Farrowing crates confine sows during birth and nursing, preventing crushing of piglets but also severely restricting the sow's movement and natural behavior.
Sows in farrowing crates cannot perform the nest-building behavior they are strongly motivated to complete before birth. They cannot respond to piglet distress calls normally or reposition freely. Research shows that this confinement causes frustration, stress, and chronic welfare harm throughout the 3-5 week farrowing period per litter. Given that a sow may produce 5-6 litters per year, the cumulative welfare impact is very significant. Free farrowing systems demonstrate that the trade-off between sow welfare and piglet survival is not as stark as the industry has claimed.