The welfare of breeding sows — from conception through gestation, farrowing, and lactation — involves a sequence of significant challenges that better management and housing can substantially improve.
The sow's welfare through the reproductive cycle involves multiple periods of welfare challenge. Gestation crate confinement, if used, prevents all natural behaviour for weeks. Farrowing crate confinement prevents the nest-building behaviour that sows are strongly motivated to perform before birth — this frustration is measurable in stereotypic behaviour. Lactation is energetically demanding and socially complex. Weaning at 3-4 weeks (versus natural weaning at 12-16 weeks) causes acute distress. Improvements including loose farrowing systems, enriched lactation environments, and delayed weaning each address specific welfare problems within the reproductive cycle.