Sow body condition — the balance of muscle and fat at key life stages — is a key welfare indicator reflecting nutrition, health, and reproductive welfare across the breeding cycle.
Sow body condition welfare reflects the cumulative management quality of the breeding cycle: a sow that arrives at farrowing in poor condition has been inadequately managed during pregnancy, and will suffer further condition loss during lactation. Thin sows are more prone to lameness, mastitis, and reproductive failure. The welfare harm accumulates across multiple cycles if not detected and corrected. Regular BCS monitoring is a simple, practical welfare tool that identifies individual animals at risk before welfare compromise becomes severe.