Competition for food in group-housed sows is a significant welfare challenge, with subordinate animals at risk of undernutrition and chronic stress in poorly designed feeding systems.
Group housing sow feeding welfare requires active management that individual gestation stalls (for all their welfare faults) did not require. The welfare gain from social freedom in group housing can be undermined if feeding management is inadequate and subordinate sows are chronically underfed. Good group housing with individual feeding provision - through ESF or individual feeding stalls - addresses this welfare concern while maintaining the benefits of social housing. Regular body condition scoring and individual monitoring are the management tools that ensure feeding welfare is maintained across the social hierarchy of the group. Training stockpeople to recognize poor body condition and adjust individual rations is a core welfare competency in sow group housing management.