Litter quality in pig housing systems significantly affects welfare through effects on leg health, respiratory disease, and behavioural expression. Good litter management is a fundamental welfare investment.
Litter management determines much of the lived experience of pigs in indoor systems. Dry, clean straw or other organic substrate provides warmth, rooting opportunity, and a clean resting surface. Slatted concrete systems provide none of these benefits - pigs on slatted floors cannot root, have limited thermal comfort and are exposed to the ammonia rising from below-floor waste channels. The welfare difference between straw-based and slatted systems is well-documented and substantial. The barrier to straw-based systems is management complexity and bedding cost - but farms that have invested in the transition consistently report better animal health and welfare outcomes.