Farrowing systems - the housing used when sows give birth and nurse piglets - have profound welfare implications for both sows and piglets. Understanding the welfare trade-offs guides system selection and improvement.
Farrowing systems present one of the central welfare dilemmas in pig farming: farrowing crates protect piglets from crushing at the significant cost of severe sow welfare restriction. Neither the crate nor poorly managed free-farrowing systems represent optimal welfare outcomes. The welfare solution lies in alternative farrowing systems designed to reduce piglet crushing risk while allowing sows movement and behavior expression - temporary confinement pens where sows can be briefly confined around birth but have freedom at other times, and free-farrowing pens with design features that reduce crushing risk. These alternatives require investment in infrastructure and management skill but achieve both better sow welfare and acceptable piglet survival rates in well-managed systems.