Farrowing crates restrict sow movement during and after birth to reduce piglet crushing, but cause significant welfare harm from confinement, with free-farrowing systems offering improved welfare with appropriate management.
Farrowing crate welfare analysis reveals a tension between maternal welfare (severely impaired by confinement) and piglet welfare (protected by reducing crushing risk). The traditional justification for farrowing crates was that they protect piglets - a genuine welfare concern for highly vulnerable newborns. The emerging evidence base demonstrates that this welfare tradeoff is not necessary in well-designed free-farrowing systems with experienced stockpersons. The intense nesting motivation frustrated by crates - sows rooting, carrying materials, and circling despite the physical impossibility of completing nest construction - represents ongoing acute welfare harm. Denmark's progression toward free-farrowing demonstrates commercial viability at scale.