At Animal Arks we are based on a 50 acre farm down in the Westcountry, we keep around 20 breeding sows all free range with the young either sold as weaners or taken on to pork and bacon and sold direct to the public. Every product we make and use is field tested on our own stock and we offer our customers completely free unbiased advice on all aspects of keeping stock.
The following statement is a summary of our companies trading ethos :-
PRODUCT QUALITY
Like for like we will compete and beat ANY of the other ark manufacturers both in service, usually on price and more importantly ALWAYS in product quality.
CUSTOMERS SHOULD ASK IMPORTANT QUESTIONS :-
What size of support purlins are used ? Ours are treated 4”x2” (Not flimsy 2”x2” or 3”x2”)
What is the length, quality and thickness of the fixing screws ?
If these fail after a few years the ark is useless !! There is one, so called major manufacturer out there, who up until July/August 2007 used Turbo Gold screws from Screwfix even when it is clearly stated on the manufacturer’s brochure that these screws were for internal use only !!
On floors IS the floor detachable ?
If is NOT, be prepared for many happy hours bent over double scraping off mud and grime. It will never be as clean as one of our detachable floors as the debris falls down between the gaps of the sheet and the timber !!
Thickness and materials of floors ?
This is so absolutely important. If you are offered plywood, you run the risk of pigs slipping and spraining themselves resulting in either vet bills or pigs having to be destroyed. We have field tested plywood and we had to replace it after three years.
Ask the supplier the thickness of the board and the spacing of the supporting runners ? OURS are a true ONE inch thickness rough sawn tanalised to increase grip - other suppliers use ¾ inch to save money.
WE DON’T JUST SAY WE WANT YOUR ARKS TO LAST, WE REALLY MEAN IT.
We never oversell our arks - if a customer new to pigs phones us, and for example, asks for an 8ft x 6ft ark for two weaners, we will tell them that it is oversize and give them the correct advice.
It is not always about quick easy profits !!
DELIVERIES
We aim to get our products to you either by courier or our own transport in the shortest, most economical way - we only cover our true costs and never make a profit from deliveries.
FREE ADVICE IS AT THE END OF A PHONE – Monday to Saturday until 7pm.