Enrichment for Lactating Sows: Nesting and Rooting Materials

Providing nesting and enrichment materials to sows in the peripartum period reduces stress and improves both sow and piglet welfare.

Key Facts

The nesting drive in sows intensifies in the 24 hours before farrowing and is a strong welfare need
Sows provided with nesting material show reduced stress hormones and more synchronised parturition
Straw, cardboard, paper, or jute provided before farrowing allow partial nesting behaviour expression
Piglets born to sows with nesting material show higher birth weight and reduced pre-weaning mortality
Farrowing system design must accommodate nesting behaviour to meet modern welfare standards

Welfare Considerations

The nesting drive in sows is one of the most robustly documented examples of strong animal motivation in welfare science. Sows denied nesting material before farrowing show repeated vacuum nesting behaviour, elevated cortisol, and increased aggression. Provision of even modest nesting material including paper or rope reduces these stress indicators significantly. The practical challenge in conventional farrowing crate systems is providing nesting material without creating slurry management problems. Free-farrowing systems designed with nest areas accommodate nesting behaviour far more effectively. The welfare benefit extends to piglets through improved maternal behaviour, more synchronised milk letdown, and better thermal regulation from nesting material.

What You Can Do

Support pork from systems that provide nesting material to sows before farrowing
Advocate for nesting material provision as a minimum welfare standard in farrowing systems
Support research into practical nesting material provision in conventional farrowing systems
Learn about the sow nesting drive to understand the welfare case for farrowing reform
Choose higher-welfare pork products that specify management standards during farrowing