Straw yard systems for pigs provide welfare benefits through natural behavior expression compared to slatted floor systems.
Pigs with access to deep straw bedding can perform rooting, nesting, and thermoregulation behaviors that are denied in fully slatted systems. Straw also provides foraging enrichment that reduces boredom and aggression. Welfare indicators including tail lesion rates, cortisol, and behavioral diversity are substantially better in straw-based systems. The welfare case for straw access is among the strongest in pig housing research.