Gestation crates confine pregnant sows in spaces too small to turn around for most of their reproductive lives — a practice increasingly banned or restricted, with measurable welfare benefits from group housing alternatives.
Gestation crate confinement imposes welfare costs that are extensive and well-documented. The inability to turn around, walk, or perform basic postural adjustments causes musculoskeletal deterioration — sows in crates show muscle atrophy and weakened limbs. Stereotypic bar-biting is common and persistent, reflecting severe psychological frustration. The sow cannot socialise normally, investigate her environment, or perform foraging behaviours that are strongly motivated. There is evidence that chronic crate confinement causes learned helplessness — a state of psychological despair analogous to depression in humans. Group housing, while imperfect, allows the expression of these suppressed behaviours and improves measurable welfare outcomes including activity levels, stereotypy rates, and leg strength. Challenges in group housing — principally aggression during mixing and unequal feed access — are manageable with appropriate design and management but require investment and skill.