Farrowing crates confine sows during birth and early piglet rearing, preventing natural maternal behaviors. Scientific evidence and public concern are driving development and adoption of alternative systems.
The farrowing crate represents one of the most contested welfare issues in European pig production. The welfare cost to the sow is significant and well-documented: five to six weeks of near-total confinement per reproductive cycle, across a productive life of four to six parities, means sows in conventional systems spend substantial portions of their lives unable to perform basic movement behaviors. Nest-building — a strong pre-farrowing behavioral drive documented by dramatic increases in activity and distress when thwarted — is completely prevented. The welfare cost to piglets if crates are removed without appropriate alternative system design is also real: crushing by the sow accounts for the majority of pre-weaning mortality in poorly designed loose systems. The resolution of this dilemma lies not in accepting either sow welfare or piglet survival as inevitable trade-offs but in investing in the system design and stockpersonship training that allows both: well-designed loose farrowing systems with appropriate space, substrate, and experienced stockpersons can achieve both good sow welfare and acceptable piglet mortality.