Transitioning from individual gestation crates to group housing systems requires careful management to protect sow welfare. Best practices minimize aggression and stress during the change.
Group sow housing transition requires proactive welfare management. The risks are real: mixing unfamiliar sows causes fighting that can cause injury and pregnancy loss. However, managed well, group housing provides dramatically better welfare than crates — sows can move, socialize, and express behavioral repertoires. The welfare goal is not merely avoiding the worst of both systems but achieving the genuine positive welfare benefits of social group living. This requires investment in space, management skill, and environmental enrichment.