Welfare science of transitioning pig farms from gestation crates to group housing systems, examining the challenges, best practices, and welfare outcomes of this critical industry transformation.
The transition from gestation crates to group housing represents one of the most significant welfare reforms in commercial pig production history — and one of the most challenging to implement well. The welfare outcome of transition depends critically on management quality: poorly managed group housing can expose sows to chronic social aggression that may be worse than the confinement they replace. Successful transition requires appropriate space, proper introduction procedures, appropriate group composition, feeding systems that prevent resource competition, and keeper training in sow social behavior. Getting the transition right — not just compliant — is the welfare imperative. Producers who invest in genuine expertise alongside infrastructure changes are producing better welfare outcomes than those meeting minimum compliance standards.