Pigs are pregnant for approximately 115 days (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days). The management of sows across multiple reproductive cycles has cumulative welfare implications that affect longevity, health, and quality of life.
Sow welfare across the full productive lifespan requires thinking beyond individual procedures to cumulative welfare over multiple reproductive cycles. A sow that produces several litters in poor welfare conditions accumulates welfare costs over years. Longevity is a welfare indicator - farms where sows live to complete more reproductive cycles under good conditions achieve better outcomes than those with high annual replacement rates from illness and culling. Welfare across the productive lifespan requires consistent attention to housing, nutrition, health, and social management.