For the invention of the shower for pigs, a German farmer received 10,000 euros

Innovation in the pigsty is interesting and profitable

Jens Hertling tells more about the invention in his article on the LebensmittelPraxis portal.

“Christoph Becker, 36, inherited the pig farm located in Soltau-Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony from his father in 2010. In addition to a pigsty with 1,000 beds, he owns 120 hectares of fields in the Lüneburg Heath, 100 hectares of forest and a biogas plant.

All pigs on the farm (about a thousand heads) have a space of 1.5 square meters and access to a shower room. Becker redesigned a regular stall for a shower and invented a "pig buzzer" so that the animals themselves could choose the time for bathing. For this, he was awarded an innovation award from the animal protection organization Tierwohl Initiative (ITW) in the amount of ten thousand euros.

“Pigs are the smartest farm animals we have and they know what they need to do. To design a device that pigs can turn on themselves, I simply copied the natural basic movements of pigs. When they turn on the buzzer, it mimics the natural movement of digging,” says Becker.

The buzzer itself hangs upside down out of reach of the animals. In order to control it, the animals have to press the pillar in the pipe. As soon as he presses the buzzer dome, an electrical signal activates the flow of water.

Curious animals quickly learned from each other to turn on the water and take refreshing treatments, which is important on hot days.

The farmer calculated that in 18 months, the animals showered 80,000 times, according to the counter records. It turns out about six times per animal.

Pigs often use the shower on summer days, and in the heat they are not in a hurry to leave at all - pouring a puddle on the floor, they are blissful in it.

Noticing this behavior, the farmer decided to improve the supply of drinking water also on demand. He is currently working on an automatic feeder with a buzzer and is collaborating with a start-up to develop a freshener for pigsties.

Becker believes traditional pig farming needs to change and become open to new ideas and initiatives. He intends to commercialize his “pig soul” in the near future.”