Litter and bedding management significantly affects pig welfare through effects on hygiene, thermal comfort, behavioral expression, and respiratory health.
Litter and bedding management in pig production directly determines whether pigs can express one of their most fundamental behavioral drives: rooting. The compulsive motivation to root — to push and manipulate substrate with the snout — evolved for foraging and exploratory purposes and remains deeply embedded in pig behavioral biology. Pigs on bare slatted floors with no substrate are denied this expression entirely, which contributes to the development of redirected oral behaviors including tail biting. Straw bedding or deep litter systems are not merely comfort measures but behavioral welfare provisions that address the root cause of some of the most significant welfare problems in intensive pig production. The welfare and behavioral science case for litter provision is robust and well-established.