Litter quality in pig housing affects multiple aspects of animal welfare including footpad health, respiratory disease, and behavioural expression.
Litter quality directly determines multiple welfare outcomes in pigs. Adequate dry bedding supports natural behaviour including rooting and nest-building, provides thermal comfort, and reduces ammonia and pathogen loads. Wet, contaminated litter causes footpad lesions, respiratory disease, and prevents behavioural expression. Deep straw systems provide the best available litter quality for pig welfare but require more management and higher labour input than slatted systems. Outdoor systems with natural soil rooting opportunities represent the pinnacle of pig litter welfare provision.