The selection and management of replacement gilts significantly impacts both their own lifetime welfare and the productivity of the breeding herd.
Gilts face unique welfare challenges: they are physiologically immature when first bred, often housed in unfamiliar group environments, and vulnerable to lameness from inadequate skeletal development. Poor gilt management - breeding too early, inadequate body condition at farrowing, concrete floors without bedding - sets up a cascade of welfare problems across the gilt's reproductive life. Farms that invest in gilt development programs, including appropriate floor surfaces, targeted nutrition, and social acclimatization, see significantly better welfare outcomes and longer productive lifetimes. The welfare of gilts is inseparable from the long-term sustainability of breeding operations.