Proper nutrition during gestation is fundamental to sow health, longevity, and the welfare of piglets at birth, with both underfeeding and overfeeding creating significant welfare problems.
Gestational nutrition sits at the intersection of sow welfare and piglet welfare - poor maternal nutrition harms two generations simultaneously. In conventional gestation crate housing, individual nutrition control is straightforward but the sows experience severe welfare impairment from immobility. Group housing with ESF technology offers both improved welfare and individualized nutrition but requires substantial management skill. Sows in group housing that cannot successfully compete for feed access experience chronic hunger - a major welfare concern often invisible to casual inspection. The shift away from gestation crates in many countries requires producers to invest in nutrition management infrastructure. Nutrition programs must account for body condition variation between individual sows rather than applying uniform feeding rates to the whole group.