Farrowing crates confine sows during and after birth, preventing them from turning around. Reform efforts are accelerating but face practical and commercial challenges.
Sow frustration in farrowing crates is most acute in the days before birth, when the strong nesting motivation cannot be expressed. Sows root repeatedly at the crate floor and show stereotypic bar-biting — clear indicators of highly frustrated behavioural motivation. The welfare compromise continues post-birth, as sows cannot respond naturally to piglets or adjust their body position for comfort. Free-farrowing systems have demonstrated that these welfare costs are not inevitable — with appropriate pen design, bedding, and management, sow and piglet welfare can both be protected. The persistence of farrowing crates reflects commercial inertia rather than welfare or production necessity.