Group housing for pigs allows expression of natural social behaviors and is increasingly replacing individual gestation crates. Understanding the welfare benefits and management challenges helps drive better farm practices.
Gestation crates represent one of the most extreme confinement systems in modern animal agriculture, preventing sows from performing basic natural behaviors for months at a time. The chronic stress, muscle atrophy, and psychological suffering caused by prolonged individual confinement are well-documented. Group housing systems, when properly managed, allow pigs to root, explore, socialize, and move freely — behaviors that are central to pig welfare. The transition requires investment in training and infrastructure, but the welfare benefits for millions of sows are substantial and achievable at commercially viable scales.