Pen hygiene and litter management in pig production directly affect hoof health, respiratory disease, and behavioral welfare. Evidence-based management reduces preventable suffering.
Pen hygiene is a welfare issue that is often treated as purely a production concern. Poor hygiene causes respiratory disease, hoof problems, skin conditions, and chronic low-grade illness that significantly reduce pig quality of life. The connection between adequate space, appropriate flooring, and hygiene maintenance creates a systems-level welfare challenge where space constraints lead to hygiene problems that cause health welfare problems in a cascade that basic pen cleaning cannot fully resolve. Well-designed pig housing systems that accommodate natural dunging behavior through adequate space are the foundation of hygiene-based welfare management.