Easy cleaning of pigs arks

[Livestockandveg]

After some advice with making pig arks. We make the ark ourselves - or more, someone that works with me makes them - and I wondered if there was anything that would be a robust enough fixing that you could put on the back panel of ply and roof struts that would allow it to be removable. They've pushed the back out of the arc occasionally and it makes mucking out so much easier.

Just to pre-empt some questions:
they have a small opening at the front that has a raised bit at the bottom of the doorway, without this the straw is just dragged out
we've thought about taking the bottom of the ark out, but we're in a rather wet area of the UK on ground with a high clay content and not convinced it would be the best thing for the pigs (if you have a different experience, let me know)

 

[Suffolk Serf]

After some advice with making pig arks. We make the ark ourselves - or more, someone that works with me makes them - and I wondered if there was anything that would be a robust enough fixing that you could put on the back panel of ply and roof struts that would allow it to be removable. They've pushed the back out of the arc occasionally and it makes mucking out so much easier.

Just to pre-empt some questions:
they have a small opening at the front that has a raised bit at the bottom of the doorway, without this the straw is just dragged out
we've thought about taking the bottom of the ark out, but we're in a rather wet area of the UK on ground with a high clay content and not convinced it would be the best thing for the pigs (if you have a different experience, let me know)

Don’t have a floor in the ark. Then simply pick it up with a loader and resite it.

 

[bitwrx]

Don’t have a floor in the ark. Then simply pick it up with a loader and resite it.

Or if you don't have a loader, flip it onto its back and rock/slide/drag it to where it needs to be (only works with curved sheets of wriggly tin).

Straw is all that is required for the floor of a pig arc. Add more before it gets wet. Our dry sow arcs are sited for a year or more in one place. We just keep shoving straw through the door. They definitely need the loader to move them though. Farrowing arcs are in place for 6 weeks or so. They can be flipped by hand.