Sow body condition management is a key welfare indicator in pig farming, with both underconditioning and overconditioning causing significant health and welfare problems.
Sow body condition directly reflects welfare status and management adequacy. Thin sows have insufficient energy reserves for the metabolic demands of late gestation and lactation, compromising their health and the viability of their piglets. Overconditioning creates its own welfare problems - obese sows have more difficult farrowings and are more prone to post-partum metabolic problems. In group housing systems, competition means subordinate sows may chronically lose condition while dominant sows overcondition on the same ration. Individual condition monitoring and targeted feeding intervention are essential welfare management tools that require more attention than blanket group feeding approaches.