (125) N.Z. Pig Producers’ Council 13,631 13,762 18/7/57 120 141 211 14 81 + 17— 4 71 71 7 6 21 941 N.Z. Pig Producers’ Council 13,631 14,044 19/1/58 • 128 131 25 17 8— 16— 3 74 71 54 ' 3 11 94 N.Z. Pig Producers’ Council 13,631 13,145 8/7/57 135 145 17 14 94 + 171 + 14 10 71 7 5 3 92 N.Z. Pig Producers’ Council 13,631 13,763 9/7/57 121 139 161 13 81 + 20 3 111 6 61 31 3 911 CLASS 0 PORKERS H. E. Johnson and Co., Whangarei 11,492 12,374 13/2/58 89 79 17 13 94 + 14— 31 101 71 61 4 10 95