Site 1-The Sow Farm
Adult female animals (sows) are housed in facilities designed to ensure their comfort and well being during the breeding, gestation, and farrowing (the birthing process for pigs) cycles. We utilize artificial insemination techniques to breed all our sows. We collect and process semen from only the very best, genetically superior, adult male animals (boars) to inseminate the sows. The donor boars, kept at a separate specialized facility, have been selected to sire pigs with the best possible combination of desirable traits for today's demanding consumers. The gestation period for sows is 114 days (three months, three weeks, and three days). During the gestation period sows are individually monitored for a variety of well-being indicators such as adequate food and water intake, weight, body condition, absence of lesions and sound feet and leg condition. Each sow has an individual health record which is used to track her health status and productivity.

A few days before the sow is due to farrow she is moved to a specially designed farrowing barn. She is placed in a space which is designed to provide for maximum comfort and safety of mother and babies. In this barn she receives individual attention as she prepares to give birth. If she needs assistance with the delivery a specially trained person assists with the delivery and immediate care of the newborn pigs. A typical "litter" of pigs is 10-12 per delivery.

After the baby pigs are born they stay with their mother until weaning at approximately three weeks of age. During this time they nurse their mother and also learn to eat a prepared dry ration and will grow to approximately 10-12 pounds each. After the pigs are weaned they are prepared to be moved to the next site.

Site 2-The Nursery
Nursery facilities are designed to meet the special needs of newly weaned pigs. Nursery barns have special temperature and ventilation equipment and controls to provide the right amount of heat and fresh air as the young pigs grow. Typically, twenty or more pigs are placed in each pen. This pen is sized to ensure plenty of room for the pigs to move around, play, and get exercise. Each pen has its own water supply and feeders. The young pigs are fed a series of specially formulated feed diets during their stay at the nursery, formulations which meet the changing nutritional needs of the animal. Pigs in the nursery are looked after by personnel that are trained to understand their special needs.

Pigs typically stay at the nursery facility for approximately seven weeks. During this time they grow to about 50 pounds. Once pigs reach this stage of growth they are moved to a third site known as a finishing farm.

Site 3-The Finishing Farm
At the finishing farm the animals are placed in barns which are very similar to nursery barns except they are quite a bit larger in order to accommodate the continued growth of the pigs. Again, as with the nursery, pigs will be placed in pens which are sized to accommodate the future growth of the pigs, give them plenty of room to move around and get exercise.

During their stay at the finishing farm, approximately 22 weeks, they grow from 50 pounds to market weight of approximately 260 pounds. At this time they are loaded onto specially designed transport trucks for the trip to a processing facility.

Overview
At each of the three types of farms, the facilities are designed with the well-being, comfort, and safety of the animals in mind. Animal well-being is our top priority and our production practices and procedures were developed to ensure this priority is achieved. All of our production employees receive specialized training for their particular job duties and our farm managers are on site every day to make sure that all of the animals receive appropriate care. At Murphy-Brown we have a very clear animal welfare policy which is followed by all who work with the animals. Our animal welfare policy statement can be found elsewhere on our web site.

All of our facilities are designed to separate animal waste from the animals as efficiently as possible. The typical barn has a slatted floor which allows feces and urine to pass through and away from the animals into a containment area. These containment areas below the floor are flushed out on a regular schedule and the waste is moved to the waste management system for use as fertilizer. By utilizing these type facilities we are able to keep the animals clean and minimize odors.

Nutritional needs vary depending on the age of the animals and our in-house nutritionists formulate different rations for the different stages of an animal's growth cycle. Adequate amounts of fresh water is provided to all animals.