Pro Dromi® for Family Dieleman | Showcase | Vereijken Pig Farrowing Systems

Pro Dromi®, Ontario Canada – Family Dieleman

The challenge: making free farrowing work

Ahead of the curve, Dave Dieleman already thought about free farrowing ten years ago, but could not find a system that would work for him. Two years ago, Dave came across the Vereijken free farrowing system called Pro Dromi®, which was exactly what he was looking for. Pro Dromi® allows you to confine the sow for the first two or three days when she’s farrowing and can open up after this point, enabling the sow to move around in the pen. The challenge with the barn of Dave Dieleman was that the existing barn had a totally different layout. How to place the free farrowing pens to make sure they’re maximizing the required amount of space and also fit all animals they need for this project to succeed?

Project Goals

Deliver free farrowing pens that fit Dave's needs
Placing the free farrowing pens in such a way that maximizes the required amount of space
Reduce piglet mortality risks with crates that confine the sow for the first two or three days
Give piglets and sow optimal grip anywhere in the pen

Making it happen

Vereijken sat down with installers and visited Dave Dieleman in Ontario Canada to see what was needed. We changed the design of Pro Dromi® so it would fit his existing barn, making sure that Dave had everything he needs. The Pro Dromi® is placed with the sow facing the corridor to have a good look at the sow at all times. Pro grip flooring gives his sows and piglets the best grip anywhere they go in the pen. As the crates allow to confine the sow for the first two or three days when she’s farrowing, Dave can now work with loose-housed sows while reducing piglet mortality risks.

Results to be proud of

One of the reasons the Dieleman family chose to renovate the barn is the next generation. As of 2024, sow stalls or gestation crates can no longer be used to house pregnant pigs in Canada. This code of practice is already in place in the European Union¹. ‘After these renovations, we’ll have 30 square feet extra for mothers and babies to roam around. I like the idea that if the mother is happier in the gestation area, this continues into the farrowing area as she’s able to move around more. I’m proud to be one of the first farms in Ontario implementing this on a larger scale. We believe that free farrowing is the way of the future, and we wanted to be ahead of the curve, setting up our next generation well for their work. It is exciting, new, something different. We’re really happy with how things turned out. Matt keeps track of the data and compared to last year pre-weaning mortality has gone down by about 5 to 6%.’