Updated April 18, 2024

Dedication to clean pens is apparent when a show pig operation goes through three semi loads of pine shavings each year.

Troy Sloan of Cameron, Missouri, says his farm is obsessed with cleanliness. His operation, Team Sloan Livestock, farrows eight months of the year, managing 100 Crossbred, York and Spot sows on their northwestern Missouri farm.

Whether it is farrowing houses, chip pens or the show pig barn, the Sloan family works hard to ensure each animal’s health is not compromised by disease.

“We want to get the absolute most out of our show pigs,” Sloan says. “A lot of what our pigs look like has to do with pedigree and genetics, but their home environment also has a huge role. Here at our place we work to keep hogs healthy and prevent disease. That’s the number one reason to keep things as clean as possible.”

In between farrowing, Sloan says his family cleans each crate and the surrounding area. They begin with a hot-water pressure wash to clean and disinfect at a higher level. After the crates and floors have been washed and disinfected Sloan lets each building air out.

Sloan likes a Nasco farm store product called Synergize as a disinfectant. He consulted with his veterinarian to find the best products available and chose Synergize because it will help to control the swine disease, PEDv, which negatively impacts baby pigs. Sloan also likes low pH soap for cleaning and mixes a product called Barn Storm with water in a garden sprayer to soak the crate just before the sow comes in.

“As far as disinfectant, I do like to rotate through several kinds,” Sloan says. “Some filter bacteria and others don’t, so I change disinfectants every couple of months.”

When pigs transition to the chip barn they are sorted into groups. Sloan puts them in pens that have been previously swept, pressure-washed and disinfected. He follows this protocol in between every group of pigs that go in each pen.

“I want them to be on the right foot when people come through to look,” Sloan says. “The barn needs to have good air quality too, with good ventilation. We are continually cleaning and putting in new shavings; I’m not sure I can count how many times we clean pens.”

The kind of shavings used is also important. Sloan says there is a big variance on quality of shavings and the brand’s ability to absorb moisture. Some shaving varieties have natural oils in them and do a great job of helping the pig’s skin and hair look good. Other kinds  are drier, and therefore more course and rough on skin and hair.

Sloan says to also watch for shavings that could have lice and insects in them. A quality brand he uses is called Pine River, a Champion brand of shaving. He also likes EcoFlake, produced by American. He encourages exhibitors to find a good brand that is close to home and stick with it.

The cleaning routine is even more important for individual show pig pens. Sloan recommends exhibitors spot clean pens on a daily basis, twice a day is preferred. Then, once a week, completely clean the pen. This means shoveling out all shavings and putting in new each week. Sloan says pine shavings will wear down and look dingy and that’s when it’s time to replace them.

“When they are not fresh and clean they are not as soft,” Sloan says. “I tell my show families, ‘If you’d feel comfortable laying and sleeping on the shavings yourself then it’s clean enough.’”

If a pig has had health issues the Sloan family will wash the pen out, scrub and disinfect just as they would in between show pig seasons. And if there has been sickness they would clean out the entire barn if possible.

Sloan also says to be aware that flies and insects spread disease so the quality of air moving through the show barn is also critical. Fresh shavings will help provide continuous, quality air.

“Anything that’s dirty or worn out is not as good on skin and hair,” Sloan says. “It’s so important in today’s show ring to have that clean, fresh look. It will separate you from the rest.”